Numerical modelling of the soil in seismic design of structures is always a daunting task. The goal of this article is to develop a simplistic numerical modelling technique for shallow founded buildings on compliant soils. An existing large- scale experimental research (TRISEE) was used for calibration. The physical model comprised of a rigid square foundation placed on a sand bed connected to a rigid column and was subjected to a dynamic sine loading. The results from the TRISEE experiment are well known and commonly used by researchers in this field, yet none of the numerical studies were conducted considering the loose sand case. Nonlinear link elements and linear springs were used for representing the soil. It was determined that the soil behavior is highly influenced by the stiffness, selected hysteresis model, and the p-y curve. Considering the software limitations, numerical models represent the experimental behavior in a good manner. Based on the results obtained from the experiment, a case study on a steel frame building with SSI effects included was conducted. Considering the results from this research, the authors recommend implementation of SSI effects into the building’s design phase since they exhibit unfavorable impacts on the seismic behavior and can lead to underdesigned structural elements. However, it has to be emphasized that certain limitations exist due to simplified modelling approaches that were used for this research.