Seismic Performance of Irregular Buildings

Modern building planning is influenced by many factors and often, there is a trend to adopt a form that has irregular shape in plan and also has variation in height of storeys. Due to the varied use, a building is planned for; variations in the load acting on different floors may also differ. More irregularities can be present like non continuation of members in all the floors, or absence of members, and also having additional members in some of the storey levels. Such buildings will have maximum risk, when compared to conventional framed structures, when seismic forces come into play. This paper highlights the various aspects in the performance of buildings, and also suggests some remedies for the problems.