Proceedings of the Invitational Workshop on Seismic Testing, Analysis and Design of Woodframe Testing

Woodframe construction represents one of society's largest investments in the built environment, and the common woodframe house is usually an individual's largest single asset. In California, 99% of all residences are of woodframe construction, and even considering occupancies other than residential, such as commercial and industrial uses, 96% of all buildings in Los Angeles County are built of wood. In other regions of the country, woodframe construction is still extremely prevalent, constituting, for example, 89% of all buildings in Memphis, Tennessee and 87% in Wichita, Kansas, with "the general range of the fraction of wood structures to total structures...between 80% and 90% in all regions of the US...." (4).

The project has five main Elements, which together with a management element are designed to make the engineering of woodframe buildings more scientific and their construction technology more efficient. The project's Elements and their managers are:
-Testing and Analysis: Prof. Frieder Seible, University of California, San Diego, Manager
-Field Investigations: Prof. G. G. Schierle, University of Southern California, Manager
-Building Codes and Standards: John Coil, Thornton-Tomasetti/Coil & Welsh, Manager
-Economic Aspects: Tom Tobin, Tobin Associates, Manager
-Education and Outreach: Jill Andrews, Southern California Earthquake Center, Manager