SUMMARY
Japanese design requirements and the state of practices in design of high-rise reinforced concrete
buildings are briefly introduced.
(1) Structural members should not be damaged under permanent gravity loading, which is examined by
comparing the member stress and the allowable stress of materials for the long term loading. In addition,
deformation and vibration of floor slabs and girders should be examined for serviceability.
(2) Structural members should not be damaged under snow, wind and earthquake events corresponding to
a return period of 50 years, which is examined by comparing the member stress and the allowable stress of
materials for the short term loading. The design spectrum of earthquake motions is specified at the
engineering bedrock, and the amplification of motion by surface geology should be evaluated before the
performance evaluation of the structure.
(3) The structure should not collapse under snow, wind and earthquake events corresponding to a return
period of 500 years. The action of structural members caused by snow and winds is much smaller than
that caused by level 2 earthquake ground motions. Nonlinear dynamic analysis of equivalent multi-massspring
models is carried out to estimate the maximum structural response under level-2 ground motions.
Member performance is examined by the nonlinear static analysis under monotonically increasing lateral
forces at a deformation stage much larger than the maximum story drift calculated for multi-mass-spring
model. External finishing, curtain walls and glass panes should be safe in level-2 wind and earthquake
events.