Advanced seismic design of a steel fitness centre including a dissipative bracing system

A dissipative bracing technology incorporating pressurized fluid viscous spring-dampers is adopted as anti-seismic design strategy of a fitness centre steel building. This represents the first simulated application of the considered protection system, originally conceived and set up for use in multi-story frame structures, to a slender and lightweight building. The characteristics of the spring-dampers and the protective system are recalled, and the performance-based structural design of the building is described. The resulting dimensions of members, as well as the total weights and costs of the steel structure are compared with the ones of a conventional X-shaped bracing solution, complimentarily designed to provide the same performance. A 50% net reduction of costs and an improved aesthetics of the structure, due to the remarkably greater slenderness of the constituting members, come out for the dissipative bracing-based design.