The behavior of shear-wall dominant, low-rise, multistory reinforced concrete building structures is investigated. Because there are no beams or columns and the slab and wall thicknesses are approximately equal, available codes give little information relative to design for gravity and lateral loads. Items which effect the analysis of shear-wall dominant building structures, i.e., material nonlinearity including rotating crack capability, 3-D behavior, slab-wall interaction, floor flexibilities, stress concentrations around openings, the location and the amount of main discrete reinforcement are investigated. For this purpose 2 and 5 story building structures are modelled. To see the importance of 3-D modelling, the same structures are modelled by both 2-D and 3-D models. Loads are applied first the vertical then lateral loads which are static equivalent earthquake loads. The 3-D models of the structures are loaded in both in the longitudinal and transverse directions. A nonlinear isoparametric plate element with arbitrarily places edge nodes is adapted in order to consider the amount and location of the main reinforcement. Finally the importance of 3-D effects including the T-C coupling between walls are indicated.