Seismic Structure: Salesforce Tower

Brahmvir Karwal
Sam Parmar
About the Building

• Salesforce tower is the largest building in San

Franscisco 
• It is the headquarters of Salesforce which is a cloud-
based software company 
• The building itself has 61 floors and is 326 meters
tall 
• This building advances state of the art of high-rise
seismic design through implementation of unique
design choices that have set a new standard in
seismic safety. 
San Francisco 
• San Fransisco is home to 8 major faults:
• The Hayward fault
• The Calaveras fault
• The Concord-Green Valley fault
• The Greenville fault
• The Rodgers Creek fault
• The San Andreas fault
• The Mt. Diablo fault
• The  San Gregorio Fault
• San Francisco's last major earthquake took
place in 1989
• The 6.9 magnitude earthquake of 1989 killed
67 people and caused more than 5 billion in
repairs
PBSD(Performance Based Seismic Design) 

• PBSD uses nonlinear seismic time-history computer modeling 

• It allows for engineers to test the strength and stiffness of
different building materials 
• It also used to test how a building would react to certain
earthquake scenarios 
• It was used in the salesforce tower to achieve a higher degree
of seismic safety 
• Engineers can analyze more-complex building geometries and
precisely allocate strength and stiffness to achieve an efficient
design that meets performance objectives.
Building Construction 

• The following is used in the building's construction to make it

make it earthquake safe:
• A Reinforced-concrete shear-wall core is used for lateral
loads
• A perimeter structural-steel columns is used for gravity loads

• Structural steel beams and a composite concrete-on-metal

deck is used to connect the perimeter and core
Structural design

• Gravity load-resisting system with structural steel

columns. 
• floor framing supporting steel composite deck. 
• 32 accelerometers in the building connected
through cabling to the central recorder  
• Reinforced concrete shear walls, 24 to 48 inches thick, at
the central elevator and stair core. 
• Elastic performance targeted for service level shaking
(every 43 years)
• Collapse prevention, with a reduced probability of
collapse for occupancy category 3
• Occupancy category 3:For building is a substantial hazard
to human life and the occupant load is greater than 250
Foundation

• The soil that the building is located on is prone to

liquefaction which is when soil loses its stiffness or
strength due to an event such as an earthquake
• Liquefaction can cause a building to sink 
• The Salesforce tower uses 42 load bearing elements
socketed 70 ft into rock with some parts being up to 310 ft
below the existing grade
• Existing grade is the vertical elevation of the ground
surface before the plan of the building is commenced 
Foundation

• 8-foot-diameter drilled shafts and

5.0- x 10.5-foot Load-Bearing
Elements (LBEs)
• 42 LBEs interconnected by a thick
mat foundation to enforce
compatibility.
• A mat varying from 14 to 5 feet in
thickness at the perimeter 
Performance • Reduced story drift
• Reduced coupling beam rotations
Objectives of • Reduced tensile/compressive strains in shear
Building walls
• Reduced shear demands on shear walls
The detailed
acceptance
criteria used for
the design of
Salesforce Tower.
Floor plan                    Enhanced performance
 Citations
“ Chapter 6.9 GRADING - Code Publishing Company.” Chapter 6.9 GRADING,
www.codepublishing.com/CA/Oakley/html/Oakley06/Oakley069.html. 

Cogley, Bridget. CTBUH Names San Francisco's Salesforce Tower World's "Best Tall Building". 12 Apr. 2019,
www.dezeen.com/2019/04/12/ctbuh-awards-salesforce-tower-san-francisco/. 

“Earthquake Setting of the San Francisco Bay Area.” U.S. Geological Survey,
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1868calif/virtualtour/bayarea.php

FPrimeC, and Name *. “Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls.” FPrimeC Solutions Inc., 16 Sept. 2020,
www.fprimec.com/performance-of-reinforced-concrete-shear-walls/. 

History.com Editors. “San Francisco Earthquake of 1989.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 18 Dec. 2009,
www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/1989-san-francisco-earthquake. 

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www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Documents/Program-SMIP/Seminar/SMIP18_P8_Paper%20by%20Huang.pdf. 

Klemencic, Ron, et al. “Salesforce Tower.” STRUCTURE Magazine, www.structuremag.org/?p=11635. 

Post, Nadine M. “1,070-Foot Salesforce Tower Elevates Seismic Design.” Engineering NewsRecord RSS, Engineering News-
Record, 21 Sept. 2017, www.enr.com/articles/42725-070-foot-salesforce-tower-elevates-seismic-design. 

Structural Stalwarts. “The Salesforce Tower.” Structural Stalwarts, Structural Stalwarts, 31 Aug. 2020,
www.structuralstalwarts.com/post/the-salesforce-tower.