Standards · Design principles · Industry insights · Practical applications · Part 4’s Leap vs. Part 9’s Sticking Point

In this article we’ll be looking at seismic. Specifically, let’s chew on something that’s been a hot topic since the NBCC 2020 dropped: the growing gap in seismic design philosophies between Part 4 (Structural Design) and Part 9 (Housing and Small Buildings). If you’re juggling projects that dance on the edge of Part 9’s limits or work across different seismic zones in Canada, this is a conversation you need to be in on.

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Standards · Design principles · Industry insights · Practical applications · Canadian Codes, Challenges, and the Road Ahead

In our first three posts, we’ve journeyed through the “what and why” of Performance-Based Design (PBD), mapped out the typical PBD process and player lineup, and even gotten our hands dirty with the nitty-gritty of modeling, analysis, and verification. If you’ve been following along, you know PBD isn’t just a fancy buzzword; it’s a powerful approach to designing structures that meet specific, tangible performance goals.

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Design principles · Practical applications · Industry insights · Standards · Assembling Your Team & Nailing Down Performance Goals

Following An Introduction to Performance Based Design, this article focuses on how to actually run a PBD project in practice—who needs to be involved, what process they follow, and how performance objectives are defined.

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Design principles · Standards · Industry insights · An Introduction to Performance Based Design

On complex projects—tall buildings in Vancouver, essential facilities in higher seismic zones, or structures with unusual geometry—the prescriptive NBCC pathway can start to feel limiting. Performance-Based Design, or PBD, is the framework that lets us define how the building should behave and then design backwards from those objectives.

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Standards · Design principles · Mastering NBC 2020 Load Combinations

Navigating load combinations can sometimes feel like a complex dance. Get one step wrong, and the whole routine can fall apart. The National Building Code of Canada (NBC) 2020, specifically Article 4.1.3.2. and its associated tables, lays out the choreography for ensuring our structures are safe under various loading scenarios. Whether you’re getting to grips with principal and companion loads or double-checking a tricky overturning case, a solid understanding here is non-negotiable.

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Standards · Design principles · Nailing Importance Categories in NBC 2020

Questions about whether a community centre really needs that post-disaster designation, or how much wiggle room the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) actually has, come up on many projects. The National Building Code of Canada (NBC) 2020 brought some important clarifications and refinements to Importance Categories, and getting them right is crucial for both safety and project viability. It’s about more than picking a label from a table; you need to understand the intent and the real-world implications for your designs.

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