Supporter Newsletter

July 2020 -- Volume 3 No. 1

To Our Valued USRC Members and Supporters, 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year so far for humanity. We want to express our sincere hope that you, your families, and your colleagues are healthy and safe.  The Coronavirus pandemic, devastating as it continues to be, has put front and center the importance of science, preparedness, mitigation, and resilience. USRC resolves to double down on our efforts to improve societal readiness for seismic shocks, a goal that remains as important as ever. Despite the constraints that COVID-19 has imposed, USRC has accomplished many things in the first half of 2020. Below are several highlights. More will follow in monthly updates for the remainder of 2020, as we strive to improve our communication and involve you in our growing success. Please check out our membership benefits and structure, that includes new individual, organization and corporate levels. Sincerely, Evan Reis USRC Executive Director

Learn About Our New Membership Structure

This Month's Rated Building Spotlight

San Francisco Resilient Affordable Housing Complex Nears Completion Seismic resilience is important to the causes of social justice and equity. Unfortunately, when a disaster strikes, inequalities in both impact and recovery almost always make the front page. USRC members are working to change that. Casa Adelante, a 95-unit USRC Gold-Rated apartment complex in San Francisco's Mission District, is proof that resilient design is feasible in affordable housing. Furthermore, the whole community, not just tenants and owners, will benefit. Enhanced safety during and functionality following a quake means less displacement and less need for rescue, fire suppression and medical care, sheltering, and recovery services, not to mention human suffering avoided. To find out more about this innovative project --including engineering by Mar Structural Design that achieved beyond-code performance at less than a 0.25% cost premium -- click here .

USRC Welcomes New Staff Dr. Sharyl Rabinovici , a long time USRC Board member, has joined the organization part time as Director of Strategic Communications. Sharyl brings many years of experience in public policy, research and stakeholder engagement , and will be leading our efforts to raise awareness and promote resilient design by establishing regular channels of communications with partners, USRC members and the public. Please Contact Us With Your Questions and Ideas

Inaugural Buildings Rated Under USRC's Getting to Silver Initiative USRC's Getting to Silver initiative is a new pathway to recognition for existing buildings that meet our Silver Rating criteria. Through a streamlined review process, a Silver rating can be obtained at a fraction of the time and cost for many buildings built to current codes. In June 2020, the program announced its first two ratings. Both are reinforced masonry structures in the Pacific Northwest. Designed by KPFF , Parkrose Middle School in Portland, Oregon is the first school to receive a USRC rating. The community centerpiece Spokane YMCA was designed by Coffman Engineers .

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Since 2017, USRC has awarded 61 building ratings with several more in process. Rated buildings include offices, affordable housing, URM retrofits, school buildings, and private and public sector structures in California, Oregon, Washington, and Chile. Case studies of rated structures, information on how to become a certified USRC Rater, and how to inquire about rating a building rating are available at www.USRC.org .

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