New Guide Helps Engineers Design Safer Skyscrapers

Designing skyscrapers to withstand earthquakes is getting easier thanks to a team of researchers and practitioners organized by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) at UC Berkeley. A new guide developed by PEER's Tall Building Initiative, led by UC Berkeley structural engineering professor Jack Moehle, has standardized the design and review process for evaluating the seismic safety of buildings over 140 feet tall.

The PEER Center is pleased to announce the release of the “Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings” that was developed by PEER’s Tall Buildings Initiative.

The Guidelines present a recommended alternative to the prescriptive procedures for seismic design of buildings contained in standards such as ASCE 7 and the International Building Code (IBC). They are intended primarily for use by structural engineers and building officials engaged in the seismic design and review of individual tall buildings.

Properly executed, the Guidelines are intended to result in buildings that are capable of achieving the seismic performance objectives for Occupancy Category II buildings intended by ASCE 7. Alternatively, individual users may adapt and modify these Guidelines to serve as the basis for designs intended to achieve higher seismic performance objectives.

The Guidelines were developed considering the seismic response characteristics of tall buildings, including relatively long fundamental vibration period, significant mass participation and lateral response in higher modes of vibration, and a relatively slender profile. Although the underlying principles are generally applicable, the Guidelines were developed considering seismic hazard typical in the Western United States.