Seismic design of buildings: Where to next?

This paper critically reviews the current building seismic design approach based on the observed performance of modern building stock in recent earthquakes, highlights the inability of the current design approach in controlling seismic damage and losses, and proposes a conceptual framework for next generation seismic design codes that is likely to meet public expectations. In addition to ensuring life-safety in rare earthquakes, the proposed loss-optimization seismic design approach also aims to ensure quick functional recovery and minimum loss (i.e. repair, downtime, and injury/fatality) in moderate-strong earthquakes by limiting damage to building’s structural and non-structural components. Based on comparison of performances of building stock in some recent major earthquakes in different countries, the paper presents some simple strategies to render buildings more resilient and suffer significantly less seismic damage (and consequentially incur less loss). Finally, the paper scrutinizes the efficacy of some commonly used low-damage technologies in minimizing building seismic losses.