The renovation and rehabilitation of existing constructions together with the preservation and restoration of the architectural heritage are, in fact, activities which deserve particular attention by people involved in both design and constructional process. This wide subject has been treated in the book by identifying the main aspects and analysing them from the general design criteria to the execution rules in order to completely cover the concerned field. This approach is, therefore, characterised by an unitary feature which is difficult to find in other books. In particular many practical examples collected from all over the world are analysed, compared and discussed in detail, focussing the main reasons of both the structural choice and the material selection. The authors of the 6 chapters, as out-standing experts in their specific fields, provide high level contributions particular based on their technical and professional experience.

The catastrophic earthquakes of the last decades (Mexico City, 1985; Loma Prieta, 1989; Northridge, 1994; Kobe, 1995) have seriously undermined the reputation of steel structures, which in the past represented the most suitable solution for seismic resistant structures - even if in very few cases the performance of steel joints and members was unexpectedly bad, showing that it was due to some lack in the current design concept. As a consequence of the lessons learned from the above dramatic events, much progress has been recently achieved in the conception, design and construction, by introducing the new deals of performance-based design, including the differentiation of earthquake types, and considering all factors influencing steel structure behaviour under strong ground movement.In this scenario, the aim of the book is to transfer the most recent achievements into practical rules for the safe design of seismic resistant steel structures. The seven chapters cover the basic principles and design criteria for seismic resistant steel structures, which are applied to the main structural typologies such as moment resistant frames, braced frames and composite structures, with particular reference to connections and details.

COST is an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology, allowing the coordination of nationally-funded research on a European level. Part of COST was COST Action C26 'Urban Habitat Constructions Under Catastrophic Events', which started in 2006 and held its final conference in Naples, Italy, on 16-18 September 2010. The participation of 23 European countries confi rmed the international interest of COST Action C26. The main objective of COST Action C26 was to increase the knowledge of the behaviour of constructions in urban habitat under catastrophic events (earthquakes, fi re, wind, impact, explosions etc.), in order to predict their response when both the applied loading and the inherent structural resistance are combined in such a way that the safety level reaches unacceptable values, leading in some cases to a premature collapse. The activity of COST C26 Action was developed by four Working Groups (WGs), each dealing with the main issues related to catastrophic events: WG 1 "Fire resistance"; WG 2 "Earthquake resistance"; WG3 "Impact and explosion resistance"; WG 4 "Risk assessment for catastrophic scenarios in urban areas". In addition, an "ad hoc" Working Group on "Lexicon" was created. The Final Report represents the results of the COST C26 Action, summarized in fi ve chapters: (I) Characterization of catastrophic actions on constructions; (II) Analysis of behaviour of constructions under catastrophic events; (III) Evaluation of vulnerability of constructions; (IV) Protecting, strengthening and repairing; (V) Strategy and guidelines for damage prevention, where each WG contributed to its specifi c subject. This Final Report of COST Action C26 Urban Habitat Constructions Under Catastrophic Events will be of interest to academics and engineers in civil and structural engineering, especially those involved in fire resistance, earthquake resistance,impact and explosion resistance, and resistance to Infrequent Loading Conditions.

COST is an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology, allowing the coordination of nationally-funded research on a European level. Part of COST was COST Action C26 Urban Habitat Constructions Under Catastrophic Events, which started in 2006 and held its final conference in Naples, Italy, on 16-18 September 2010. The main objective of COST Action C26 was to increase the knowledge of the behaviour of constructions in urban habitat under catastrophic events (earthquakes, fire, wind, impact, explosions etc.), in order to predict their response when both the applied loading and the inherent structural resistance are combined in such a way that the safety level reaches unacceptable values, leading in some cases to a premature collapse.

Urban Habitat Constructions Under Catastrophic Events collects 151 papers from internationally recognized outstanding experts from 46 countries that were presented at the final conference: 82 contributions from COST experts and 69 from external authors. They are subdivided into 5 sections, which exactly correspond to the 5 Chapters of the Final Report of the COST Action C26 activity:

(I) Characterization of catastrophic actions on constructions;

(II) Analysis of behaviour of constructions under catastrophic events;

(III) Evaluation of vulnerability of constructions;

(IV) Protecting, strengthening and repairing;

(V) Strategy and guidelines for damage prevention.

Urban Habitat Constructions Under Catastrophic Events will be of interest to academics and engineers in civil and structural engineering, especially those involved in fire resistance, earthquake resistance, impact and explosion resistance, and resistance to Infrequent Loading Conditions.