Performance Based Design for Schools

The Performance Based Design for schools online PDH course is a part of the Building Design category of courses. The model building codes define the minimum design require­ments to ensure the safety of occupants during specific design events. Recent natural disasters have prompted recognition that significant damage can occur even when buildings are compliant with the building code.

Communities depend on school buildings to provide reliable shelter and critical services. In order to meet that need, school buildings should be designed and constructed according to criteria that result in continued and uninterrupted functionality. This course reviews the performance-based design approach for school projects.

The online PDH course is based on Chapter 2 of the FEMA Publication tilted “Design Guide for Improving School Safety in Earthquakes, Floods, and High Winds” (FEMA P-424).

This course is intended to be used by architects, civil and structural engineers, and others interested in learning about performance based design for improving school safety in earthquakes, floods and high winds.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Identify the difference between prescriptive and performance-based design
• Describe the performance-based design process
• Determine acceptable risk and performance levels for realistic event scenarios or probabilities
• Discuss considerations for achieving continuous operation performance level
• List performance levels and objectives for schools exposed to flood hazards and high-wind hazards
• Summarize performance levels for structural and non-structural systems