Performance‐based seismic design of complicated tall building structures beyond the code specification

Performance‐based seismic design (PBSD) has been widely recognized as an ideal method for use in the future practice of seismic design. This paper summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the current seismic design code in China. Suggesting the tall building structures beyond the code specification (TBBC), applying PBSD method due to its many advantages of PBSD and aiming TBBC characteristics, a PBSD flowchart is presented and the proposed code is described. Structural seismic performance objectives, performance levels and the main method to implementation of PBSD have been presented. Site feasibility requirements, conceptual design scopes and basic rules have been proposed. Performance objective‐oriented procedures for preliminary design and seismic performance evaluation have been presented. Suggestions on seismic performance criteria and the evaluation of new TBBC have been made. In order to verify the feasibility of PBSD for application of TBBC, a typical case study has also been conducted. It is believed that PBSD methodology will bring a new era to engineering practices with increased confidence in, and reliability on, seismic performance and safety. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.