This book systematically introduces readers to the fundamental theories and techniques in the inspection and appraisal of existing building structures, providing the theoretical and technical foundation for a rational and scientific performance assessment of an existing building structure. By integrating the inspection and appraisal processes and conducting research on relevant basic theories and practical methods tailored to the characteristics of existing structures, it seeks to enable a more scientific evaluation of the structural performance and load-bearing capacity of an existing building structure.

Xiang-Lin Gu is a Distinguished Professor at Tongji University. He received his PhD in Structural Engineering from Tongji University in December 1996. From 1998 to 1999, he served as a visiting scholar at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. His main research interests focus on the performance evolution and control of engineering structures. He has published over 200 SCI-indexed journal papers, more than 200 EI-indexed papers, and received nine provincial-level scientific research achievement awards, four national-level teaching achievement awards.

Wei-Ping Zhang is a tenured Professor at Tongji University. He obtained his PhD in Structural Engineering from Tongji University in July 2000. From September 2006 to September 2008, he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA. His main research interests are in the performance evolution and control of engineering structures. He has published over 80 SCI-indexed journal papers and received four provincial-level scientific research achievement awards and two national-level teaching achievement awards.

Hao-Ran Zuo is a tenured Associate Professor at Tongji University, appointed in 2025. Before this, he held the prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship at Curtin University. He received his PhD in Civil Engineering from Curtin University in 2019 and worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 2020 to 2022. His research centers on dynamic response analysis and vibration control of offshore wind turbines. He has published over 35 SCI-indexed journal papers.