This paper presents a novel controller design strategy, which allows computing static output-feedback controllers by
solving two successive linear matrix inequality (LMI) optimization problems. This strategy is conceptually simple, easy
to implement, computationally efficient, and it can be potentially applied to a wide variety of control problems, in which
effective state-feedback controllers can be synthesized by using standard LMI optimization tools. To illustrate the application
of the new approach in the field of structural vibration control of large structures, a static velocity-feedback H1 controller
for the seismic protection of a five-story building is designed with excellent results.