6-10 stories is kind of the worst height for earthquake resistance, since the fundamental frequency of the building (tends) to be 10/stories, and there's a lot of energy in the 1hz area for earthquakes. Shorter buildings tend to move along with the earthquake, and taller ones just sway. It's 10x worse if it's unreinforced masonry, but that's not been to code in California since forever. (But it's what happens in less developed locations)
(That's of course, if they're built to code and don't have things like a weak wall, like buildings with one open wall on the ground floor for parking. )
That's not to say that it can't be done, but 4 stories and below can be just plain old code compliant architecture, but once you get up into 10 stories, you're talking about structural engineering and all that goes with it.
(That's of course, if they're built to code and don't have things like a weak wall, like buildings with one open wall on the ground floor for parking. )
That's not to say that it can't be done, but 4 stories and below can be just plain old code compliant architecture, but once you get up into 10 stories, you're talking about structural engineering and all that goes with it.