Civil Engineering Association

CTBUH Collection of Featured Papers 2011

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

Supporting Environmental Claims for Tall Buildings
Joana Goncalves & Klaus Bode, posted July 2011

One of the main causes of energy efficiency failures is LEED rewarding projects for their predictions, but not for proving the savings. The operation of buildings accounts for 85% of its environmental impact.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The High Life: Residential Towers in Central Business Districts
P. Noone, G. Klompmaker, C. Sumanik , posted June 2011

These buildings serve growing segments of the population who desire amenity-rich lifestyles and safe urban homes. They serve cities that desire significant real estate tax revenues, as well as local businesses, which desire purchasing power of new urban residents.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vibration Control of Connected Towers
Akira Nishimura, posted June 2011

During an earthquake or strong winds, a natural response is to hold on to something. Through Sky Gardens, the three towers of the Island Tower Sky club are holding on to each other.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Challenging Preconceptions of the High-rise Typology
R. Koolhaas, E. Long, C. Doo & D. Shook, posted May 2011

The tall building today seems only concerned with a relentless striving for height and dominance of a city skyline. Often these towers are nothing more than the constant and monotonous repetition of a piece of land in the vertical direction, whose main aim is the profitable multiplication of the value of the ground.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Optimization Tools for the Design of Structures
M. Sarkisian, E. Long, C. Doo & D. Shook, posted May 2011

Structural optimization has attracted increasing interest in the building industry, especially in the design of high-rise buildings. By selectively distributing structural members in a building, the efficiency of the resulting design can be optimized; often resulting in aesthetically interesting forms.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Integration of Design and Construction
Abdelrazaq, Baker, Chung, Pawlikowski, Wang & Yom, posted April 2011

Tower Palace III was conceived as a 93-story residential tower soaring 320 meters into Seoul’s skyline. However, concerns of the local residents and authorities over the building height resulted in a 73-story tower with the same gross floor area.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sustainability and the Tall Building
M. Ali, P. J. Armstrong, posted April 2011

As a major energy consumer, the tall building does not ordinarily conjure images of sustainable design. But a new generation of tall buildings is incorporating new developments in technology and design to produce smarter, energy-efficient buildings.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tallest Steel Sheer Wall Building
S. Lee, N. Mathias, M. Sarkisian, D. Wang, posted March 2011

Because of its iconic slender form, a key design challenge was to develop an efficient lateral system capable of resisting wind and seismic lateral load; the article analyzes innovative structural system considerations relying entirely on the use of steel plates.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tall Timber Buildings
Matthew Wells, posted March 2011

Standing nine floors and 29 meters (95ft) tall, the Stadtaus in London is indeed not very tall when regarded by height, but it does stand out as one of the tallest timber framed buildings in the world.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Origin of the Skyscraper
Gerard Peet, posted February 2011

The modern skyscraper is generally considered to be an American invention. Chicago and New York claim they once hosted the world's first skyscraper and many American companies are involved in design of the world's tallest buildings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A new urbanity: the relationship between towers and urbanism
Stefan Krummeck, posted February 2011

The prevailing skyline of the world's developed and developing cities demonstrates an ever-increasing prevalence of tall buildings forming a new urban model. This paper examines the relationship between towers and urbanism.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Culture of Compactness
Peter Cookson Smith, posted January 2011

Compact cities are, by their nature, relatively sustainable, and Hong Kong is eminently so on many counts. In addition, the emerging intervention of economic forces in the Pearl River Delta continues to superimpose a new collective identity on the region.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Application of Tuned Liquid Dampers for the Efficient Structural Design of Slender Tall Buildings
David Lee, Martin Ng, posted January 2011

Tall, slender buildings on restricted sites present structural engineers with dynamic problems that are difficult to resolve... This performance-based design approach permits investigating separate structural systems.







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