In the present paper, an analysis is performed on the movements undergone by some residential buildings in 1983, during their construction. A common feature of these buildings is an asymmetric superstructure that makes the vertical loads acting on the foundations highly eccentric. A sloping ground surface and a complex subsoil condition, characterised by the presence of strongly inclined layers of compressible soils, were other predisposing factors for the observed movements. The buildings underwent a significant rigid rotation (tilt) to the extent that their serviceability was compromised because of the resulting floor inclination. As a consequence, construction was suspended and a subsurface investigation consisting of boreholes, cone penetration tests and conventional laboratory tests was performed. In addition, the vertical displacement of some representative points of the building foundations was measured during a period of about 1 year. A finite-element analysis of the building displacements is carried out in the present study to highlight the different roles played by load eccentricity, soil layering and a sloping ground surface in causing the observed building movements. To restore the serviceability of the buildings, their foundations were underpinned with micropiles, some of which were pre-stressed. The effectiveness of this measure is also analysed.
Troncone et al. (2026) studied this question.