buildingsoften

Buildingsoften is a term that appears in select industry and academic contexts as a putative family of approaches intended to increase the ductility and energy absorption of building systems. It is not a standardized term in major codes or professional guidelines, and there is no single, universally accepted definition.

Etymology and usage vary. The word is a portmanteau of "building" and "soften," used informally to describe efforts to reduce brittleness in materials or assemblies, or to allow controlled deformation during events such as earthquakes. In materials science, buildingsoften may refer to methods that lower stiffness or modify microstructure to improve toughness, such as polymer modifiers, fiber reinforcements, or advanced composites. In structural design, it can describe philosophies or details that enable energy dissipation through flexibility, damping devices, or flexible connections rather than abrupt, brittle failure.

Applications and interpretation are diverse and not standardized. Any practical use of buildingsoften concepts would still have to satisfy safety and performance criteria set by local building codes and design standards. This typically involves material testing for strength and ductility, dynamic testing or simulations, and performance-based design assessments. The term is mostly found in marketing language or exploratory research rather than in regulator-approved practices.

In summary, buildingsoften is a provisional term reflecting a range of ideas aimed at enhancing resilience through increased ductility and controlled deformation, but it lacks a single, formal definition within the construction industry.