Dual-phase vibration damping building coupling member with lock-up

A building structure including a plurality of elements extending from a ground surface with at least a first of said elements connected to a second of said elements by a coupling member, said coupling member comprising:

• a damping element for damping vibrations in said building structure;
• and
• a means for limiting the deformation of said damping element when said relative movement exceeds a maximum displacement at which damage occurs to said damping element;
• wherein said damping element comprises first and second sets of two or more plates each, wherein the plates in said first set and interdigitated with the plates in said second, and spaced from each other in a direction substantially either parallel or perpendicular to the ground surface, and a damping material disposed between each plate in said sets of plates, and said means for limiting deformation includes a plurality of slots in said damping material and a plurality of bolts holes in said plates with a bolt passing through each corresponding bolt holes and slots, whereby in normal operation the bolts move freely in said slots and when said relative movement excess the maximum displacement the bolts engage walls of the slots to prevent further deformation of said damping material during a damage incident.