LOW-RISE BUILDING WIND LOAD PROVISIONS - WHERE ARE WE AND WHERE DO WENEED TO GO

The National Standard ASCE 7 was revised and published in January 1996 following many years of study by the Wind Loads Subcommittee of ASCE 7. Contained for the first time are a complete set of provisions for a ssessing wind loads for the design of low-rise buildings. The provisio ns are based, for the most part, on the research conducted at the Univ ersity of Western Ontario during the late 1970s (funded, in part by MB MA), the following extensive research reported from Concordia Universi ty, and the very recent activity at the University of Western Ontario supported by the timber industry (as yet not subject to proper peer re view). The new low-rise provisions reflect rather substantial reductio ns in loading requirements for some design applications. The object of this communication is to briefly review the changes incorporated in A SCE 7-95 for Buildings of All Heights, Other Structures and Low-rise B uildings and compare the new wind load provisions with those contained in other codes and standards currently in use. The troublesome items that may impede acceptance of the new Standard and should be addressed in the future are cited.