Seismic Responsive Buildings: Comparison between Egyptian Code 2012 with different international codes for seismic structural irregularities at architectural design

Seismic codes are laws and regulations that establish the basic requirements for building structures that can withstand seismic activity. Each country has different restrictions under different subheadings, depending on the seismic history of the region and the economic situation of the country. "Structural irregularity" is the most significant aspect of earthquake codes contributing to architectural design. A regular design of a structure leads to more rational behavior during earthquakes, enhancing resistance to dynamic loads and economic performance in comparison to irregular buildings. Architects must understand how earthquakes impact structures, as the structural system shapes the building's form and aesthetics, and dictates the distribution and magnitude of seismic forces. The paper compares the principles of the Egyptian seismic design code with legal limit values for defining structural irregularities in six seismic codes from countries on active fault lines with different seismic histories. The comparisons are presented in tables. Additionally, the paper examines the visual representation techniques used to define structural irregularities in these regulations, highlighting their importance for architects' understanding of the regulations. The main aims of this study to create a guides and limitations of structure irregularities definitions at Egyptian code in both horizontal and vertical directions, in an attempt to incorporate some of these structure irregularities in the Egyptian code and clarify them with descriptive drawings to serve as a guide for architects in designing earthquakeresistant buildings.