Civil Engineering Association

CTBUH Collection of Featured Papers 2009

The Technical Papers Library contains many hundreds of papers published by architects, engineers and academics on a range of multi-disciplinary subjects. The papers cover every facet of tall building design, construction and occupation and are searchable by author, topic and category.

Featured Technical Papers

Shaping the High-rise Framework: Tall Buildings Policies and ZoningJan Klerks, posted December 2009

This research learned that recommended practices would be those systems that promote and professionally assess ambitions, while at the same time preventing pitfalls by high-rise minded zoning and codes. As much as skyscrapers represent their commissioners, high-rise zoning can shape the values of a society.



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Case Study: Nakheel Tower - The Vertical City,
Mark Mitcheson-Low, Ahmad Rahimian & Dennis O'Brien, posted December 2009

Nakheel Harbour & Tower, Dubai's new capital, will be a beacon of inspiration for the region and the world, incorporating elements from Islamic culture. Encompassing more than 270 hectares, this mixed-use development will be located in the heart of New.


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Tall Buildings in Southeast Asia - A Humanist Approach to Tropical High-riseMun Summ Wong & Richard Hassell, posted November 2009

High-rise, high-density living has been embraced as a positive accommodation solution for many millions of people living in Asia's growing urban metropolis. This paper outlines a number of high rise case studies.


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Condenser Typology: open envelope vertical farming, the extremes of tower urbanism
Matthew Wilson, posted November 2009

Can humidity-harvesting experiments inform tower urbanism in arid coastal environments? The finding of this study includes how the 'Condenser' tower typology deviates from other methods of vertical farming.

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Technology Transfer and Knowledge Exchange in Tall Building Design
Mir M. Ali & Paul J. Armstrong, posted October 2009

This paper shows how knowledge and technology transfers from industries, such as automotive and aerospace, have impacted teh design and construction of tall buildings today. Architectural design and construction have been influenced.

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Performance-Based Evalulation for the 450m Nanjing Greenland Financial Center Main Tower
Charles M. Besjak, Brian J. McElhatten & Preetam Biswas, posted October 2009

In order to obtain seismic review approval for the Nanjing State-Owned Assets & Greenland Financial Center's Main Tower, one of the tallest structures in the world to date, enjanced design measures and performance-based evaluations were utilized.

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Case Study: Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, Tokyo
Paul Noritaka Tange & Masato Minami, posted September 2009

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower is an innovative educational facility located in Tokyo's distinctive Nishi-Shinjuku high-rise district. Completed in October 2008, the 204-meter (669 ft) 50-story tower is the second-tallest educational building in the world.

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The Effects of Complex Geometry on Tall Towers
David Scott, David Farnsworth, Matt Jackson and Matt Clark, posted September 2009

Advancements in the application of computational capabilities to the design and analysis of building structures has enabled the realization of tall buildings with complex geometries. This paper explores some of the design issues and tools.

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The Skycourt – A Comparison Of Four Case Studies
Jason Pomeroy, posted August 2009

The effects of industrial capitalism and secularism have not only seen the fall of public man (Sennett 1976) but the slow disintegration of the public realm.


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The “International” Skyscraper: Observations
Georges Binder, posted August 2009

While using tall buildings data, the following paper aims to show trends and shifts relating to building use and new locations accomodating high-rise buildings.

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San Francisco: Promoting Tall Buildings Through Sustainable Incentives
Jeffrey Heller, Clark Manus & Craig Nikitas, posted July 2009

The past decades have shown some major changes in our urban settlements. The globalization of our societies and economies has brought change to cities. This inevitable push skyward, a manifestation of the pressures of urban growth, has come to San Francisco.


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Restoring Mies van der Rohe’s 860-880 Lake Shore Drive
Rico Cedro, posted July 2009

Mies van der Rohe's 860-880 Lake Shore Drive (1948-51) is one of the supreme monuments of modern architecture. With this pair of apartment buildings, Mies first realized his vision of the steel and glass high-rise.



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Four Tall Buildings in Madrid – Study of the Wind-Induced Response in Serviceability Limit State
Ramón Álvarez Cabal & Peter Paul Hoogendoorn, posted June 2009

Limiting wind-induced building motion is one of the governing criteria in tall building design. Building motion should be limited, on the one hand, to prevent damage in partitions, facade elements and interior finishes.


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Friend or Foe - Wind at Height
Peter Irwin, John Kilpatrick & Andrea Frisque, posted June 2009

Wind is often regarded as the foe of tall buildings since it tends to be the governing lateral load but Wind has some potential beneficial effects particular to tall buildings.



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CTBUH Recommendations for the Seismic Design of High-Rise Buildings
Michael Willford, Andrew Whittaker & Ron Klemencic, posted May 2009

The design of tall buildings in seismically active regions varies dramatically from region to region.The objective of this Guide is to set out best-practice principles for the seismic design of high rise buildings for any level of seismic hazard.


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Towards a Better Urban Life: Integration of Cities and Tall Buildings
Mir M. Ali & Ajla Aksamija, posted May 2009

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize that the establishment of well-planned cities containing tall buildings at appropriate locations and their infrastructures will help reduce the demands placed on natural resources and create an enjoyable living environment.


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Case Study: CCTV Building – Headquarters & Cultural Center Chris Carroll, Paul Cross, Xiaonian Duan, Craig Gibbons, et. Al , posted April 2009

This article describes the structural design and construction of the CCTV Building in Beijing, including development of the structural concept, performance-based seismic design and Expert Panel Review process.


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Five Energy Generations of Tall Buildings: A Historical Analysis of Energy Consumption in High Rise Buildings
Philip Oldfield, Dario Trabucco & Antony Wood, posted April 2009

This paper categorises tall buildings into five chronological ‘generations’, based on their energy consumption characteristics.


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Sustainable Design in South Korea and Vietnam: Referencing Culture Through Modern Architecture
Matthias A. Olt & James P. Rothwell, posted March 2009

In an age when high-rise design is driven by grandeur aspirations of tallest and biggest, 2 high-rise towers in South Korea and Vietnam provide examples of sustainable design that address each country’s respective cultural vernacular through the lens of modern architecture.


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Fire Protection Strategies for an Energy Efficient High-Rise Building
Fang Li, James Antell & Martin Reiss, posted March 2009

The Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China features numerous design strategies to reduce energy demand, which include among others vertical axis wind turbine and radiant ceiling cooling system.


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Assessment & Prediction of Daylight Performance in High-Rise Office Buildings
Dong-Hwan Ko, Mahjoub Elnimeiri & Raymond J. Clark (Illinois Institute of Technology), posted February 2009

Effective use of daylighting is an essential component to achieve a sustainable building design. This paper provides a method for evaluating indoor daylight performance.

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Ecoskyscrapers and Ecomimesis: New tall building typologies
Dr. Ken Yeang (Llewelyn Davies Yeang), posted February 2009

Designing the ecoskyscraper involves configuring its built form and operational systems so that they integrate with nature in a benign and seamless way over its lifecycle. This paper discusses the theory and premises for the ecoskyscraper.

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The Vertical Farm - The origin of a 21st century Architectural Typology
Eric Ellingsen & Dickson Despommier (Illinois Institute of Technology & Columbia University), posted January 2009

Far from fantasy, the Vertical Farm scoops up the available technologies at the opening of the 21st century, organizing and redistributing otherwise unrelated parts.

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Material-Saving Design Strategies for Tall Building Structures
Kyoung Sun Moon (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), posted January 2009

This paper examines the impact of different geometric configurations of the structural members on the material-saving economic design and makes recommendations for optimal geometries.







Good web-site and technical material for anyone interested in the design of Tall Buildings