by Maria D. Bostenaru
Such buildings generally range from 10 to 17 storeys in height with the ground floor being used for commercial purposes, whilst the upper floors house residential units. The vertical load bearing structure consists of moment-resisting reinforced-concrete frames which also generally serve as the lateral load-resisting system. However, when larger spans are encountered, reinforced-concrete structural walls are included to provide a dual structural system. Masonry infills built from lightweight concrete masonry units provide architectural space delineation. The seismic performance of such buildings constructed prior to 1977 varies from no damage to complete collapse. To date damage has usually been attributable to conceptual and construction mistakes.
World Housing Encyclopedia
an EERI and IAEE project