Current seismic codes facilitate force-based design and safety assessment of buildings under the assumption that they remain indefinitely within the linear elastic range. However, to account for their inelastic deformation capacity, design seismic forces can be reduced using the seismic behavior factor (q). When plastic analysis is employed, dissipative members are intentionally designed to undergo plastic deformations, enabling energy dissipation. This design approach should consider the associated expected annual loss, which includes damage costs and expenses related to the replacement or retrofitting of dissipative members.

This paper presents a framework, formulated through closed-form equations, to quantify the cost required for a dissipative building, designed according to the capacity design approach, to achieve economic competitiveness compared to a low-dissipative counterpart that remains within the elastic range.

Parametric analyses are conducted to evaluate the impact of key factors on the target cost, including the seismic behavior factor, the replacement cost of dissipative members, the nominal life of the building, and the tolerable probability of failure for earthquake-resistant structures. The proposed methodology is then applied to a case study to demonstrate the robustness of the framework and support its integration into common practice.