The Guide is an ideal complement to the Australian Earthquake Loading Standard AS 1170.4 and the Commentary published by the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society. The Guide strongly encourages designers to think about how their structure will collapse under extreme lateral loading and whether the collapse mechanism would lead to progressive collapse. Earthquake ground shaking causes buildings to displace laterally, and buildings only collapse when the gravity load-carrying elements can no longer sustain the drift imposed. The drift performance of buildings is improved through better conceptual design and detailing and also importantly in limiting the axial stress levels on the gravity load carrying elements. Designers can design for earthquake loading and demonstrate earthquake compliance using either the traditional force–based approach or a more contemporary displacement–based approach with an emphasis on drifts.
The Guide has been written by very experienced and eminent practising engineers with a very practical focus, and I highly commend the publication to you and wish you well in your future designs.

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Damas