Ever since I entered this profession, structural engineers have been grappling with building codes and design standards. At that time, practicing engineers had many questions: Which codes apply to which jurisdictions? What has changed since the last edition of the code? How are the design standards developing and affecting the code? How does my structural design comply with the code? Though much has changed more than a decade later, the profession is still faced with many of these same questions.

In response, the staff of Structural Engineer has been striving to bring clarity to these questions with regularly featured, code-related articles and columns written by industry experts. Since the rate at which questions arise about the codes and standards has not diminished, our coverage of these topics has remained a top priority.

While editing the content for this month’s issue, I was struck by the depth and variety of code-related material in the features. For example, the ever-important article that discusses and explains the upcoming structural changes to the 2009 International Building Code (IBC) is followed by two features that describe how and why performance-based design (PBD) was used by the structural engineers on their projects.

International Code Council Principal Staff Engineer John R. Henry, P.E., contributed a two-part article revealing the upcoming structural changes to the 2009 IBC. Part 1 of this article covers IBC Chapters 16 and 17 and begins on page 24. Part 2 will be printed in the April issue of Structural Engineer and will include changes to Chapters 18-23. Combined, these two articles will inform you of the most important code changes that will directly affect your designs in the future, so be sure to read each one carefully.

Structural engineers must adapt to the changing demands of our industry. Even with all of the improvements that are adopted with each new code cycle, the need for design methodologies outside of that prescribed by the code is preferred, or sometimes required, for some projects.

Curious about projects that leverage alternate design methods, I invited the structural engineers at DCI Engineers in Bellevue, Wash., to describe their design process for using PBD on a recent project. The sheer size of this project, which includes four towers on a 10-level podium, is impressive enough, but the design process is also of keen interest; see "Performance-based design: A concrete shear core lateral system case study" beginning on page 26.

While discussing the interesting viewpoints of this issue’s features with Baldridge and Associates Structural Engineers’ President Steven Baldridge, P.E., S.E.—who co-authored the cover story—he offered, "The prescriptive nature of the code will always limit its potential to address changes in the needs of the building community. PBD not only provides a rational and safe approach to the design challenges of unique buildings but is also another catalyst in the advancement of the code. Through the efforts of PBD, adoption into the body of the code of worthy methods and systems will be accelerated." Read more about how Baldridge and his team used PBD to incorporate a composite link beam component into the Trump International Hotel & Tower at Waikiki Beach Walk on page 30.

As technology develops and improves, so can our structural designs to meet or exceed a given level of performance—whether it is code-prescribed or another. Versions of the improvements will likely be codified, and to that end, I don’t expect that we will ever have a "once and for all" version of any code or design standard. Therefore, our staff will continue to keep you informed of new structural design performance methodologies and provisions.

Similarly, in response to the demand for infrastructure improvement, Stagnito Media will be launching Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure—a print and electronic media platform that is focused on meeting the needs of civil and structural engineers who are rebuilding America’s aging bridge and highway infrastructure. Visit www.rebuildingamericasinfrastructure.com to learn more about this new exciting and informative multimedia resource.