Advances in Structural Systems for Tall Buildings: Emerging Developments for Contemporary Urban Giants
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Premium for Height and Other Considerations
3. Hierarchy of Structural Systems
3.1. Narrative of Interior Structures
3.2. Narrative of Exterior Structures
4. Extreme Engineering of Structural Systems
4.1. Resurgence of Tubular Structures
4.2. Adaptability of Core-Outrigger Structures
4.3. Uniform-Angle vs. Varying-Angle Diagrids
4.4. Superframes Reaching for the Sky
4.5. Combined and Mixed Structural Systems
5. Current Trends of Composite Structures and Concrete Cores
5.1. Popularity of Composite Structures
5.2. Recent Developments in Concrete Core Design
5.3. Composite Core-Wall System
6. Height Races: Toward Mile-High Towers and Beyond
7. Summary and Conclusions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Category | Sub- Category | Material/ Configuration | Efficient Height Limit | Advantages | Disadvantages | Building Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rigid Frame | _ | Steel | 30 | Provides flexibility in floor planning. Fast construction. | Expensive moment connections. Expensive fire proofing. | 860 & 880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments (1951, Chicago, 26 stories, 82 m), BMA Tower (1961, Kansas City, 19 stories, 85 m), One Woodward Avenue (1963, Detroit, 28 stories, 131 m), Tokyo Marine Building (1990, Osaka, 27 stories, 118 m) |
Concrete | 20 | Provides flexibility in floor planning. Easily moldable. | Expensive formwork. Slow construction. | Ingalls Building (1903, Cincinnati, 16 stories, 65 m); Numerous buildings under 20 stories. | ||
Braced Hinged Frame | _ | Steel Shear Trusses + Steel Hinged Frames | 20 | Efficiently resist lateral loads by axial forces in the shear truss members. Allows shallower beams compared with the rigid frames without diagonals. | Interior planning limitations due to diagonals in the shear trusses. Expensive diagonal connections. | Numerous buildings under 20 stories. |
Shear Wall- Hinged Frame | _ | Concrete Shear Wall + Steel Hinged Frames | 40 | Effectively resists lateral shear by concrete shear walls. | Interior planning limitations due to shear walls. | 77 West Wacker Drive (1992, Chicago, 49 stories, 204 m), Casselden Place (1992, Melbourne, 43 stories, 166 m) |
Staggered Truss | _ | Steel | 40 | Efficiently resists lateral loads typically with column-free ground floor. Fast construction. Low floor-to-floor height reducing the total height of the building and hence reducing unit cost of steel. | Significant interior planning limitation caused by story-height trusses. Weak in the long direction. | Taj Mahal Hotel (1990, Atlantic City, 42 stories, 131 m), Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (2000, Las Vegas, 39 stories, 119 m), The Godfrey (2014, Chicago, 16 stories, 56 m) |
Shear Wall (Shear Truss)- Frame Interaction | Braced Rigid Frame | Steel Shear Trusses + Steel Rigid Frames | 50 | Effectively resists lateral loads by producing shear truss - frame interaction system. | Interior planning limitations due to shear trusses | Sanwa Bank (1973, Tokyo, 25 stories, 100 m), Osaka World Trade Center (1995, Osaka, 55 stories, 256 m) |
Shear Wall/ Rigid Frame | Concrete (or Composite) Shear Wall/Core + Steel Rigid Frames | 70 | Effectively resists lateral loads by producing shear wall-frame interaction system. | Interior planning limitations due to shear walls | First City Tower (1984, Houston, 47 stories, 202 m) | |
Concrete Shear Wall/Core + Concrete Frames | 70 | “ | “ | Cook County Administration Building (1964, Chicago, 38 stories, 145 m), 311 South Wacker Drive (1990, Chicago, 65 stories, 293 m) | ||
Core- Outrigger | w/Belt Trusses or Belt Wall (w/ Occasional Virtual Outriggers) | Concrete or Steel or Composite; Core + Outriggers (or Virtual Outrigger) + Belt Trusses or Belt Walls + Perimeter Columns | 80 | Effectively resists overturning moments by perimeter columns connected to the core with outriggers through belt trusses or belt walls. Could be modified to virtual outrigger system by eliminating outriggers and stiffening floors instead to prevent the outrigger- interfered floors. | Outriggers are obstructive inside the floor interfering with occupiable or rentable space thereby usually limiting their placement in mechanical and/or refuge floors. | 140 William Street, formerly known as BHP House (1972, Melbourne, 41 stories, 153 m), U.S. Bank Center, formerly known as First Wisconsin Center (1973, Milwaukee, 42 stories, 183 m), Tower Palace Three (Virtual outrigger system, 1994, Seoul, 73 stories, 264 m) |
w/Mega- columns (w/ or w/o Belt Trusses or Belt Walls) | Concrete or Steel or Composite; Core + Outrigger + (Belt Trusses or Belt Wall) + Perimeter Megacolumns | 150 | Effectively resists overturning moments by perimeter megacolumns connected to the core with outriggers. Offers the architect more flexibility to articulate the unobstructive façade compared to tube type structures of similar height range. | “ | Jin Mao Tower (1999, Shanghai, 88 stories, 421 m), Taipei 101 (2004, Taipei, 101 stories, 508 m), Shanghai Tower (2015, Shanghai, 128 stories, 632 m), Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre (2016, Guangzhou, 111 stories, 530 m), Lotte World Tower (2017, Seoul, 123 stories, 555 m) | |
Buttressed Core | _ | Concrete Core + Shear Walls Extending from and Bolstering the Core (+Fin Walls and/or Outriggers to further Stiffen the System) | 200 | Effectively resist lateral loads. Resolves the potential problem of too deep interior spaces for extremely tall buildings with large structural depths required against lateral loads. | Substantial limitations in space use due to the difficulty in creating large open space. | Burj Khalifa (2010, Dubai, 163 stories, 828 m), Wuhan Greenland Center, under construction (Wuhan, 126 stories, 636 m), Jeddah Tower, under construction (Jeddah, 167 stories, 1000+ m) |
Category | Sub- Category | Material/ Configuration | Efficient Height Limit | Advantages | Disadvantages | Building Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Framed Tube | _ | Steel | 80 | Efficiently resists lateral loads by locating lateral load resisting systems at the building perimeter. Creates least interference with interior space planning. | Shear lag hinders efficient tubular behavior. Narrow column spacing obstructs the view. | One & Two World Trade Centers, demolished (1972 & 1973, New York, 110 stories, 417 m & 415 m, respectively), Aon Center (1973, Chicago, 83 stories, 346 m) |
Concrete | 70 | “ | “ | The Plaza on Dewitt, formerly known as Dewitt-Chestnut Apartments (1966, Chicago, 43 stories, 116 m), Water Tower Place (1976, Chicago, 74 stories, 262 m) | ||
Braced Tube | w/Interior Columns | Steel | 110 | Efficiently resists lateral loads by axial forces in the braced tube members. Wider column spacing compared with framed tubes. Reduced shear lag. | Bracings obstruct the view. | 875 North Michigan Ave, formerly known as John Hancock Center (1969, Chicago, 100 stories, 344 m), First International Building (1974, Dallas, 56 stories, 216 m) |
Concrete | 100 | “ | “ | 780 Third Avenue (1983, New York, 49 stories, 174 m), Onterie Center (1986, Chicago, 58 stories, 174 m) | ||
w/o Interior Columns | Steel or Composite | 150 | Can be taller than conventional braced tubes with interior columns due to reduced uplift forces. | Requires very long span floor structures which must span the entire building width. | No built example yet. | |
Braced Megatube | Composite | 170 | More efficiently resist overturning moment by corner megacolumns than conventional braced tubes. Perimeter gravity columns between the corner megacolumns can easily be designed with progressive collapse- preventing mechanism. | Bracings obstruct the view. | Goldin Finance 117, under construction (Tianjin, 128 stories, 597 m), Citic Tower, formerly known as China Zun Tower, under construction (Beijing, 108 stories, 528 m), Erewhon Center, unbuilt (Chicago, 207 stories, 841 m) | |
Bundled Tube | _ | Steel | 110 | Reduces shear lag compared to framed tubes. | May cause overall interior planning limitations due to intermediate interior column lines. | Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower (1974, Chicago, 108 stories, 442 m) |
Concrete | 110 | “ | “ | One Magnificent Mile (1983, Chicago, 57 stories, 205 m), Carnegie Hall Tower (1991, New York, 60 stories, 231 m) | ||
Diagrid | Uniform- Angle Diagrid | Steel | 100 | Efficiently resists lateral loads by axial forces in the diagrid members. | Complicated joints. Many diagonals could be obstructive. | 30 St. Mary Axe (2004, London, 41 stories, 180 m), Hearst Tower (2006, New York, 46 stories, 182 m), Tornado Tower (2008, Doha, 51 stories, 195 m) |
Concrete | 80 | “ | Expensive formwork. Slow construction. | O-14 Building (2010, Dubai, 24 stories, 106 m), Doha Tower (2012, Doha, 46 Stories, 238 m) | ||
Composite | 110 | “ | Slow construction. | Guangzhou International Finance Center (2010, Guangzhou, 103 stories, 439 m) | ||
Varying- Angle Diagrid | Steel or Composite | 130 | More efficiently carry lateral loads than the uniform angle diagrids for taller and slenderer buildings. | Construction can be more costly than uniform-angle diagrids. | Lotte Super Tower, unbuilt (Seoul, 112 stories, 555 m) | |
Tube-in-Tube | _ | Ext. Tube (Steel, Concrete or Composite) + Int. Core Tube (Steel, Concrete or Composite) | 90–150 per different tube combo | Effectively resists lateral loads by two layers of tubes. | Interior planning limitations due to interior core tube. | One Shell Plaza (1970, Houston, 52 stories, 218 m), 181 West Madison (1990, Chicago, 50 stories, 207 m), 432 Park Avenue (2015, New York, 85 stories, 426 m) |
Space Truss | _ | Composite | 150 | Efficiently resists lateral loads by axial forces in the space truss members. | Bracings obstruct the view. | Bank of China (1990, Hong Kong, 72 stories, 367 m) |
Superframe | Stand-alone | Steel | 170 | Efficiently resists lateral loads by the versatile superframe configurations. | Building form depends to a great degree on the structural system. | Chicago World Trade Center, unbuilt (Chicago, 168 stories, 690 m estimated.) |
Concrete | 100 | “ | “ | Parque Central Towers I & II (Caracas, 56 stories, 225 m) | ||
Conjoined Towers | Composite | 250+ | Could efficiently produce extremely tall building complex. Multiple emergency egress alternatives. | Requires very large sites. | No built example yet. |
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Ali, M.M.; Moon, K.S. Advances in Structural Systems for Tall Buildings: Emerging Developments for Contemporary Urban Giants. Buildings 2018, 8, 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings8080104
Ali MM, Moon KS. Advances in Structural Systems for Tall Buildings: Emerging Developments for Contemporary Urban Giants. Buildings. 2018; 8(8):104. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings8080104
Chicago/Turabian StyleAli, Mir M., and Kyoung Sun Moon. 2018. "Advances in Structural Systems for Tall Buildings: Emerging Developments for Contemporary Urban Giants" Buildings 8, no. 8: 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings8080104