Skyscraper Performance-Design Anxiety Is Turning Into Cautious Optimism
The risk, time and stress associated with obtaining approval for a performance-based skyscraper design in highly seismic California is diminishing, even compared to a year ago. The long-suffering protagonists for “extreme” seismic engineering of tall buildings are nearly jumping for joy. And it’s not only because performance-based highrises 240 ft and taller can cost less and take less time to build than those designed to prescriptive code provisions. It’s because the performance design approach, which relies heavily on peer review, can result in higher-quality highrises.
“The biggest impact of all this, from a 40,000-ft level, is significantly improved tall buildings in seismic zones,” says Ron Klemencic, president of structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), Seattle.