DESIGNING OF HIGH RISE

BUILDINGS

SUBMITTED BY:
MANPREET KAUR SETHI
MANDEEP SINGH
MRIDUL GOYAL
B. Arch 8th sem
 INTRODUCTION
From the ancient efforts to reach heaven with the tower of Babel to the worlds tallest
building Burj Khalifa, has been to overcome the limitations of nature with human ingenuity.
Today, it is virtually impossible to imagine a major city without tall buildings. Tall buildings
are the most famous landmarks of cities, symbols of power, dominance of human ingenuity
over natural world, confidence in technology and a mark of national pride; and besides
these, the importance of tall buildings in the contemporary urban development in without
doubt ever increasing despite their several undeniable negative efforts on the quality of
urban life.
The feasibility and desirability of tall buildings have always depended on the available
material, the level of construction technology, and the state of development of the services
necessary for the use of the building. Therefore, advances in structural design concepts,
analytical techniques, and a more sophisticated construction city, in conjunction with the
high-strength line weight at a low cost premium compared to conventional construction.
Hence, every advance in height comes with a new difficulty and hence the race towards new
heights has not been without its challenges as well. Understandably, the increased flexibility
makes contemporary tall buildings much more vulnerable to environmental excitation such
as wind, which leads to horizontal vibration.
 PLANNING AND DESIGNING
BASIC PLANNING CONSIDERATION
Basic planning considerations for high rise building design include the following parameters:
Planning module
Span
Ceiling height
Floor-to-Floor height
Depth of structural floor system
Elevator system
Core planning
Parking

PLANING MODULE, namely the space one needs for living, changes according to the
culture and the economic class.

SPAN, described as the distance from a fixed interior element such as building core to
exterior window wall, is another important criteria for good interior planning. Its depth: changes
depending on the function of the space, and acceptable span is
determined by office layouts, hotel room standards, and residential code
requirements for outside light and air.
CEILING HEIGHT is also an important factor in building planning.
Commercial functions require a variety of ceiling heights ranging between 2.7m and 3.7m.
While office functions necessitate ceiling heights of approximately 2.5 to 3.0m, residential
and hotel function require ceiling heights of 2.5 to 3.0 m.

FLOOR-TO-FLOOR HEIGHT which is a function of the necessary ceiling height, the

depth of the structural floor system, and the depth of the space required for mechanical
distribution, determines the overall height of the building, and affects the overall cost. A
small increase or decrease in floor-to-floor height, when multiplied by the number of floors
and the area of the perimeter enclosure by the building, can leave a great effect on many
systems such as the exterior, structural, mechanical system, and the overall cost.
 DEPTH OF STRUCTURAL FLOOR SYSTEM plays an
important role for planning considerations in high rise buildings, and
varies broadly depending on the floor load requirements, size of the
structural bay, and type of floor framing system.
For example, the PETRONAS TOWERS or the TWIN TOWERS in Kuala
Lampur initially the bedrock sloped 15m down so the location of the
towers had to be shifted 60m and the foundation went 55m deep to
make it stable.
 Another major component for good interior planning is
ELEVATOR SYSTEM. In the design of an elevator
system, waiting interval, elevator size and speed
interpretation of program criteria, areas to be served, the
population density of the building, and the landing capacity
of the system at peak period, must be considered. This
becomes even more complicated for mixed-use projects.
For preliminary planning, one ELEVATOR per 1000 sqm. of
gross area is a rule of thumb rule for estimating the number
of elevators needed.
Besides this, the net usable area varies from one elevator
zone to another and from floor to floor, and should average
from 80 to 85% over the entire building.
The sky-lobby concept is an important and innovative
approach in elevator system design. This concept uses high-
speed express shuttle cars to transport passengers from the
ground level to a lobby higher up in the building for transfer
to local elevator zones so that the area used for elevator
shafts and lobby on the lower floors of the building is
reduced.
CORE PLANNING is another significant issue for
planning consideration.
A typical floor in a high rise building contains a perimeter
zone, an interior zone, and a core zone. While perimeter
zone is described as an approximately 4.5 m or 5 m deep
area from the window wall with access through the interior
zone, interior zone is defined as the area between the
perimeter and the public corridor.
On the other hand, core zone consists of those areas
between elevator banks which become rentable on floors
at which elevators do not stop. Central core, which is
generally used in the buildings with a rectangular
plan and split core, which is generally used in the
building with a relatively square plan, is the
most typical core arrangements. Core
accommodate elevator shafts,
mechanical shafts, stairs, and elevator
lobbies. Core elements that pass through or serve every
floor should be located, so that they can rise continuously,
and thus avoid expensive and space-consuming transfers.
PARKING is another planning requirement, which varies according to different
functions such as business, residential, and like. When parking facility provided
within the footprint of the building, it has a great impact on the plan and the
structure. If it is inevitable, the structural bay should be well arranged to obtain
efficient space use for parking and functional areas, and the core elements should be
effectively located to minimize interference with car parking and circulation.
Mechanical ventilation is one other important concern for the user of parking facility,
and pedestrians.
BASIC DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The basic design considerations for a high rise building include the following
parameters:
The cultural, political, and social aspects of the city where the building will be located
A strong relationship with the city
The master plan and an appropriate site selection
Sustainability
Safety and Security issues
Learning about possibilities and limitations of technology

Other factors taken into consideration while designing are:

ACTION OF SEISMIC LOADS ON
THE BUILDING
The horizontal and vertical acceleration of the subsoil
due to an earthquake causes the building to vibrate.
ln simplified form, these loads can be represented by
horizontal and vertical equivalent loam acting on the
mass centre of gravity of the building.
The magnitude of these equivalent loads depends
directly on the mass of the building. This leads to the
conclusion that as the height of the building
increases, the mass center of gravity normally
wanders upwards and the flexural effect on the
building is intensified by the longer lever arm.
The potential earthquake damage suffered by
high-rise buildings varies. The change depends more
on the rate of motion and magnitude of the
displacement than on the acceleration.
ROLE OF SUBSOIL
Natural rock is the best subsoil from the point of view of its earthquake properties.
Sandy soils saturated with water and artificially backfilled land are considered to be
particularly critical.

FOUNDATIONS DESIGN FOR EARTHQUAKE

Deep foundations generally display better seismic resistance than shallow foundation.
Floating functions can prove advantageous on soft ground, since they may be better
able to attenuate resonance action.

PILE FOUNDATION IN PETRONAS TOWER PILE FOUNDATION IN BURJ KHALIFA

HEIGHT OF THE BUILDING
High rise buildings are more susceptible to damage from strong remote earthquakes than from
weak earthquakes close at land.
They normally leave a lower resonant frequency and a lower attenuation than low buildings in
the form of surface waves.
SHAPE OF THE HIGH-RISE BUILDING
When parts of different height are permanently connected to one another as, for
example, is often found in high-rise buildings with atriums, then the various structures in the
building can be subjected to considerable torsional stress by the seismic load. Buildings of
different heights can also be subjected to a whole series of effects in an earthquake, higher
buildings were literally jammed in between lower buildings, thus extensively damaging the floors
at the clamping point. In some cases, the buildings simply buckled over at the edge of the lower
adjacent buildings.
LATERAL LOADS ON HIGH RISE BUILDINGS
From the structural design point of view, due to its height, a high rise building could be
described, as one that is more affected by lateral loath created by wind or earthquake actions
compared to other building types.
WIND EFFECTS ON HIGH RISE BUILDINGS
The wind is the most powerful and unpredictable force affecting high rise buildings. High rise
building can be defined as a mast anchored in the ground, bending and swaying in the wind. This
movement, known as wind drift, should be kept within acceptable limits.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS AND LOAD RESISTING SYSTEMS
The key idea in conceptualizing the structural system for a slender high rise building is to think of it
as a beam cantilevering from the earth. As a general rule, when other things being equal, the high
rise building more necessary is to identify the proper structural system for resisting lateral load, in
which the rigidity and stability requirements are often the dominant factors in the design.
Moreover, the selection of the structural system of a high rise building involves the following
factors:
Economic criteria related to the budget of the project
Function of the building
Internal planning
Material and method of construction
External architectural treatment
Planned location and routing of the service systems
Height and proportion of the building
STEEL, REINFORCED
CONCRETE AND COMPOSITE
HIGH RISE BUILDINGS
Most of the high rise buildings in the world have
steel structural system, due to its high strength-to-
weight ratio, ease of assembly and economy in
transport to the site, availability of various strength
levels, and wider selection of sections. Innovative
framing system and modern design methods,
improved fire protection, corrosion resistance,
fabrication, and erection techniques combined
with the advanced analytical techniques made
possible by computers, have also permitted the use
of steel in just arty rational structural system for
high rise buildings.
INSTALLATION OF
SERVICE SYSTEMS
The installation for air-conditioning,
ventilation, lighting and fire alarm are
usually located between the load-bearing
ceiling and a suspended false ceiling into
which the lamps are normally integrated.
Small-scale electrical intstallations are
contained in trucking in the screed flooring.
Cables can that be routed as desired in the
space below the floor; the equipment is
connected to sockets in so-called floor
tanks. False floors are to be found almost
everywhere in modern houses, since cables
can be rerouted without difficulty, as is
increasingly required on account of the
rapid pace of change in office and
communications technology.
ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY
Unlike the case with normal multi-storey buildings, the
technical service components in high rise buildings must
meet special requirements if only on account of the
height, since the required supply of energy, water and air
and the effluent volume are incomparably larger. These
utilities must also be transported to the very hast floor in
sufficient quantity, under adequate pressure and at
sometimes to tally different temperatures.
VENTILATION AND AIR-
CONDITIONING
The systems should be designed in such a way as to
ensure flexible division of the areas (large rooms,
individual rooms) so that their use can subsequently be
changed without extensive conversions. A variety of
ventilation and air-conditioning systems can be installed,
depending on the purpose for which the building is used.
SANITATION
Pressure stages are also required for the sanitation,
thus permitting the use of smaller pumps. Sanitary
dispensing points must additionally be isolated from
the building as such for sound proofing reasons. The
internal heat loads (eg. hot exhaust air, exhaust
heat from refrigeration systems) accumulated in high
rise buildings are commonly used to heat water with
the aid of heat pumps or heat recovery system.
CONTROL SYSTEMS
Ultra-modern control systems are primarily based on
intelligent digital controllers. This technology permits
a direct link between DDC (direct digital control)
substations and the centralized instrumentation and
control which also takes over energy management
functions such as:
Optimization of indoor day and night temperatures
Linking the heating of water with re-cooling of
refrigeration system.
FIRE FIGHTING
In case of emergency to be quickly
evacuated from a high rise building, it
should be made sure that fire fighting
runs through every floor in form of
elevators and stair wells. The high rise
buildings have elevators especially for
emergency exits which run faster than
the normal elevators.

OCCUPANT EVACUATION
Occupant evacuation is the concern of
any building; however, it poses a special
challenge given the height of the high
rise buildings. With the tremendous
climb, occupants will need information
on the situation, mechanical assistance
to speed the process, and stairwells and
safe zones in the event of mechanical
failures.
SPRINKLERS
An automatic sprinkler system is the most effective protective measure for fighting and
controlling a fire in a high-rise building. Care must be taken to ensure that the complete
building is protected by such sprinklers. In the cam outlined above, there were either no
sprinklers at all or no activated sprinklers on the burning floors.
BURJ KHALIFA, DUBAI
The worlds tallest building Burj Khalifa,
which was under construction for six
years, was inaugurated on 4th Jan 2010.
The construction of this 828 m tall,
reinforced concrete tower structure,
broke several records during its
construction.
The Burj Khalifa project located near
down-town Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
consists
of the following:
. 160+ storey tower
. Adjacent podium structure
. Separate six storey office annex
. Two-storey pool annex
 FACTS AND FIGURES
The tower has 280,000 m2 of area which will be utilized predominantly for 700 Residential
apartments in floors 45 through 108, and corporate offices, in the remaining Space up to the 160th
floor. In addition the Giorgio Armani hotel is also situated in this Tower (will occupy the first 37
floors).
The total project cost is estimated to be around US$20 billion, out of which the tower itself will cost
$ 4.2 billion.
The height and the number of stories were kept as a secret till the opening of the tower.
Height: 828 m; Number of floors: 163
No. of elevators: 57
Area of Tower: 280,000 sq.m residential and office space and a Giorgio Armani hotel
Total area: Tower+ Podium: 465,000 sq.m area
Concrete used : 250,000 cu.m (weight of 110,000 elephants)
Steel rebars: 39,000 tonnes (laid end to end this would extend over a quarter of the way around the
world)
Curtain walls: 83,600 sq.m of glass and 27,900 sq.m of metal (equivalent of 17 soccer fields)
The total weight of aluminium used on Burj Khalifa is equivalent to that of five
A380 aircraft and the total length of stainless steel bull nose fins is 293 times the height of Eiffel
Tower in Paris.
Taken 22 million man-hours to construct.
 CONCEPT
The architects incorporated islamic
traditional patterns and modern
sophistication to design a structure that
will stand the test of time.
The hymenocallis desert flower was the
main source of inspiration for the
architects. The design not only reduces
wind forces on the building, but also
allows each tenant to have an incredible
view of the surrounding.
From the top of the structure, the
islamic design influences can clearly be
seen; including the use of arches and
other architectural structures.
1. The architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the hymenocallis
flower.

2. The tower composed of three elements around central core.

3. The modular Y shaped structure, with setbacks along each of its three wings provides
an inherently stable configuration for the structure and provides good floor plates for
residential

Twenty six helical levels decrease

the cross section of the tower
incrementally as it spirals skyward.

The central core emerges as the top

and culminates in a sculpted spire.

A Y-shaped floor plan maximises the

views of the Arabian Gulf.
Burj Khalifa plans and
height comparison with
other high rise buildings
as it grows skywards
 WIND ENGINEERING DESIGN
The entire tower structure was designed for gravity wind and seismic loading using
a three-dimensional analysis model that consisted of the RC walls, link beams,
slabs, mats, piles and the spire.
Since wind load is critical for the tower, over 40 wind tunnel tests were conducted
on Burj Khalifa, at the Boundary layer wind tunnels at Guelph, Ontario, Canada
from May 2003 to Sept 2005.
Even the temporary conditions during the construction stage, with the tower
cranes on the tower, were tested in the wind tunnel facility to ensure safety at all
times. The 3D analysis and dynamic analysis indicated the following:
At its tallest point, the tower sways a total of 1.5 m
 FOUNDATION
The superstructure is supported by a large reinforced concrete raft, which is in turn
supported by bored reinforced concrete piles. The design was based on extensive
geotechnical and seismic studies.
The 3.7 m thick raft was constructed in four separate pours, and is made C50 grade self-
consolidating concrete (SCC). The total volume of concrete in the raft is 12,500 m3. The 194
numbers of bored cast-in-place piles, supporting the raft are 1.5 meter in diameter and 43
meter long.
Capacity of each pile is 3000 tonnes. The piles were made high density, low permeability C60
grade SCC concrete placed by tremie method utilizing polymer slurry. A cathodic protection
system was also installed under the mat, to minimize any detrimental effects of corrosive
chemicals, which may be present in local ground water.

On site photograph
of the foundation
 STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
The .Y. shaped floor plan provides high-performance and maximizes views of the
Persian Gulf. This shape along with the upward spiraling pattern of setbacks in the
wings, helped to reduce the wind forces on the tower (the shape was determined
based on extensive wind tunnel tests). The structural system can be described as a
buttressed core., and consists of high performance concrete (HPC) wall
construction. Each of the wings buttresses the others via a hexagonal central core.
This central core provides the torsional resistance for the structure similar to a
closed pipe or axle.
 The corridor walls extend from the central core up to the end of wing, where they have
thickened with hammer head walls. These walls behave like the web and flanges of a beam
to resist the wind shears and moments. There are also a few perimeter columns supporting
flat plates at the ends (see Fig.2). The perimeter columns are connected at mechanical floors,
through outrigger walls, thus allowing the perimeter columns also to resist lateral wind
loads. The three storey height outriggers tie the tower at different heights periodically. The
tower does not contain any structural transfers.
The Burj Khalifa tower is crowned with a 4,000 tonnes structural steel telescopic spire, which
houses communications equipment. The spire was constructed from inside the building and
jacked to its full height of over 200 metres using a hydraulic pump.
PLANNING
 EXTERIOR CLADDING
The exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa is made
of reflective aluminum and textured stainless
steel spandrel panels with numerous small
tubular fins. This design is supposed to resist
the strong desert heat and solar rays better.
28,261 glass panels, each individually hand-
cut, were used in the exterior cladding. It is
estimated that the exterior temperature at
the top of the building will be 6 C cooler
than at its base.
The tower is provided with 18 permanently
installed track and fixed telescopic, cradle
equipped, building maintenance units. These
track mounted units, which are hidden when
not in use, will be used for both window
washing and exterior faade maintenance.
 SERVICES
Seven double storey mechanical floors house the equipment that bring Burj
Khalifa life.
Distributed around every 30 storeys, house the electrical sub-stations, water tanks
and pumps, air-handling units etc, that are essential for the operation of the tower.
MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | PLUMBING
The towers water system is designed to supply about of 946,000 litres of water
daily.
At peak cooling, it will require about 10,000 tons of cooling, equal to the cooling
capacity provided by about 10,000 tons of melting ice.
The buildings cooling requirements, coupled with the hot and humid climate of
Dubai, will result in a significant amount of condensation. This condensed water is
collected and drained in a separate piping system to a holding tank in the
basement car park.
The condensate collection system provides about 15 million gallons of supplement
water per year, equal to about 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The towers peak electrical demand is 36mW, equal to about 360,000 numbers of
100 Watt bulbs operating simultaneously.
 ELEVATORS AND LIFTS
The building is expected to hold up to 35,000 people at
any one time, so transportation as well as evacuation of
the building is an important consideration.
Otis Elevators has installed 57 elevators, and 8 escalators.
The observation deck elevators and can carry 42 people at
a time and travel at 10 to 18 m/sec.
Fire safety and speed of evacuation were given great
importance during the design phase of Burj Khalifa.
Concrete surrounds all stairwells.
The building has service/firemans elevator with a capacity
of 5,500 kg and will be the worlds tallest service elevator.
Some elevators are programmed to allow controlled
evacuation during fire or emergency situations.
Since it is not possible for people to walk down 160 floors
in case of emergency or fire, pressurized, air-conditioned
refuge areas are provided every 25 floors.
Sky Lobbies are situated at floors 43, 76 and 123 and
includes lounge area, kiosks and other amenities.
THANKS FOLKS!
DANCING TOWERS, DUBAI
Signature Towers (formerly known
as Dancing Towers) was a proposal
for a three-tower, mixed-use complex
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was
designed by Iraqi born architect Zaha
Hadid.
The project was first unveiled to the
public in June 2006 at a Zaha
Hadid exhibition.
Total Area: 650000 sqm.
350000 sqm. above ground
300000 sqm. Below ground
Storeys: 75, 65, 51
Maximum height: 375 m
 Zaha Hadids design for the Signature Towers confirms the role of Business Bay
Development at the very forefront of Dubais rapidly changing
future.
The fluid character of the towers is generated through an intrinsically dynamic
composition of volumes. The towers are inter-twined to share programmatic
elements

PROPOSED SITE FOR SIGNATURE TOWERS,

DUBAI

PROPOSED SITE PLAN FOR SIGNATURE

TOWERS, DUBAI
 PROPOSED PLANS AT DIFFERENT FLOOR LEVELS

1 2 3

4 5
 ZONING
Programming of public and private life is an active
tool to inject life into the space, integrating new
layers of activity and landscape, creating a network of
synergetic uses that can develop a new urban
ecology.
The programme was addressed as a whole with the
three towers corresponding directly to the three main
functions: offices, hotel and residential.

SECTION
The towers share a common base / SECTION
podium, designed as a materialized
shadow of the towers and programmed
with retail, restaurants and amenities
that support the demand from the
towers population. The three towers are
conjoined two by two, the Offices and
the Hotel at the base and the Hotel and
the Residential at the top.
SECTION

The advantage of joining the three towers in

one organism, allows the development to be
lived in a full day cycle: anchored in its
residential population, it reaches the peak of
activity during office hours and it mutates
through the diversity of the ever-changing
population
of the hotel. The heterogeneous population
mix creates a cosmopolitan urban
environment, constantly energized and
renovated through its own life.