ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the seismic retrofitting works of the historical adobe church of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Laboratory material testing, finite element modelling, natural frequencies and modal shapes identification allowed to identify and to analyse critical areas, and to better understand the dynamic behaviour and the needed reinforcements to control displacements in the walls, the main structure elements. The temple, a mid-18th-century historical monument, is a remarkable construction, a result of the ecology, seismicity and materiality of the desert. The style is defined by Pereira & Moreno as Andean baroque. The church has a Latin-cross plan, with 43 m by 7 m central nave, braced by a transept and two side chapels. The reinforcement includes the walls of the main nave, new and existing buttresses, bell tower and side chapels. The basis of this method is to confine the adobe walls by tensioning ropes and improve their behavior in case of any seismic loads.
