The University of California is voluntarily updating its seismic performance ratings of buildings across the UC system by incorporating new technologies, scientific advances, and best engineering practices that have emerged in the past several years.

UC employs national standards of structural engineering practice, which are part of the California Building Code, to address seismic issues. These standards are updated every three years to incorporate scientific advances and engineering improvements.

As part of this coordinated, multi-year effort conducted under UC’s 2017 seismic safety policy, UCSF is conducting a comprehensive and multi-phased seismic evaluation of its 239 owned and leased buildings on campus and across the clinical enterprise that are part of this review.

UCSF will release the results of these updated ratings in phases as inspections are completed and validated. The results will be integrated into UC’s systemwide capital plans to help prioritize planning and capital resource needs.

UCSF, and the entire UC system, have continuously worked to make seismic upgrades to its buildings to ensure the safety and security of faculty, staff, students, patients, neighbors, visitors and the general public.

UCSF has contracted with an independent team of leading engineers specializing in seismic evaluation, research, design and construction since 2011. This team, called the UCSF Seismic Review Committee (SRC), is now engaged in the UC-wide effort to update the seismic performance ratings of 239 UCSF buildings.

The SRC meets monthly to peer review all ratings of UCSF buildings and evaluate prospective leases and acquisitions of buildings. The SRC peer reviews the structural design of all new buildings, as well as designs for seismic renovations to existing buildings.

The SRC also advises UCSF on ways to make compliant buildings safer and more resilient, and advises on how to establish priorities for seismic compliance. The SRC is chaired by Maryann Phipps, SE, president of Estructure, who has 30+ years of evaluating, designing and renovating buildings in California.

The Seismic Review Committee is evaluating each building through a multi-tiered approach, as defined by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) standards. Each building receives a basic screening in the first tier of evaluation. If more detailed investigation is required, the SRC will conduct more detailed analyses in second and third tier inspections and advanced computer modeling.

The SRC engineers rating UCSF buildings are using the strictest and latest seismic standards, developed in recent years by seismic and engineering experts. These standards, known as American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Standard 41-17, form the basis for the structural provisions of the California Existing Buildings Code.

The University, in collaboration with the California Department of General Services and California State University, has developed a system of seismic performance ratings based on the existing California buildings code. Buildings are assessed for earthquake resiliency and assigned a rating. The ratings levels are:

A total of 239 owned, leased or subleased buildings will be evaluated. For some buildings, simple retrofits could improve their seismic rating. In other cases, engineers may recommend more significant retrofits, or in some cases, vacating and retiring an entire building.

Yes. UCSF’s inpatient hospitals meet all current seismic standards as regulated by California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

In 1994, state Senate Bill 1953 (SB 1953) amended the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Seismic Safety Act to require California’s hospitals to evaluate and rate their acute care hospital buildings for seismic resistance. All hospital buildings must be retrofitted or rebuilt to meet that state seismic law by 2030.

UCSF opened three new hospitals at Mission Bay in 2015, each of which meets the highest seismic standards and the 2030 state code requirements.

On the Parnassus Heights campus, the two adjoining hospitals, known as Moffitt and Long, were designed and constructed to the codes that applied at the time of their construction or last renovation. To meet state requirements, Moffit Hospital will be discontinued for acute care service or seismically retrofitted by 2030.

UCSF is currently planning for a new hospital to open its doors in 2030 at Parnassus Heights to address seismic and capacity issues. UCSF will either discontinue using Moffitt for hospitalized patients or retrofit Moffitt Hospital to meet the 2030 code. Long Hospital meets the state 2030 code requirements. The new hospital on the Parnassus Heights campus is part of UCSF’s overall plan to revitalize the century-old campus to enhance outcomes for academic, research and clinical programs.

Yes. UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland has already been planning for seismic upgrades to be completed by the state law for inpatient facilities deadline of 2030. Planning is also underway to improve seismic resiliency of other buildings at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. UCSF's affiliation with BCH Oakland has helped provide financing necessary for these capital improvements, which are part of the BCH Master Facility Plan.

Yes.

No. UCSF plans to relocate all research activities and employees from the buildings it leases with the City and County of San Francisco into a new research and academic building under construction at Zuckerberg San Francisco General. relocation to the new building planned for the early 2023.

UCSF has a long history of working to ensure that its more than 200 owned and leased buildings meet the UC’s seismic standards.

UCSF has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to continuously improve the seismic safety and resiliency of its buildings over the past few decades. Among the seismic projects recently completed and currently underway at UCSF are:

• Clinical Sciences Building seismic upgrades, completed in early 2021;
• UC Hall, the original UC hospital, has been vacated as people and programs move to newer or compliant space, and will be replaced with a new building;
• Nine UCSF-leased research buildings at Zuckerberg San Francisco General have been identified for improvements, which factored into the decision to build a new research facility at ZSFG to be completed in 2022;
• The Hellman Building at Mount Zion is being retired, with most people and programs already relocated for an anticipated closure; and
• The Health Science Instruction and Research building, known as Health Sciences East and West towers, is being seismically enhanced to improve its resiliency. Construction is expected to start in late 2022.

The Seismic Review Committee will advise UCSF on how to address buildings that don’t meet the University’s seismic policy once our assessment is complete.

A building rated “V” may continue to be used if our team of seismic experts makes that determination. For such buildings, the team will advise how to manage seismic risks, including whether, to what degree, and when retrofits should be made. No UCSF buildings in the first seismic report were rated VI or VII.

UCSF prioritizes seismic remediation based on a building’s age, use, population, structural resiliency, geology and other factors that inform decisions on whether to repair, temporarily vacate, or retire buildings.

Once the seismic evaluation is complete, UCSF and UC system leaders will work with seismic, engineering and policy experts to prioritize funding for buildings that need to be addressed, based on their seismic assessment, occupancy and usage.

Because earthquakes are a fact of life in California, UCSF has a robust, ongoing seismic program that evaluates the appropriate steps that should be taken to ensure that all of its buildings meet current seismic standards. As codes and engineering solutions evolve, UCSF works to incorporate the latest approaches to help ensure the safety of the UCSF community of faculty, staff, learners, patients, neighbors and visitors. While it’s impossible to eliminate all seismic risk in any building, UCSF is working proactively to help ensure that our facilities meet current seismic standards.

The total cost of seismic remediation will be determined once the comprehensive review to update seismic performance ratings for its buildings is completed. Using that information, UCSF will prioritize the work to make any needed seismic updates.

UCSF will work with the UC Regents, state leaders and California voters so they understand the importance of improving the safety of campus buildings and to discuss strategies to finance the improvements needed.

UCSF released the first part of its seismic assessment, which included 48 buildings, on Sept. 20, 2019. Engineers completed their assessment of all UCSF-owned buildings in September 2021. The results have been shared with the public, UC Office of the President and the UCSF community, and posted online.

UC continuously updates its seismic program to meet current seismic standards. More information on UC’s seismic program can be found within the UC Seismic Policy.

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