Seismic hazards in downtown anchorage, Alaska, and mitigation efforts for the State of Alaska Court Complex

This paper presents a broad perspective of the many issues that came to bear on the design of the State of Alaska Court Complex in downtown Anchorage. These include seismic hazard mapping, land use planning, political and socio-economic considerations, seismic risk analysis, geotechnical and structural engineering. Two of the authors (Aho and Cole) are members of the Anchorage Geotechnical Advisory Commission, both currently and at the time that the court project was reviewed. The other authors (Comartin and Shah) were consultants to the Court System for seismic risk analysis and engineering design.