After more than two decades of intensive work, the CEB–FIP Model Code for Concrete Structures (MC 78) was published in 1978. The new design philosophy proposed by that excellent and scientifically rigorous document has, in the meantime, been at least partially adopted by several national codes. However, it was felt that practising engineers did not fully appreciate the potential of MC 78, probably because that document—intended principally for code commissions—may appear too scientific and detailed for everyday requirements.

This is the reason why the FIP Commission on Practical Design undertook, as its first task, to summarise the essential points of MC 78 in the present Recommendations on Practical Design, although several deviations were also introduced. To this end, the practical aspects of prestressing have been dealt with in more detail than is the case in MC 78.