Structural Design of a Villa

Structural design of a villa featuring (Ground Floor + First Floor + Annex) with an area of 520 m², located in Al-Khobar , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The project was fully modeled and analyzed using ETABS for the superstructure and SAFE for the foundation and slab systems.

The structural system was designed considering the presence of Transfer Columns, with load-transfer behavior modeled using Auto-Sequence Analysis in ETABS to ensure realistic performance during construction.

Wind and seismic loads and performing all required safety and serviceability checks were fully verified in accordance with Saudi Building Code standards.

? Architectural Plans:

The many architectural differences between the plans, so the structural system required planted columns.

? Structural System:

Hollow-block slabs, Solid slabs, and Flat slab, with Isolated Footings.

? Key tasks completed:

✅ Full 3D modeling of vertical and horizontal elements

✅ Design of Columns and Beams on ETABS

✅ Applying static and dynamic seismic loads (response spectrum)

✅ Assigning correct modifiers for stiffness adjustments of all structural elements

✅ Performing crack checks for slab to ensure serviceability compliance Lateral drift, stability, punching, shear & flexure checks

✅ Foundation design, soil pressure verification, and slab checks on SAFE

✅Preparation of design reports and structural drawings

? Design Codes Used:

Saudi Building Code standards:

✅ SBC 301-2024 - Loads and Forces

✅ SBC 303-2024 - Soils and Foundations

✅ SBC 304-2024 - Concrete Structures