Within the FIP Commission on Prefabrication, there is a Working Party on Design Philosophy which has, during the past four years, dealt with precast multi-storey buildings and, to some extent, with precast bridges, as a follow-up to earlier work. This report deals with the results of, and the conclusions drawn from, a questionnaire on the technical characteristics of various specific precast buildings. A preliminary questionnaire was first circulated in Belgium and the Netherlands, and the results were presented in FIP Notes No. 88. This report presents the results of a second, similar questionnaire which was circulated internationally. By examining examples of precast multi-storey structures from various countries in this way, it has been possible to compare developments. Although tradition influences design in different ways all over the world, many common solutions and trends are noticeable.

The aim of this report is to guide builders, designers and architects towards the most appropriate and developable design systems and construction methods. The conclusions drawn and preliminary recommendations made here, however, may not be applicable in all countries.

Comments on and criticisms of this document are most welcome for the possible extension of this work into a Guide to Good Practice on the subject, and should be addressed to the Chairman of the Working Party, Mr J. N. J. A. Vambersky, Ingenieursbureau Ir E. I. A. Corsmit B.V., Frankenslaag 32, 2582 HS The Hague, Netherlands. Other members of the Working Party are I. J. Barthel (Netherlands), J. J. M. Font Freide (Netherlands), who acted as reporter, Dr G. Huyghe (Belgium), J. G. Kraus (Netherlands), H. W. Peters (Netherlands), and I. A. Struman (Netherlands), who acted as Secretary.