The Built Environment Data Framework for Simulated Design and Vulnerability Modelling in Earthquake Engineering

ABSTRACT The seismic vulnerability modelling of different categories of buildings analytically requires methodologies capable of capturing the wide range of building standards, construction practices, architectural layouts, earthquake design scenarios and available knowledge. Current vulnerability models employ varying assessment approaches, building taxonomies, representations of seismic loading and, in some cases, rely on a limited number of archetype structural models to represent an entire building class. Consequently, these structural models are likely to oversimplify the seismic behaviour of an individual building, fail to adequately capture the reality of building‐to‐building variability and inadequately account for multiple sources of uncertainty, particularly when applied to regional contexts. Addressing these issues requires a probabilistic approach where seismic vulnerability is assessed using models of building portfolios that can reflect features related to engineering design practice, as well as construction variability and quality. To achieve this objective, this article introduces a collaborative framework for the simulated design of buildings, along with the open‐source software package developed for its integration into the Built Environment Data initiative, a planned service within the European Plate Observing System. The simulated design framework accommodates the design of buildings using both historical and modern seismic design procedures and regulations, while capturing building‐to‐building variability. Following the design process, the framework generates OpenSees computational models for nonlinear analysis, facilitating the development of probabilistic seismic demand models, fragility functions and vulnerability models. The framework's capabilities are demonstrated through examples that highlight notable distinctions among the building classes under consideration and emphasise the importance of the attributes involved in the design process. The collaborative nature of the framework presented here enables the earthquake engineering community to contribute to a growing database of seismic design practices, encompassing a wide range of design codes.