The lack of emphasis (about 10 % of the course) in connection design within a course is by no means a reflection of the significance of connections to the integrity of a structure. Instead, it is due to the time constraint in a semester and the common belief in the past that connections are standardized details that should be left to the fabricators. However, the connections are the glue that holds a structure together. Historically, connection failures have contributed to many structural failures, for example, the Hartford Civic Center in 1977 [1], the Hyatt Regency Hotel in.
