Prepared by the Committee on Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures of the Codes and Standards Activities Division of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE

Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures, ASCE/SEI 7-16, provides the most up-to-date and coordinated loading standard for general structural design. ASCE 7-16 describes the means for determining design loads including dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, wind, and fire, as well as how to assess load combinations. The 2016 edition of ASCE 7, which supersedes ASCE/SEI 7-10, coordinates with the most recent material standards, including the ACI, AISC, AISI, AWC, and TMS standards. Significant changes in ASCE 7-16 include the following:

• new seismic maps reflecting the updated National Seismic Hazard Maps;
• new wind speed maps, including new Hawaii maps, that result in reduced wind speeds for much of the United States, clarified special wind study zones, and separate Risk Category IV from Category III;
• new snow load maps incorporating regional snow data for areas that previously required site-specific case study zones;
• updated rain duration provisions that align design requirements with International Plumbing Code provisions for drainage;
• entirely new chapter covering tsunami design provisions, which are important to Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington; and
• new appendix provisions for fire design.

Standard provisions are accompanied by a detailed commentary with explanatory and supplementary information developed to assist users of the standard, including design practitioners, building code committees, and regulatory authorities.

Standard ASCE/SEI 7 is an integral part of building codes in the United States and is adopted by reference into the International Building Code, the International Existing Building Code, the International Residential Code, and the NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code. Structural engineers, architects, and those engaged in preparing and administering local building codes will find the structural load requirements essential to their practice.