Engineering Objectives for Performance-Based Wind Design

Performance-based design considering response to wind demands requires definition of hazard, quantification of the building response, and corresponding acceptance thresholds for various building component actions. Within seismic engineering, two initiatives conducted at about the same time: ATC-33 which led to development of the FEMA 273/274 (1997) rehabilitation guidelines and SEAOC Vision 2000 (1995), made major advances in the definition of the expected seismic performance of buildings designed to conform to the building code by establishing performance matrices covering a spectrum of seismic hazards and associated response for frequent through very rare seismic events. To date, similar evaluations of wind risk and wind response have been discussed in the literature but not concisely established. The purpose of this paper is to present the authors’ viewpoints of the overall performance-based wind design (PBWE) approach, including wind risk, engineering approaches, and appropriate structural response, in order to further inform policy makers, building owners, and the general public regarding building response to common through rare wind events.