Live Load Effects in Office Buildings

Fractiles of office building live load effects deduced from a combination of recent statistical data and probabilistic models are compared with popular code recommendations for design loads and areal reduction factors. The effects of loaded area, shape of influence surface, and division into independently acting tenants are studied systematically. The conventional definition of tributary area is not the most satisfactory one available. Several alternative forms of code presentation of design loads are compared, including a naive but accurate probabilistic model.