Seismic design concepts
A degree of seismic resilience can be achieved by applying a sound understanding of structural engineering and construction principles to the structural elements and system that make up the building. There are several fundamental concepts that the designer can draw on to achieve this goal.
Designing a building is a complex and specialist undertaking that is well beyond the scope of this guidance, but a few of the basic concepts are briefly introduced here. In each case, the nuances, complexities and engineering understanding that make these systems feasible in practice has been simplified. In any real-world situation, it is important to seek proper advice from a professional structural engineer before any work is undertaken.
Real buildings usually integrate several different techniques at the same time to limit seismic forces, and a typical medium or high-rise reinforced concrete structure, for example, may use several of these concepts at the same time.
In this section: