This open access book presents a methodology for the assessment of structural building details
taking into account the contemporary guidelines for earthquake-resistant and energy-efficient
buildings. A review of structural details for energy-efficient buildings revealed that in some
cases the structural system is interrupted leading to solutions which are not suitable for
earthquake-prone regions. Such typical examples would be the use of thermal insulation under
the building foundation and reduction of the load-bearing elements' dimensions - also at the
potential locations of plastic hinges which are crucial for the dissipation of seismic energy.
The proposed methodology of assessment favours a collaboration of architects engineers
contractors and investors in the early stage of building design. By this the methodology
enables efficient decision-making and contributes to a selection of optimal building structural
details. The book starts by presenting the typical structural details of the thermal envelope
of energy-efficient buildings together with the scientific background required for
understanding the process of detail development from all the relevant aspects. Over 20 examples
of most frequent details are described and analysed to raise awareness of the importance of
earthquake resistance sustainability energy-efficiency and thermal comfort for users.
