AHŞAP MALZEME VE YAPI TASARIMI, , Editör, Duvar Kitabevi, Ankara, ss.137-153, 2024
SUMMARY In human history, timber has always been a major construction material, either by itself or most commonly combined with stone, adobe, and brick-based masonry construction. The discovery of Portland cement and reinforced concrete dominated the 20th century in many countries for buildings, while steel became the preferred material for industrial structures. Nevertheless, timber remains an important sustainable building material due to its lightweight nature and strength, which, when normalized by weight, rivals that of steel. The strong yet lightweight properties of timber are particularly advantageous for earthquake resistance, a critical factor for seismically active countries. The recent Turkish Timber Building Regulation (TABY) provides up-to-date guidelines; however, understanding how timber structures behave during earthquakes and identifying their key structural properties remain a challenge for many civil engineers unfamiliar with timber design. Basic resistance criteria—such as proper connection design, rigid diaphragm action of slabs, symmetrically placed load-carrying members, serviceability-vibration control, hybrid construction techniques, and adherence to earthquake regulations (TBDY)—are crucial aspects that both architects and structural engineers must master. This chapter aims to provide a general overview of the basic principles of timber buildings and their earthquake-resistant properties including essential design concepts and seismic behavior of timber buildings.