• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2017

The Pertamina Energy Tower (PET) and Manhattan West North Tower (MWNT) are two supertall towers recently designed and engineered by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The structural system for both buildings consists of an interior reinforced concrete core and a perimeter moment frame system, which is primarily structural steel. As is typical for tall towers with both concrete and steel elements, staged construction analysis was performed in order to account for the long term effects of creep and shrinkage, which result in differential shortening between the interior concrete core and steel perimeter frame. The particular design of each tower represents two extremes of behavior; PET has a robust connection between the perimeter and core in the form of three sets of outriggers, while the perimeter columns of MWNT do not reach the ground, but are transferred to the core above the base. This paper will present a comparison of the techniques used during the analysis and construction stages of the design process with the goal of understanding the differences in structural behavior of these two building systems in response to the long term effects of creep and shrinkage. This paper will also discuss the design and construction techniques implemented in order to minimize the differential shortening between the interior and exterior over the lifespan of these towers.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.153-169
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• 2013

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented boom in tall and supertall building construction worldwide (Wood, 2011). Because of their massive bulk and soaring height, tall buildings often create serious placemaking problems. Employing extensive photographs and sketches, this paper examines architectural and urban design strategies that improve placemaking with tall buildings. The paper embraces a comprehensive approach that considers the relationship of tall buildings to their surroundings at the macro and micro scales. It also considers non-physical factors that tall buildings need to address, such as the social life the building creates. It is hoped that the placemaking factors discussed in this article will provide the required groundwork for future research that explores regulations and codes that foster placemaking with tall buildings.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2015

The concept of vertical living has been hailed as a solution to control fast growth and urbanization of cities worldwide. As super tall residential projects become more common and sustainability considerations become more necessary, their efficiency has been called into question. How do vertical residential developments compare with suburban homes? What are the environmental advantages and disadvantages of vertical communities? Is there a middle ground? We present the results from an AS+GG study that compares the environmental performance of different housing typologies ranging from a 215 supertall building to single family residences, including several scales in between. Our samples comprise 2,000 residential units per type and include the infrastructure needed to support them. We analyzed land use, energy use, and lifecycle carbon emissions for each typology. The results show that different typologies perform better depending on the parameter being assessed. We discuss these findings; assess overall performance, and present conclusions.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.305-318
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• 2016

In the design of super-tall towers, engineers often find the conventional frame systems used in countless buildings in the past decades incapable of providing the required form, performance and constructability demanded by super-tall heights. The strength of the diagrid as a structural system in high-rise towers is the total flexibility it affords the designer as an adaptable, efficient and buildable scheme. Using fundamental engineering principles combined with modern computational tools, designers can take minimum load path forms to create rationalized diagrid geometries to create optimized, highly efficient towers. The use of diagrid frames at SOM has evolved as a structural typology beginning with the large braced frames on the John Hancock Center and continued in modern applications proving to be a powerful system in meeting the demands of supertall buildings.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.209-217
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• 2015

Outrigger systems are highly efficient since they utilize the perimeter zone to resist lateral forces, similar to tubular systems. The entire structural weight can be reduced due to the system's significant lateral strength. Therefore, it is the most commonly selected structural system for tall and supertall buildings built in recent years. In this paper, issues regarding the differential shortening effect during construction of the outrigger system and the special joints used to solve these issues will be addressed. Additionally, the characteristics of wind and seismic loads in Korea will be briefly discussed. Lastly, buildings in Korea using an outrigger as their major structural system will be introduced and the structural role of the system will be analyzed.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2020

With the ever-increasing height of timber buildings, the complexity of timber as a structural material gives rise to behaviors not previously studied by engineers. An urgent call is needed regarding their performance in damage scenarios: activating alternative load paths in tall timber buildings is not the same as in tall buildings made with steel and concrete. In this paper we propose a robustness framework covering all building materials, whose application in timber may lead to new conceptual designs for the next generation of tall timber buildings. Qualitatively, the importance of building scale and the distinction between localized and systematic exposures are discussed, and how existing supertall structures can be an example for future generations of tall timber buildings. Quantitatively, the robustness index is introduced alongside a method to calculate the performance of a given building regarding robustness, in order to find the most cost-effective structural solutions for improved robustness. A three-level application recommendation is made, depending on the importance of the building in question. Primarily, the paper highlights the importance of conceptual design to achieve structural robustness and encourages the practicing engineering community to use the proposed framework to quantitatively come up with the new generation of tall timber buildings.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.113-125
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• 2020

Beginning in the late 19th century, construction of skyscrapers spread throughout Chicago, New York City, and then the world as demand of space in buildings and increase of cost of land. With this change curtain wall systems have evolved to be more visually complex; these unique profiles of the skyscraper became powerful images and symbols of our cities. A curtain wall is defined as usually aluminum-framed wall containing in-fills of glass and metal panels. The framing is attached to the building structure and does not carry the floor or roof loads of the building.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2016

This paper discusses the economics of skyscraper construction in Manhattan since 1990. First the paper reviews the economic theory of skyscraper height. Next it documents the frequency and heights of skyscraper construction in the last 25 years. Then the paper reviews the relative movements of office rents, condominium prices, and construction costs. Statistical results suggest that the resurgence of Manhattan's skyscraper construction is being driving by the rise in the average price of apartments, and is not being driven by rising office rents or falling construction costs. Statistical evidence shows that the height premium has not been rising over the last decade. Developers have been purchasing air rights (and bidding up the prices) in order to satisfy the demand for supertall buildings. In the next five to ten years, Manhattan is likely to see over thirty 200-meter or taller buildings, as compared to only four since 2010.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.303-311
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• 2019

The effectiveness of aerodynamic modification to reduce wind loadings has been widely reported. However, most of previous studies have been investigated dynamic forces and pressure distributions on tall buildings with various unconventional configurations. This study was investigated dynamic characteristics and aerodynamic instability of super-tall buildings with unconventional configurations through extensive aeroelastic model experiments. Seventeen types of supertall building models were considered such as basic and corner modification with corner cut, chamfered, oblique opening, tapered, inversely tapered, bulged, helical with twist angles of $90^{\circ}$, $180^{\circ}$, $270^{\circ}$, $360^{\circ}$ and composite with $360^{\circ}$ helical & corner cut, 4-tapered & $360^{\circ}$ helical & corner cut, setback & corner cut, setback & $45^{\circ}$ rotate. As a result, aerodynamic characteristics of helical models with single modification are superior to those of other models with single modification. However, effect of twist angle for helical model is negligible. Further, the 4-tapered & $360^{\circ}$helical & corner cut model is most effective in reducing the along- and across-wind fluctuating displacement responses in all of experimental models.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.199-207
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• 2015

Abeno Harukas is the tallest building in Japan and is located in Abeno, which is one of the three main railway transport nodes in Osaka. This building has a height of 300 meters, and its lowest levels are 30 meters below ground. It contains a department store, museum, offices, a hotel, and an observatory. In this urban renewal project, a section of the department store that encloses the station was dismantled and replaced by a supertall building complex, while infrastructure was simultaneously constructed, including: upgrades to the station and the existing department store, improved connections to the subway and pedestrian bridges, and a new pedestrian walkway over the road. In this paper, the ingenious erection processes, newly developed technologies, and precise construction management techniques are introduced for Japan's tallest building.