An overview of the PRESSS five-story precast test building

At the culmination of the PRESSS (Precast Seismic Structural Systems) research program, a 60 percent scale five-story precast/prestressed concrete building will be tested under simulated seismic loading. This paper describes the prototype buildings used for design and the structural features of the test building. The buildings were designed using the direct displacement based approach, which is able to take advantage of the unique properties of precast/prestressed concrete using dry jointed construction. The test building incorporates four different seismic frame systems in one direction, and a jointed shear wall system in the orthogonal direction. Pretopped double tees are used on three floors, while the other two floors are constructed using topped hollow-core slabs. A major objective of the test program is to develop design guidelines for precast/prestressed concrete seismic systems that are appropriate for use in various seismic zones. These design guidelines can then be incorporated into the appropriate building codes.