Base isolation this seismic design strategy involves separating the building from the foundation and acts to absorb shock as the ground moves the building moves at a slower pace because the isolators dissipate a large part of the shock the building must be designed to act as a unit or rigid box of appropriate height to avoid overturning and have flexible utility connections to accommodate movement at its base base isolation is easiest to incorporate in the design of new . The greater the mass of a building the greater the inertial force lightweight constructions have an advantage in seismic design while heavier buildings will generate greater forces which increases the possibility of column failure fundamental period earthquakes generate waves that can be long and slow or short and abrupt the period of the wave is the length of a full cycle in seconds the frequency is the number of cycles per second. Seismic design of buildings approved for public release distribution unlimited cancelled ufc 3 310 04 1 june 2013 change 1 20 june 2016 unified facilities criteria ufc seismic design of buildings any copyrighted material included in this ufc is identified at its point of use use of the copyrighted material apart from this ufc must have the permission of the copyright holder us . Design of buildings to resist earthquakes involves controlling the damage to acceptable levels at a reasonable cost contrary to the common thinking that any crack in the building after an earthquake means the building is unsafe for habitation engineers designing earthquake resistant buildings recognize that some damage is unavoidable different types of damage mainly visualized though cracks especially so in concrete and masonry buildings occur in buildings during earthquakes some of