Lessons From Old Buildings

Some of the best earthquake engineering is centuries old. The pagoda at Horyu-ji temple has stood for about 1,400 years because its stacked floors sway independently around a loose central pillar that works like a natural shock absorber.

Modern engineers study these designs to build better. After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, base-isolated hospitals kept operating while nearby conventional buildings were badly damaged — proof that letting a structure move with the ground, rather than fight it, can keep it standing and in service when it matters most.