Integrated Design and Construction of Tall Buildings

Contemporary tall buildings frequently incorporate distinctive architectural designs that require unique and innovative
design of structural, mechanical, lighting, electrical, and other building systems. In addition, the massive scale of tall
building systems creates critical interrelationships and dependencies among these systems. Construction of tall buildings is
impacted by the building architecture and systems and may require special construction materials, equipment, techniques,
or processes that necessitate close collaboration between the contractor and the design team. Moreover, issues such as
efficiency and economy of operation and maintenance of tall buildings during their life-spans offer incentives for the
design and construction team to think critically beyond the construction phase and incorporate features and materials that
increase the return on the developers investment. Further, the increased sensitivity to the environment and our limited
natural resources influence not only the design, but construction material and techniques used in the development of tall
buildings.
Thus, design and construction of tall buildings is a multidisciplinary challenge bringing together the architect, architectural
engineering consultants _including the structural engineer, mechanical engineer, and lighting engineer_, and the contractor
from the conception and planning of the project to completion of construction of the building. This collaboration requires
general knowledge and understanding of the different disciplines by each professional involved in the process.
This paper presents a number of strategies for the successful execution of tall buildings. Teamwork and integrated design
and construction for comprehensive and efficient outcomes are particularly highlighted with emphasis on the role of the
different parties involved in the planning through to the operation of tall buildings.

Structural Systems, Spatial Configurations, and Building Aesthetics

The invention of iron/steel skeletal structural systems in Chicagothe technological driving force of tall building
developmentsled to the emergence of modern tall buildings. Since then, tall building structures have evolved toward
taller and more efficient systems in conjunction with changing functional requirements based on the development of new
management systems _Abalos and Herreros 2003; Russell 2003_. Departing from the conventional frame structures, a
significant evolution occurred with the development of tubular structures in the late 1960s, which satisfied both structural
and functional requirements.
Tube systems have provided very efficient structures with column-free office environments, providing greater flexibility in
building use. With their major lateral load-resisting systems located at the building perimeter, tube structures by their
nature have great potential of being a major element of building aesthetic. This potential has been either strongly pursued
or intentionally minimized depending on specific design situations.
Among various tube configurations, framed tubes such as the ones used in the demolished World Trade Center Towers in
New York and in the Aon Center in Chicago _Fig. 1_ are rarely used today due to their very closely spaced columns,
which obstruct the great views typically provided by tall buildings. Braced tubes and their variations are still used in
contemporary tall buildings such as the World Financial Center in Shanghai _Fig. 2_. However, unlike the clear
expression of structure in Chicagos John Hancock Center _Fig. 3_, the perimeter braces in the World Financial Center
are hidden behind a reflective glass facade.
One of the most prevalently used tube systems today is the diagrid. With its new aesthetic expressions and great structural
efficiency for tall buildings in resisting lateral forces, diagrids have been used for major tall buildings such as the Hearst
Tower in New York _Fig. 4_, the Swiss Re Building in London _Fig. 5_,the Lotte Super Tower in Seoul, and the
Guangzhou Twin Towers in Guangzhou. In these buildings, diagonals are strongly expressed on the building facade as
primary aesthetic components as well as building identifiers. While most diagrid structures are designed with diagonals
placed at uniform angles, some diagrid structures, such as the Lotte Super Tower, employ varying-angle
diagrids, with steeper angles toward the ground. This varying angle configuration of diagrids provides superior structural
performance and more dynamic visual expression for a very tall building _Moon 2008_. Diagrids are also used as
structural solutions in irregular freeform shape tall buildings such as the Phare Tower in La Defense and the Fiera Milano
Tower in Milan, which lead another direction of contemporary tall building design.
Compared with conventional orthogonal structures, diagrid structures require more complicated joints where at least six
structural members meet. Thus, careful consideration should be given to design and construction of diagrid joints for
successful project execution. Prefabrication of the complicated diagrid nodes combined with the fact that these joints can
be designed with pin connections due to the triangulated configuration of diagrids may lead to less work at the job site.

Due to the absence of vertical structural members, geometric configuration of faade systems should be well coordinated
between architects and engineers to achieve desired aesthetic and functional performance.
Another tall building structural system used worldwide today is the core-supported outrigger system. By connecting shear
core and exterior columns or mega columns, the system maximizes its bending rigidity with an extended moment arm.
While tube structures concentrate lateral load-resisting system components, which resist both shear and bending at the
buildings perimeter, typical core-supported outrigger systems resist shear primarily through their cores and bending
through the cores and exterior columns connected to the cores by the outriggers _Moon et al. 2007_. In resisting lateral
forces, outrigger systems perform with the couples created by tension and compression in the perimeter columns
connected to the outriggers. However, careful structural planning may eliminate the actual tension with gravity loads
_Smith and Coull 1991_.
For very tall buildings with multiple outriggers of usually double-story heights, coordination of the structural system with
spatial organization and building aesthetics is crucial in successful design. As is the case with the Jin Mao Building in
Shanghai _Fig.6_, outriggers or other deep structural components may be located at the mechanical floors, which are
vertically distributed along the building height and also typically require double-story heights. Fig. 7 shows the
mechanical floor of a tall building with significant structural components present on that floor.
Structural efficiency and vertical building proportioning related to aesthetics and function as well as efficient zoning of
mechanical systems should be considered simultaneously in determining the locations of outriggers. Unlike tube
structures, outrigger systems do not rely entirely on building perimeter structures in resisting lateral forces, thereby
allowing the exterior columns to be more widely spaced. Consequently faade design is less constrained by perimeter
structures _Ali and Moon 2007_.

Building Form and Structural Performance

Todays architecture, including tall buildings, can be understood only through recognition of the dominance of cultural
pluralism.