In the course of the last decades many efforts have been focused on the design of effective
countermeasures to retrofit pre-existing engineered structures -including both buildings and
civil constructions- to properly resist the effects of primary and secondary seismic failure induced mechanisms. On the other hand, due to several reasons which will be here
summarized, non-engineered buildings (e.g.: unreinforced masonry structures, shack housing
in developing countries, adobe dwellings, etc.) have not been so widely studied. As these
structures are far from simple, they pose many interesting issues regarding earthquake
vulnerability and the challenging tasks of either retrofitting their design or performing soil and
foundation improvements in frequently difficult psycho-environmental settings. In this
presentation, some of the most outstanding features of non-engineered buildings will be
detailed. Also, a summary of some of the most effective approaches of hybrid structural and
soil improvements will be discussed with some guidelines for future studies.
