Evolution of UBC and IBC Static Lateral Force Procedure and Its Impact on Seismic Design of Buildings in Gaza Strip

This paper traces the evolution of US seismic codes, with particular emphasis on the two most widely used seismic codes internationally, which are the Uniform Building Code (UBC) and the International Building Code (IBC). Two reference structures; the first of which is a building frame system with shear walls, and the second is a moment resisting frame located in Gaza Strip. Two common Gaza Strip soil profiles are used for these two case studies. Base shear forces resulting from application of the different UBC and IBC editions are calculated and compared for the period spanning between the publication of the 1961 UBC edition and ending up with the publication of the 2009 IBC. At the end of this paper, conclusions regarding the findings of this research work are presented.