Tall Buildings Initiative

Tall Buildings Initiative

PEER Report No. 2017/06 titled: “Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings,” Version 2.03.

PEER has just published Report No. 2017/06 titled: “Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings,” Version 2.03, prepared by a TBI Working Group led by co-chairs Ron Hamburger and Jack Moehle: Jack Baker, Jonathan Bray, C.B. Crouse, Greg Deierlein, John Hooper, Marshall Lew, Joe Maffei, Stephen Mahin, James Malley, Farzad Naeim, Jonathan Stewart, John Wallace.

In the time since the publication of the 2010 Guidelines, the profession has gained substantial experience in application of performance-based techniques to design buildings around the world, and, in particular, the western United States.

This second edition addresses lessons learned in application of the first edition on many projects and the conditions, knowledge, and state-of-practice that presently exist.

The turn of the last century saw a surge in the construction of high-rise buildings. The surge created a demand for performance-based approaches to enable construction using new framing systems rising to heights outside the range of building code prescriptive provisions. The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) responded to this need by leading an initiative to develop design criteria that will ensure safe and usable tall buildings following future earthquakes. Download the primary product of this initiative: Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings.

Collectively known as the Tall Buildings Initiative, this project involves the Applied Technology Council, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council, California Seismic Safety Commission, San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, Southern California Earthquake Center, Structural Engineers Association of California, U.S. Geological Survey, PEER, and several practicing professionals.