ABSTRACT
The performance of a building in response to seismic actions is influenced mainly by three parameters:
1. The seismic action 2. The level of damage that is acceptable to society in the case of a strong earthquake and
therefore is accepted by the legal framework in effect 3. The quality of the structural system of the building
The seismic action is a load case with the following characteristics, which differ drastically from all other loading types:
1. It is of high uncertainty in relation to the peak ground acceleration (PGA) xomax, but also to its frequency content. This uncertainty is magnified by the fact that the existing strong motion records (accelerograms) cover only the period of the last 70 years.
