A Preliminary study on the seismic conceptual design

The seismic conceptual design is an essential part of seismic design codes. It points out that the term "seismic conceptual design" should imply three aspects, i.e., the given concept itself, the specific provisions related to the given concept and the designing following the provisions. Seismic conceptual design can be classified into two categories: the strict or traditional seismic conceptual design and the generalized seismic conceptual design. The authors are trying to define for both conceptual designs their connotations and study their characteristics, in particular, the differences between them. Authors emphasize that both conceptual designs sound very close, however, their differences are apparent. The strict conceptual designs are usually worked out directly from engineering practice and/or lessons learnt from earthquake damage, while the generalized conceptual designs are resulted in a series of visions aiming to realize the general objectives of the seismic codes. The strict conceptual designs, (traditional conceptual designs) are indispensable elements of seismic codes in assuring designed structures safer and the generalized conceptual designs are playing key roles in directing to a more advanced and effective seismic codes.