SimDesign Library

SimDesign is an open-source Python framework which enables the simulated design of buildings following historical and modern seismic design procedures in Europe. The source code is maintained in a GitHub repository under the Built Environment Data (BED) initiative, allowing the earthquake engineering community to contribute to a growing database of seismic design practices encompassing a wide range of design codes in European countries.

Workflow

The framework generates a Building Class Information Model (BCIM) database for a given building taxonomy, described through attributes such as lateral load coefficient and design class, to represent multiple possible building realisations and explicitly capture building-to-building variability within a portfolio of buildings.

Each realisation is processed through an iterative simulated design and quality-based modification procedures, with the resulting design details stored in the Building Design Information Model (BDIM) database. Following the design stage, the framework generates Building Nonlinear Structural Models (BNSM) that can be readily used for structural analysis in OpenSees.

These outputs ultimately support the development of probabilistic seismic demand models, fragility functions, and vulnerability models for large-scale seismic risk assessment studies, such as the European Seismic Risk Model (ESRM20).

_images/Workflow.svg

General overview of the SimDesign frramework

License

This work is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License Version 3. To view a copy of the license, visit:

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.html

References

If you make use of the SimDesign framework in academic or professional work, please cite following publications:

  • Ozsarac, V., Pereira, N., Mohamed, H., Romão, X. and O’Reilly, G.J. (2025). The Built Environment Data Framework for Simulated Design and Vulnerability Modelling in Earthquake Engineering. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 54, 2651–2670. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.4378

  • Hasanoğlu, S., Ozsarac, V., and O’Reilly, G.J. (2025). A model for the simulated design of Turkish RC frame buildings in seismic vulnerability analysis. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 23, 6829–6856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-025-02301-y

Contributions

Contributions are welcome! If you would like to contribute to this project, please follow the steps below:

  1. Fork the repository.

  2. Create a new branch:

    git checkout -b feature-branch

  3. Make your changes.

  4. Update or add tests (e.g. test_rcmrf.py) for new features.

  5. Run the test suite and ensure all tests pass:

    pytest tests

  6. Commit your changes:

    git commit -m "Add new feature"

  7. Push the branch to your fork:

    git push origin feature-branch

  8. Open a pull request on GitHub.

Contents