Five-Story Wood-Frame Structure Over Podium Slab

This design example illustrates the seismic and wind design of a hotel that includes five stories of wood-frame construction over a one-story concrete podium slab and is assigned to Seismic Design Category D. The gravity load framing system consists of wood-frame bearing walls for the upper stories and concrete bearing walls for the lower story. The lateral load-resisting system consists of wood-frame shear walls for the upper stories and concrete shear walls for the lower story. The wood roof is framed with pre-manufactured wood trusses. The floor is framed with prefabricated wood I-joists. The floors have a 1-1⁄2 inch lightweight concrete topping. The roofing is composition shingles.

When designing this type of mid-rise wood-frame structure, there are several unique design elements to consider. The steps shown in this example provide a detailed analysis of some of the important seismic requirements of the shear walls per the 2012 IBC and 2013 CBC. 

This example is not a complete building design. Many aspects have not been included, specifically the gravity load framing system, and only certain steps of the seismic and wind design related to portions of a selected shear wall have been illustrated. The steps that have been illustrated may be more detailed than what is necessary for an actual building design but are presented in this manner to help the design engineer understand the process.