The National Construction Code (NCC) specifies that all buildings and there components need to be assessed for seismic design requirements. The requirements however are determined by their ‘Level of Importance’ or LOI.
There are different building types ranging from 1 to 4 and the NCC defined LOI is different for each type. The LOI is the lowest for the buiding type 1 and highest for type 4. The LOI for a building is determined by its occupancy levels and the functionality of the building within the community and beyond it. The minimum seismic event to be taken into account is provided by the NCC and is founded on the LOI and the Australian Standard AS 1170.4.
Type 1 buildings are those that present low hazard to life in case of failure e.g. residential
Type 2 buildings are those that do not fall under the category of 1,3 and 4
Type 3 buildings that are meant to hold a great number of people.
Type 4 buildings are those that are designated recovery facilities post-disaster e.g. hospitals or are linked with unsafe facilities
Buildings Type 1 are considered safe and do not require specific seismic designs but Type 4 buildings which are facilities for patient recovery require greater seismic load to be incorporated into their design to make it failsafe.
For Type 2 buildings the seismic effect on walls and ceilings need to be taken into account. This is in addition to its occupancy load and the action and effect of wind. Rondo is the leading manufacturer and supplier of wall and ceiling systems that have been designed to withstand seismic load.
To know more about how Rondo can make your construction projects earthquake safe contact Fairview today via the contact form provided above or select one of the enquiry options below.
