CONSTRCUTION COST ANALYSIS FOR EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT DESIGN
OF LOW-RISE BUILDINGS

According to the Ministerial Regulation B. E. 2564, the
earthquake-affected areas are designated as three categories
depending on severity of the earthquake load. The Area No. 3
according to the Ministerial Regulations B. E. 2564 identifies
buildings with heights from 10 meters or 3 stories or above as
well as housing estates. These are buildings with high volume of construction nowadays. The design of buildings in
accordance with such requirements to resist earthquakes leads
to an increase in construction costs. Thus, in this paper, the
low-rise buildings designed to resist the earthquake load are
studied for an increase in construction costs. The reinforced
concrete buildings with 2-3 stories constructed in Muang,
Chiangmai (Area No. 3 according to the Ministerial Regulation
B.E. 2564) that possesses a ground response acceleration at 0.2
sec. equal to 1.080g are investigated. This study analyzes the
buildings by using two approaches, i.e. the equivalent static
method and linear dynamics ( modal response spectrum
analysis) according to DPT Standard 1301/ 1302-61. From the
analysis result, the construction costs from structural design by
using the equivalent static method and modified response
spectrum analysis increase about 8-10 percent comparing with
the buildings that are not designed and not ductile to
withstand the earthquake load according to DPT Standard
1301/1302-61.