1976-Guidelines-For-Tall-Buildings-Development (11 Files Merged)

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Title: Guidelines for Tall Buildings

Development
Author: Kheir Al-Kodmany, University of Illinois
Subject: Urban Design
Keywords: Human Scale

Sustainability
Urban Design
Publication Date: 2012
Original International Journal of High-Rise Buildings Volume 1 Number 4

Publication:
Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/Part chapter
2. Journal paper
3. Conference proceeding
4. Unpublished conference paper
5. Magazine article
6. Unpublished
© Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat / Kheir Al-Kodmany

International Journal of High-Rise International Journal
Buildings December 2012, Vol 1, No 4, of
255-269 High-Rise
Buildings
www.ctbuh.org
Guidelines for Tall Buildings Development

Kheir Al-Kodmany†
Urban Planning and Policy Department, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Abstract
Tall buildings’ implementation has often lacked urban design and architectural guidance. There are many examples of tall buildings
that have been inappropriately located, designed, and built, and consequently dissatisfaction with high-rise development is
wide-spread. This paper attempts to provide extensive urban and architectural guidelines in order to manage cityscape and to ensure
safe and healthy living. Through recommendations on design and layout of tall buildings and open spaces the guidelines seek
enhancing the visual experience, improving the microclimate conditions, and fostering active social life. These guidelines help in
providing enjoyable urban experiences through the examination of spatial relationships, human scale, genius loci, perceptual
characteristics, local identity, built heritage, economic activities, and social life.
Keywords: Urban design, Architecture, Site planning, Historic preservation, Green design
1. Overview Each building, however, interfaces with the city and

hence, in some way, contributes to the city’s overall
In more recent times, the implementation of tall urban design paradigm (Smith, 1997). As a result, urban
building projects that would warrant compensating open design and architecture intertwine and attain an intimate
spaces around them to allow light and air, fell far short dialectic relationship by reinforcing each other’s
of desired outcomes. The enactment of such projects mission. Such guidelines help in providing a healthy
has often lacked adequate urban design principles living and an enjoyable and sustainable urban
and, to a lesser extent, architectural design experience by examining such characteristics as the built
guidelines, and consequently, created undesirable heritage, spatial relationships, human scale, spirit of
urban environments for which dissatisfaction of the a place, perceptual characteristics, and local identity,
public with high-rise development, particularly with to name a few (King, 1996). Urban and architectural
residential high-rises, is widespread (Churchman, design guidelines complement the master planning and
1984; Gifford, 2007; EH and CABE, 2007; zoning regulations. Master plans concern balancing the
Kempena and Musterda, 1991). “There have been too many issues of the city, including economic, social,
many examples of tall buildings that have been transportation, housing, utilities, infrastructure, etc.
unsuitably sited, poorly designed, wrongly detailed, and Zoning regulations govern specific aspects of the
badly built” (CABE, 2007). city such as uses, building heights, setbacks, open
It is important that tall building developments fit well spaces, service lanes, etc. Urban design guidelines
into the urban landscape, patterns, morphology, provide further specific directions. For example,
scale, streetscape, urban character, and city master plans delineate appropriate areas for tall building
skyline. Tall buildings will be successful if they development. Zoning regulations dictate the
relate well to the unique urban grain, visual axes, permitted usage of tall buildings (i.e. residential,
general context, and topography. For example, the commercial, and mixed-use) for each zone.
spatial arrangement of tall buildings should be in due However, urban design guidelines
proportion to immediate streets, open spaces, and suggest specific spatial arrangements and clustering of
low-rises, and should prevent creating an extensive tall buildings. They also recommend a particular
so-called canyon effect on public streets. The massing height order and locations for landmark buildings.
of a proposed tall building needs to integrate into Urban and architectural guidelines provide guidance
surrounding development and create an elegant on connecting the ground plane to the surrounding
rather than bulky form, and to make a positive neighborhood and tying the tall and supertall to place.
contribution to the city‘s public realm and skyline. As such, they support contextuality by providing means
While urban design focuses on the larger scale of the to respect indigenous culture, architectural style, and
†
Corresponding
urban author: Kheirarchitecture
environment, Al-Kodmany tackles the finer local climate. They help to make the proposed project
Tel: +312-413-3884; Fax: +312-413-2314
scale. deeply rooted in the city‘s urban fabric. Usually,
E-mail: Kheir@uic.edu
tall buildings possess attributes of aggressiveness and
loud- ness, and in response, urban and architectural
design gui-
256 Kheir Al-Kodmany | International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
delines provide a direction so that the city can preserve visual relationships, architectural style, transitions,
its intimacy and ambiances, and manage its character and materials of the surrounding historic buildings
transformation. (Fig. 4).
2.2. View corridors and skyline
2. Urban Context
A number of contextual conditions in the surroundings
of tall buildings govern the thought process
behind formulating the following architectural and
urban design guidelines. These conditions are worthy
of full considerations for best results.
2.1. The built heritage

The history of any city is best represented by its urban
artifacts, and it is fitting that new tall buildings blend
well with the historic fabric of the city. In some
places, the built heritage could be of great significance
so that no tall buildings should be allowed. However,
architects view historic context differently today than in
the past. Some believe that through “splendid”
contrast new buildings should blend well with older
buildings, and not mimic historical styles (Fig. 1).
Others feel that while design should appear
contemporary, it should also relate to the materials,
proportions, and scales of existing buildings.
This could be done without imitating existing
buildings literally (Fig. 2). Nevertheless, any
proposal for a tall building, however, should
minimize the negative visual impact on sensitive
historic fabric and observe scale issues. A proposed
development should enhance and complement the
historic character and respect views to and from Figure 2. The newly constructed Trump Tower in Chicago.
historic buildings (Fig. 3). This will involve an While the design provides a modern-looking tower, yet it
assessment of the historical urban grain, respects the historic neighboring Wrigley Building by ap-
architectural style, scale, and construction materials. plying similar modules, horizontal belts, and building top.
(Photograph by author)
Typically, the built heritage consists of low-rise
structures and therefore, it is important that the tall
building’s base, in particular, positively responds to the
unique urban grain and scale,
Figure 1. Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit, MI. The ar-

chitects argued that the tower provides a new design state-
ment that complements the nearby historic church. The Figure 3. Historic context and architectural fit - the archi-
bold contrast of old and new evokes aesthetic and poetic tectural design vocabulary of the tall building clearly does
qualities. It also helps to appreciate different architectural not respect the historic building next to it. (Sketch by
styles that belong to different times. (Photograph by author) author)
Guidelines for Tall Buildings Development 257
building height profile where appropriate. A

staggered arrangement may also facilitate a better visual
access to desirable features. It breaks up the wind
forces thereby minimizing the canyon or tunnel
effect (Fig. 6).
2.3. Gateways
City gateways are important for several reasons. They
create a newcomer’s first impression of the city and
provide clear orientation and guiding symbols. They
may also provide the visual pleasure of
experiencing an attractive and livable urban
environment. Further, they stimulate economic
activities by functioning as anchoring points. Because
Figure 4. The base of Heritage at Millennium Park (rear) of their sheer size and height, tall buildings have
relates to the height of Chicago Cultural Center (front). Such the potential to function as gateways to the city.
architectural treatment provides a sense of visual continuity. Potential locations of gateways include approaches to
(Photograph by author) major streets and arteries, and transit nodes, including
harbors, airports, and train stations. The Shard
View corridors play a significant role in (London Bridge Tower) in London’s Southwark
determining the visual character of the city by revealing district, for example, is located at the London Bridge
destinations and assisting pedestrians and Station, which receives 70,000 people per day. The
motorists to orient themselves to the layout of streets volume of traffic is likely to increase once the tower has
and various parts of the city, including the downtown. been completed and occupied. It creates a landmark on
Distant views provide visual and psychological the south bank of the Thames. These places constitute
connections to the world surrounding the city. An “entrances” to the city or community. Placing tall
analysis of the natural and urban contexts will reveal buildings in these areas may
areas containing strategic views of the city that tall reinforce the gateway effect. Gateways through
building development may take advantage of. For tall buildings have the potential of framing view
example, large water bodies (e.g. lakes, seas, oceans, corridors and enhancing the scale and character, and
rivers) and green areas (e.g. parks, gardens, 2.4. Landmarks
providing strong spatial definitions.
orchards) are usually considered desirable features. Landmarks provide similar opportunities and benefits
A View Corridor Protection Plan (VCPP) for the to that of gateways. Landmarks enrich the visual
city is desirable so that views to these coveted features reference and orientation, create urban legibility, and
and built heritage are protected (Fig. 5). Further, it is enhance the visual experience and imageability of the
important that the location of a new tall building city. Because of their sheer size and height, tall
development ensures adequate visual access to buildings can create distinct landmarks. Spatial
skyviews. The spatial arrangement should avoid a organization should consider the
“wall” effect by creating a varying
Figure 5. The City of London sets visual plans to protect its conservation areas and views leading to historically
significant buildings, most notably St. Paul’s Cathedral. The locations of tall buildings with their associated heights
follow plans.
visual the (Sketch by author; adopted from ldfconsultation.cityoflondon.gov.uk/)
Figure 6. Spatial layout in relation to views, wind, and natural light. Layout increases shadow effect and prevents or dimi- nishes
accessibility to desirable views, blocks air flow in one direction and creates wind tunnel effect between rows of densely
packed buildings in the other direction (left). Layout is pleasing and non-obstructive to desirable views, improves air
flow among the buildings, and reduces shadow effect; this arrangement of buildings disperses the wind and decreases
wind tunnel effect (right). (Sketch by author)
potential of tall buildings to function as landmarks at tation points, and pleasing

various geographic scales (district, region) and views.
various key locations (primary transit nodes and 2.4.6. Block landmarks
corridors) as follows. Grouping towers within a block may provide an oppor-
2.4.1. District landmarks tunity to create a collective landmark. Unlike single
Defined as buildings between three and four times the landmarks, which are more distinct, clustered
typical building height, district landmarks provide landmarks are
a dominant effect on their immediate and wider less legible, yet can be useful to viewers for visual
surroundings. This type of tall building significantly identity.
2.5. Social issues
impacts the skyline and can establish orientation and Reviews of residential tall building projects should
reference points. District landmarks work best when address potential social problems of crowding and
they house public and civic use, and symbolize cultural density, economic parity or disparity of residents,
and collective meaning (Kostof, 1991). They can and the effects on family stability, public order, and
enhance legibility of an area by emphasizing central the mental and physical states of individuals and
nodes and significant civic, cultural, or transportation communities. Inter- action between designers and
activities. social scientists is highly recommended. Another
2.4.2. Metropolitan landmarks social dimension concerns making tall buildings
These are defined as buildings whose height is affordable to various social classes of a society to
more than three to four times the typical building height encourage integration. An element of affordable
in the city. Metropolitan landmarks have a housing should be sought on all residential or
stronger visual impact than district landmarks. mixed-use developments. Some guidelines propose
that 30% of all dwellings be affordable housing. It
2.4.3. Terminus landmarks is also suggested to provide affordable housing in
Tall buildings may be used to terminate corridors. This all developments containing 25 or more new
is an ancient practice; for example, the towers of dwellings, or with a site area exceeding one hectare
many churches and minarets of mosques have been (2.5 acres).
located to terminate corridor views. Further, tall buildings, particularly when grouped toge-
ther, need to be complemented with a network of
2.4.4. Edge landmarks open spaces easily accessible by the occupiers of the
Tall buildings, as significant physical barriers, can proposed development. The amenity value of
enhance the legibility of the boundaries of a district communal space, outdoor space, and recreational space
by creating vivid edges. within the building should also be considered. In the
past, the importance of making residential tall buildings
2.4.5. Waterway landmarks adaptive to local culture, context, and the environment
Views along waterways are especially significant was not adequately under- scored. This is reflected by
because the openness of water spaces allows for literature survey demon- strating general user
relatively long-distance views. Development should dissatisfaction with residential high- rise buildings. To
recognize the opportunity for providing landmarks of create an organic lifestyle similar to the ground plane
and social significance along waterways, providing
cultural utmost
that willpriorities
appeal by
todesigners,
residents’isdemands,
needed. For successful
a new way
orien- of thinking, in which green design and
sustainable community development principles are
given
Figure 7. The relationship between areas of low, small-scaled buildings and areas of high, large-scaled buildings forming
clusters can be made more pleasing if the transition in building height and mass between such clusters is gradual.
(Sketch by author)
urban design of the 21st century, a major consideration is the entry points to a city, neighborhood, or a district. It
to meet the goals of sustainable community would be appropriate to designate gateways in a cluster
planning. This is especially important for urban in order to enhance its legibility and provide clear
residential developments. The goals are the efficient orientation for pedestrians and motorists. Gateways
use of space, minimizing natural resource are also symbolic signs of welcome and serve as
consumption and environmental impacts, as well as preludes to what lies behind. Architectural style,
preserving open space and unique cultural, historical, landscaping intensity and schemes, as well as scale all
and scenic urban landscape in terms of physical space are important to make gateways distinct and
planning. recognizable.
3. Spatial Clusters Design Guidelines 3.2. Visual relief
Drops in elevation facilitated by, for example, open
Locating tall buildings in clusters assists in creating spaces and parks can offer visual relief to viewers.
distinct and imageable environments. Without pedestrian access to an open space
Clustering tall buildings as an urban design strategy buildings provide little to no visual relief. Varying
preserves open spaces since the development uses “ver- architectural details also help to achieve visual
tical” space rather than lateral space. Further, relief. This includes façade variation, materials and
clustering tall buildings has an agglomeration effect and window treatment, and shape.
results in fostering synergy and improving and
diversifying amenities. Clustering creates a “ripple 3.3. Transition
effect” that promotes powerful socio-economic and We recommend that a coherent gradation in
cultural agglomerations. Another benefit is that building height profile from the high density core
clustering provides opportunities to strengthen the area to the fringe/low density areas be provided.
city’s imageability. The strategy of clustering tall Such transition creates a positive visual effect on
buildings is most effective when the city changes viewers. While many cities may achieve a pyramidal
from an expanding to a compact metropolis. skyline when tall buildings are clustered in the CBD,
We recommend that clusters incorporate the following other forms are common. Tall buildings are usually
features. Figure 7 illustrates the importance of located at transportation nodes and in urban
incorporating the following urban design qualities regeneration districts. Consequently, each district can
in tall buildings’ clusters. have visual hierarchy in relation to the skyline of the
3.1. Focal points city (Fitzner, 2008). When more than one cluster is
It is recommended that cluster compositions incor- introduced in a city next to each other, a gradual
porate central points of significance. These points transition should be observed between the clusters.
are intended to provide visual references and improve 3.4. Varying building heights and massing
spatial orientation and navigation. Therefore, focal It is preferable to achieve varied building heights; for
points should be developed where they logically orient example, higher buildings can be sited where they add a
people and mark significant places. On the other hand, landmark quality. On the other hand, lower buildings
miss-located focal points detract from the intended can be sited next to the “pedestrian spine” and other
emphasis on significant places. The employed density, important open public spaces. Zoning laws and
height, and architecture of focal points may vary to ordinances regulate both FAR and OSR that restrict
give a cluster an identity. The specific perceptual building massing. Consequently, tall buildings
characteristics of focal points may further vary to generally step or taper as they rise. Beyond that are
reflect functional use such as residential, commercial, functional and structural reasons to change building
andGateways can also serve as focal points since they are
civic activities. ings, offices
massing. and retail spaces
In mixed-use build- require larger floor plates
than residential functions. The building form in diversity as a design concept is of utmost importance
often expresses these distinctions. They also require in clustering tall buildings. Many architects,
different floor-to-floor heights and, possibly, different however, will agree that unity is important relative
structural solutions. to the design principles; however, they could object to
the notion that merely style is that important. New
3.5. Design diversity buildings should generally reflect the era in which
It is preferable that multiple towers within a develop- they are designed in tune with the fashion of the time.
ment not look identical. They should, at a minimum, be Many modern buildings co-exist with historical
varied in form and/or façade design (e.g. materials, buildings designed in other styles. Urban variety is
fenestration, hierarchy, curtain wall system) to create often more desirable than bland uni- formity.
diversity for viewing pleasure. Mixed-use urban
design schemes that incorporate a variety of socio- 3.7. Ventilation
economic activities are helpful to achieve physical The layout of tall buildings and the design of individual
design diversity. buildings should facilitate natural ventilation in order to
3.6. Visual coherence ensure a healthy environment. The layout of
All cluster elements should conform to a coherent buildings and their massing should facilitate the
design rationale and appearance that demonstrates a movement of air among buildings. Important layout
unity of style, rhythm, and balance. While diversity in and design considerations are illustrated in Figs. 8 and
design is important, it does not imply viewing 9 (Zacharias, 2001; Ng, 2010a). Within the tall
incoherence. Unity buildings, the employment of me-
Figure 8. Two urban layouts with different wind speeds: lower speed due to higher building blockage (left); higher
speed due to more wind penetrability (right). Numbers in the figures represent degrees of wind penetrability. (Sketch by
author; adopted from E. Ng, 2010a)
Figure 9. Wind in relation to tall buildings’ layout and street orientation. (Sketch by author, adopted from E.
Ng)
Figure 10. “Towers in the park” block model (left) envisioned by Le Corbusier has been criticized as anti-urban. The
revised mixed-use block model (right) suggests mingling the towers with mid- and low-rises in the same block based on
required functions, services, and activities. (Sketch by author)
thods such as the E/V shaft cooling method is proven to the desired visual privacy (Al-Kodmany,
be effective to decrease the stack effect problems 1999).
(Lee, Song, and Jeong, 2012). 4.3. Transitioning
Tall buildings can limit their impact on neighboring
4. Block Considerations streets, parks, buildings, and open space, particularly
in
Within a block, several issues should be observed corner blocks, in terms of visual intrusion and
in arranging buildings, as follows. human scale violation by creating appropriate transitions
in scale to existing and planned buildings in the
4.1. Spacing of towers neighborhood. Achieving transitions among buildings
To ensure adequate light, air, access, and view for also help to break monotony and create visual interest
residential units on upper floors, a minimum 4.4. Revised “Towers-in-the-park” model
and pleasure.
distance between tall buildings should be observed. The freestanding “towers-in-the-park” model was
Some urban design regulations specify 25 m (80 ft) ini- tially presented by Le Corbusier in the 1920s.
as a minimum distance. The required distance should, However, this model has created repetitive and dull
however, increase with increased heights. In dense urban patterns that are characterized by inflexibility. It
arrangements, rounded and curved tall buildings and is inadaptable to functional changes and emerging
diagonal arrangements may help to mitigate the problem needs; and is therefore anti-urban in character. The
of closeness. Spacing should provide for adequate comfort of open space in the central district of cities is
natural light to the interior spaces of towers (Ng, manifested in its treatment as a positive element in
2010b). This can be ensured through the sun’s design, not as a leftover space in between or
movement and shadow studies. Further studies outside tall buildings. The revised model suggests
should be conducted to develop a relationship blending the towers with medium- and low-rises in the
between the height and spacing of tall buildings to allow same block based on required functions, services, and
adequate light and air between them. activities (Fig. 10).
4.2. Corridor views and visual privacy 4.5. Functional connectivity
An adequate respect for privacy is achieved when ori- Layout should enhance pedestrian connectivity between
entation, facing distances, and spaces in general are tall buildings and open spaces. Placing barriers such
arran- ged to mitigate overlooking across the residential as roads between tall buildings and open spaces may
windows and balconies of one building and the hinder the utility of open spaces. Further, the street
residential windows and balconies of another. 340 On views of the containment of open spaces filled or
the Park, a high- rise condominium tower in Chicago is seamlessly connected with tall buildings viewed from
shaped to take advantage of views overlooking the interconnected pedestrian level are instrumental in
Lakeshore East Park, Mil- lennium Park, and Lake generating the beauty of the urban environment (Fig.
Michigan. A certain amount of care regarding residential 11).
visual privacy is essential when locating a high-rise 4.6. Alignment
next to low-rise buildings. The desirable level of New tall development should be massed to define the
tions should
privacy ensure that
is a cultural the achieved
variable. visual privacy
The regula- edges of streets, blocks, parks, and open spaces.
matchs The
Figure 11. Connecting tall buildings with open spaces (e.g. a park). The street runs between the park and tall
buildings (left). The park and tall buildings are seamlessly connected (right). The latter strategy is more desirable. (Sketch by
author)
ground and second floors of new development should be security and safety by creating visual connections
built to the property line along street frontages. The among the buildings. The visible boarders of the
buildings’ alignment is particularly important at the con- layout create ‘defensible space,’ and the overlooking
fluence of transportation routes, and placement buildings provides natural surveillance. The enclosed
should ensure achieving a sound and comprehensible space such as garden becomes a focal outdoor living-
spatial relationship (Fig. 12), (Hedman and room to the community and provides a center of
Jaszewski, 1984). visual interest. Well-propor- tioned enclosed spaces of
4.7. Street intersection imageability sound height-width ratios also mitigate the impact of
A corner site enjoys prominence on a block because of tall buildings on human scale.
its highly visible location. The footprint area of a 4.9. Height-to-width ratio of street
tall building has to be reduced to meet setback The sense of enclosure created by certain ratios of
requirements from the streets, pushing the building’s street height to street width is also important for
height upward within the allowable FAR limit. Such achieving satisfying places. Building height and
a building may, however, take the opportunity to street width
strengthen the corner with special architectural
treatments, plazas, and landscaping in order to
improve the intersection imageability and human scale
(Fig. 13).
4.8. Sense of enclosure
Grouping of buildings should be observed to promote a
sense of enclosure as a means to tie buildings
together and enhance the spatial definition of public
space (Fig. 14). Enclosure provides a unifying
framework and a cohesive whole to the various
elements of the spatial composition. By and large,
enclosure improves sense of
Figure 13. Step-like profile (top left) improves spatial rela-

tionship of tall buildings to human scale and street inter-
section as opposed to a vertical tower (top right). Picture
Figure 12. Aligning buildings according to sound at the bottom shows Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel in San
spatial definitions. A simple and easy-to-comprehend space Francisco. The step-like profile improves its relationship to
(left) is contrasted with a complicated and ill-defined space human scale and street intersection. (Sketch and photograph
(right). by author; adopted from Hedman and Jaszewski,
(Sketch by author)
1984)
realm. In general, the taller the building, the stronger is

the wind potential in the form of turbulence at the
building’s base. Monolithic buildings (those that do
not change shape with height) almost invariably will
be windy at their base when they are significantly taller
than most of the surrounding buildings. Downdrafts off
buildings are accelerated by the tunneling of wind
between buildings. The tunneling effect could be
minimized with a good layout which should work
positively with local prevailing winds to enhance the
microclimate of inner areas and facilitate air
movement and support breeze- ways. It should be
noted that the breeze interruption effect of tall
buildings is increased proportionately with their
heights, most notably in Central Business Districts
(CBDs), (Sato, Ooka, and Murakami, 2012). The
introduction of building setbacks and pronounced
architectural features, such as projecting cornices,
Figure 14. Tall buildings layout should observe
opportunities for creating a sense of enclosure, which awnings, and cano- pies, or other elements which
conveys a sense of safety and comfort to pedestrians. give a three-dimensional relief to a structure, all tend to
Bottom photograph shows Lakeshore East Development in help mitigate the potential impact of increased winds.
Chicago. The layout of the development provides a sense Careless and unintentional provision of such elements
of enclosure. (Sketch and photograph by author) and recesses may create wind- catching pockets,
increasing local wind speed and turbulence. Podiums,
should observe healthy ratio and respect human if properly designed, can mitigate wind- related
scale. Height-to-width ratio should avoid creating a problems at the base of the tall building. The
“canyon effect” and claustrophobic spaces. Although it placement of site features, such as walls, berms,
is not prag- matic to pinpoint an optimum ratio, a and landscaping features, similarly can help to
general rule is to increase the street width in relation to mitigate the wind impact by reducing speed or creating
the average height of tall buildings flanking the street sheltered areas that might be most appropriate as
within practical limits. The actual ratio also depends on seating or standing areas. Careful aerodynamic
the type of street being designed for, i.e. major considerations can go a long way in reducing the
boulevards, arterial, collector, etc. downdrafts and turbulence at the ground level as is
4.10. Daylight and shadow the caseWeather
4.12. protection
with the Swiss Re Building in London.
A very important design consideration is the impact of Providing a weather protection system for the pede-
the tall building on the microclimatic environment strian has to be a priority in the design of groups
and the shadows that the tall building might cast of towers. In commercial districts, in particular, each
during daytime over the pedestrian realm; project on the ground floor should contribute to the
including parks, plazas, and streets, (Ng, 2010b). provision of a weather protection system that allows
Urban design studies require a greater analysis of pedestrians to walk comfortably throughout whole
shadow patterns, such as seasonal and regional effects. districts, and may enhance the enjoyment of public
In cities that experience an extended period of cool amenities and the outdoor environment. The protection
autumn and spring seasons, and a cold winter season, system may also help to articulate the base and
the availability of direct sunlight to areas of pedestrian define the street edge.
activity plays an extremely important role in supporting 5. Tall Buildings Design Guidelines
the use of pedestrian areas. Frequently, during these
seasons, the availability of the sun’s warmth makes 1. Building design
walking on a street, sitting or standing within a Comprehensive architectural quality of tall buildings
park or plaza quite tolerable and often inviting whereas where interior and exterior design issues are
a shaded portion of the same areas may be addressed warrant a separate study. However, design
uncomfortable. One strategy to reduce the effect guidelines that we offer in this section can go a long
of shadow is by manipulation of the form, for way to better blend tall buildings with their
example, providing step- backs in the building, settings in a city.
4.11.
(Hedman Windandimpact
Jaszewski, 1984). 5.1.1. Tripartite design
The layout, massing, height, and design of tall Tall building design is encouraged to integrate three
build-all affect wind impact, particularly on the
ings distinct parts (base, shaft, and top) into a single
pedestrian whole
Figure 15. The 122 Leadenhall Street Building in London, by R. Rogers. Form articulations: progression from plain to
intricate (1-5). Note how the articulation enhanced the entrance’s prominence. The wedge-shaped tapering shaft represents
interesting geometry and was designed to protect view of the nearby St Paul’s Cathedral. The top is marked by a
simple but distinct apex. (Sketch by author)
(Fig. 15). The base provides a portion of the building proportion with the overall building, the ground
with articulation that is related directly to the human floor’s floor-to-ceiling height must be considerably
pedestrian scale while the middle portion of the greater than that of the building’s upper stories.
building, called shaft or stem, generally provides a Building entrances should be clearly identifiable.
pattern of fenestration and detail that lends a sense of Roughly speaking, up to 30 m (100 ft) of the tall
rhythm and scale to a building both horizontally and building’s base should respect the human scale and
vertically. The top or crown of the tower typically support human ability to perceive visual intricacies and
receives special treatment that terminates the building complexity.
in an ornamental or distinctive manner. Base, shaft, and It is desirable to provide narrow retail frontage in order
top also play an urban role. The base relates the building to increase the number of shops and potentially increase
to adjacent buildings in scale, proportion, and possibly a variety of provided goods and services. According
materials, color, and/or texture. The shaft relates the to Coquitlam’s urban design codes, storefront widths
main body of the building and facades to other should not exceed 12 m (40 ft) of frontage. The
buildings in the neighborhood and district, and the top design should also avoid creating big gaps between
communicates the iconic status of the tall building as stores in order to ensure spatial continuity that
an urban landmark. transforms the street into a
5.1.1.1. Base/Podium
The base is the most important part of tall buildings as it
is how the building is connected to the surrounding city.
The base should not appear to be heavy and
clumsy. While not essential, the incorporation of a
low-level podium at the base should be considered to all
proposed developments of tall buildings. It should not
exceed 5-6 stories in order not to block views to the
shaft. A colonnaded base also has the advantage of
alleviating the wind uplift around the building and
providing extra shelter and protection from
weather for pedestrians. Colonnaded-base buildings
and green roofs can also be used to control
downward wind flows (Fig. 16).
It is important to improve the interface of the base with Figure 16. Protecting pedestrians from wind’s reflection
the public realm. Blank facades, internal refuse through podium design. Green roofs atop arcades have the
stores, bicycle bays, undercroft parking, etc. must be potential to further mitigate wind effect and add aesthetic
should
kept to support passive
an absolute supervision
minimum. of the street
Sufficient space.in
openings qualities. (Sketch by author)
In
the facade
coherent outdoor space (Ysebrant, where the building meets the sky, and if well-
2008). designed, they can enhance the skyline and create
5.1.1.2. Shaft legibility from a distance. Flat-top buildings designed in
The bulk of towers making up the shaft or stem should the International Style lacked a clearly visible top.
be reduced by articulating the masses with changes Classical tall buildings designed prior to the Modern
of plane, stepped terraces, modulated plan, balconies, era, and those designed during the Post-Modern era, as
and façade forms. Articulation should evolve from a well as the present era of pluralism, generally have
rational building design approach, and avoid treating the well-defined legible tops. Attention needs to be given
building as a mere object. The design of individual to the treatment of telecom- munication apparatus,
buildings should also consider functional issues such plant rooms, mechanical equipment, external
as shadow impact and the provision of natural light. In cleaning hoists, etc. Design should demonstrate a
cases where there are difficulties to provide direct sensitive approach to these elements which interfere
natural light, it is recommended to employ with the clarity of the silhouette and the roofline of the
techniques such as light pipes and light shelves to building. In general, it is good practice to make the tops
channel natural light deep into interior spaces of buildings lightweight and readily visible. Inte-
(Elbakheit, 2012). grating alternative accommodations on upper floors,
Overall, slender towers are preferable over slabs such as duplex apartments or rooftop restaurants, is
and monolithic as well as bulky towers. Thinness of a viewed as a desirable design solution.
tower improves the provision of light and its elegance 5.2. Parking design
and sky view (Ali and Armstrong, 1995). However, The problem of car parking is a serious issue within a
overslender- ness should be discouraged because it city, particularly in its dense urban core where most tall
poses structural challenges for motion control and buildings are located. Limiting parking provisions
impact by flying objects, and creates proportion and will ensure that the base floors of tall buildings are
scale problems. The aesthetics of a building’s mass can not dominated by car-parking and will help in
also be improved by articulating the tower’s footprint delivering
and segmenting the mass via hori- vibrant frontages onto the street. Where provided,
zontal bands (Fig. 17). We recommend that a underground parking is a possible choice.
tower’s design reflects its functionality, i.e., residential, Alternatively, the parking should be architecturally
commercial, mixed-use, etc. It is also integrated with the building design (Fig. 18) or
recommended to seek design diversity within the same landscaping features should wrap around parking
functional
5.1.1.3. Topuse (e.g. residential). areas to screen them. Parking structures designed
The design of building tops is important in that this is as secondary utility-type structures have often been
visually unappealing but attempts are being made to
improve their appearance and aesthetic
Figure 17. The National Bank of Bahrain in Manama, Bahrain (unbuilt) by A. Smith, author, and L. Oltmanns of
Slenderness
SOM. and excitement of form have been achieved through articulating the building footprint. (Drawing by author)
safety redundancies. Concrete cores are robust and

designed to withstand extreme lateral forces and loads.
Fire safety systems include sprinklers and wet and
dry standpipes. Egress is handled through multiple
escape routes, fire stairs, and refuge floors.
5.4.1. Stairs
North American codes conventionally require two stair-
cases minimum for tall buildings (Allen, 2004). A stair-
way’s width should not be less than 1.42 mm (56 in) and
the walking distance to an exit staircase must not exceed
Figure 18. Architecturally integrated and enclosed parking 30 m (98 ft) (Fruin, 1970). Smoke-free stairwell designs
should be encouraged for tall building design whenever are required to assist occupants in surviving high-
possible. (Sketch by author; adopted from www.tampagov.
rise fires, since immediate evacuation of fully occupied
net)
buildings is not usually a reasonable option. Stair
pressurization is required to contain smoke by
applying positive pressure above and below a fire floor
(or floors). Another design consideration regarding
stairs is that the stair door should be positioned so the
flow of occupants into the enclosure merges with,
rather than opposes, the downward movement of
people (Pauls, 1978). For supertall buildings wider
stairways are appropriate, as we have learned from
the experience of the World Trade Center towers in
New York.
5.4.2. Elevators
Codes often dictated that in the case of fire, passenger
elevators are returned to the main lobby, parked, and
shut down with open doors. Tenants’ use of
Figure 19. A “contextual” parking structure in St. elevators as a means of escape under fire conditions
Louis, MO. The building design picks architectural cues from continues to be considered as hazardous and should
neighboring buildings and appears to be a regular building be avoided until a viable solution is found to
that seamlessly fits into the neighborhood. Also, the overcome the danger. Eleva- tors can only be used by
ground floor integrates retails and restaurants so that they firemen, by using a separate key switch in order to
enliven pedestrian and street life. (Photograph by author) evacuate elderly and handicapped people and to
move equipment up. The fireman’s switches make
quality (Fig. 19). We note that due to changes in elevators safe to use in the event of a blaze by
lifestyles, parking regulations may be trending giving firefighters control of them so they do not open at
downward as more people today prefer to use public the floor of the fire. In some tall buildings, special ele-
transport and choose not to use automobiles to avoid vators are dedicated for the firemen’s use to bring up
traffic gridlock and save money on expensive fire equipment and assist handicapped people to
gasoline (Gifford, 2007). descend. Each of these elevators has a two-hour
5.3. Accessibility rated elevator lobby and a special pressurization
Tall buildings should strive to be as accessible as 5.4.3. Refuge floors
shaft (Olsson, 2001).
possible to all people through the provision of Refuge floors for supertall buildings are designed
ramps, elevators, escalators, steps, clear signage, mainly as fire breaks where people can take shelter
sensitive lighting schemes, non-slip surfaces, while waiting for evacuation. For example, if occupants
harmonious color and texture schemes, sitting places, are on the 68th floor, they don’t have to run all the way
and legible internal layouts. down the building to escape the fire; they can just run
5.4. Safety regulations and building codes midway down to the refuge floor in the middle of the
Safety is more critical in tall buildings than of that in building. By default, refuge floors provide a safe
low-rise structures because tall buildings host a place for the disabled and injured (Wood, 2003), and
greater number of lives and constitute a high-value serve as a firefighting base for firefighters to contain fire
investment. It can be emphasized though that tall and have a command operation point. They can serve as
buildings, if appro- priately designed and built, are a transitional point for using elevators for evacuation,
than
safer most other respects
in many building types, due to structural and spread
and as aoffire
fire.barrier
They tomay also break
prevent the up evacuation stairs,
life-
which reduces the possibility of a smoke stack is good practice to wire smoke alarms right to fire
effect (Wood, 2005). Some cities, such as Hong Kong, department dispatch so that firefighters arrive at the
require incorporating refuge floors every 25 floors scene before a blaze swells. Many building codes
throughout the building (BDHK, 1996). Areas of refuge mandate the provision of automatic sprinkler
require features such as wheelchair locations, two- protection systems in high-rise buildings. Heat-
way communication, detailed instructions, signage, and activated sprinklers help to extinguish fires and
identification (IBC and ICC, 2006). Refuge floor enable people to escape sooner. These systems
requirements can hardly be over- emphasized as tall should be checked periodically for functionality.
buildings are increasingly becoming taller, despite the 5.4.7. Communication systems
fact that some critics have labeled these floors as To keep occupants informed of evacuation directions
“death traps” (NFPA 5000, 2006). and status, two-way voice communication systems
5.4.4. Skybridges should be installed in all vestibules serving protected
Skybridges provide horizontal evacuation at height elevators, as well as within the cabs of the elevators
between towers. They provide an alternative escape themselves. Installing CCTV (closed circuit television)
route and are useful particularly when vertical and a separate audio channel in escape stairs can
evacuation is cut off due to a fire or other threats. provide additional information to responding
Employing skybridges also decreases the need for firefighters and onsite personnel. This type of
elaborate stairways. For example, by employing a system can alert personnel and emergency
skybridge between the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala responders to potential situations during the eva-
Lumpur, Malaysia, occupants in one tower can cuation, so they can take steps to help occupants
relocate to the next by crossing the bridge. The evacuate more efficiently. For example, they can aid the
skybridge helps in reducing the time needed for occupants by pointing out exits that may have less use
evacuation of a single tower and the required number of or a refuge area if the integrity of the exit is
stairways (Wood, 2005; Pelli, 2001). The skybridge compromised. In addition, the communication system
application could be useful in cities of densely needs to be able to survive the expected incident
clustered (NFPA,
5.4.8. 2002).power generators
Standby
towers, such as those found in the Far East, because sky- In the event of a power failure, standby power
bridges provide horizontal connections at heights among generators are needed to handle all fire systems;
these towers. These can be widened and used as certain including fire pumps, firemen’s elevators, smoke control
types of common areas and occupancies. One downside systems, and emergency lighting. The generators
of skybridges is that they may change the crowd should handle non- life-safety components such as
flow pattern. In a typical evacuation, the flow goes dedicated chillers, lifts, fresh air plants, and
downward to the ground floor. When a skybridge is computer rooms.
employed, an additional flow going up to the skybridge 5.5. New safety measures
is created. Two crowd flows may create confusion, Following the WTC collapse, authorities, building
conflict, or crashes among tenants. This problem can owners, and the public-at-large have raised
be alleviated by adding more skybridges at different serious concerns about the issue of safety in tall
levels Compartmentalization
5.4.5. so flow can always be guided downward. buildings. Researchers and professionals of many
All floors in tall buildings are required to be “fire disciplines came to the conclusion that current codes for
compartments.” This includes the outer walls, which tall buildings are inadequate. The National Institute
need two-hour integrity and loadbearing capacity. The of Standards and Technology (NIST) researched
requirement may be met by the frame of the building WTC’s collapse and came to a greater appreciation of
and cladding systems hung from the frame. It is providing safety measures when it estimated how many
essential that fire sealing between floor edges and the people would have died if WTC were fully occupied. It
cladding system is rated at two hours. Outer non- would have taken more than three hours to fully
loadbearing walls need fire resistance properties to evacuate the buildings, and in the process, 14,000
prevent fire transfer from floor to floor, or on the same people -- 28% of the occupants -- would have died
level across re-entrant corners via the façade, limiting because of insufficient stairwell capacity (Tubbs,
the possibilities of radiant heat transfer. To help 2009). NIST re-stressed that time is the essence in
control smoke movement due to the stack effect in evacuation, as damage increases exponentially as time
tall buildings, walls and floor-ceiling construc- tions progresses. It called for changes in high-rise
should be airtight. Collectively, these elements work building design to improve evacuation time in an
together to provide a safe and secure environment emergency. The following are highlights of key NIST’s
in high-rise buildings (Tubbs, 2007). recommendations (Tubbs, 2009).
5.4.6. Smoke alarms and sprinkler systems 5.5.1. Full building evacuation
Smoke alarms are required to alert a fire incidence. It Conventionally, high-rises have been built
assuming
“staged evacuation,” where the entire building wouldn’t Therefore, there is an increasing need for research
need to be evacuated at once. Instead, during a fire on that guides tall buildings development. This paper is
one floor, occupants evacuate to adjacent floors until it meant to cater to these needs. Through laying out major
is safe to return. Traditionally, the egress width has been concerns and specific directions as well as providing
designed to accommodate three to five floors evacuating extensive illustrations, it is hoped that this paper serves
simulta- neously. Consequent to the WTC collapse, it as basis for advancing and detailing more guidelines for
was doubtful that a tall building’s occupants would feel tall buildings development.
comfortable to remain in a tall building in an emergency
situation, as is required by the phased evacuation Acknowledgement
approach (Butry, 2010). Alternatively, if a simultaneous
evacuation strategy is embraced, it will have a The author would like to deeply thank Professor
remarkable impact on the design of the buildings and Mir Ali for his thoughtful review, comments, and
the required safety features, including increasing the feedback. Also, I would like to thank Professors
number and widths of stairways (Proulx, 2006). NIST Marty Jaffe and Tingwei Zhang for their great input
recommends that all non-residential skyscrapers that and feedback on the research project. Further, I would
exceed 128 m (420 ft) tall must have a third stairwell like to thank Angie Marks (senior professional
and fireproofing capable of withstanding a pressure of planner), Jan Cook (professional editor) and Cecily
47,880 N/m2 (1,000 lb/sq ft) (Puchovsky, 2007). Cruz (research assistant) for editing the paper.
5.5.2. Use of elevators
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Green Design of Residential High-Rise Buildings in Livable Cities
Mir M. Ali, PhD Paul J. Armstrong, RA
School of Architecture University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Abstract
This paper illustrates the interdependency of the sustainable design of high-rise residential
buildings and their urban habitats. It argues that increased density is commensurate with
the goals of sustainability and fosters a livable city with residences, goods, and services
concentrated onto a smaller land area. Green design for buildings is achieved by adopting
certain strategies such as passive solar gain, high performance façade technology, solar
energy, wind energy, fuel cells, smart materials, etc.
LEED criteria, which have been written primarily for commercial and institutional
buildings, are just beginning to be applied to multi-family residential buildings. With
more residential high-rise buildings being constructed in cities, there is a need for more
specialized criteria to address sustainable design. Significantly, LEED does not address
social sustainability that encompasses community development, social infrastructure,
demographics, and social integration. Also, ecological sustainability is not explicitly
considered in LEED criteria. That is to say, the space-defining characteristics of high-rise
residential buildings and their conformity with the natural surroundings and
environmental impact on the city must be considered. Social sustainability and
community development, in conjunction with the design of buildings and infrastructure,
determine the livability of cities and effect high-rise residential living. The paper will
present some propositions in this regard. Case study examples, such as The Solaire
located in Battery Park City in New York and The Helena, also in New York City,
demonstrate how sustainability and livability are achieved through resource conservation,
passive and bioclimatic design, and technological innovation. The paper concludes that
the livable city is intrinsically related to the design and integration of sustainable
principles applied to high-rise residential buildings and their urban environments.
Introduction
There is widespread agreement among climate scientists today that human activity mainly
through the burning of fossil fuels is one of the principal contributors to climate change
(Smith, 2005). In a report prepared for the LEED-ND Core Committee, the authors
established a relationship between public health and the built environment. They found a
direct correlation between the automobile and public health. The compactness of land
uses and the organization of the transportation system determine, to a large extent, how
much individuals drive. “The more sprawling and disconnected that houses are from
workplaces and shops, the more miles and hours individuals must travel to get from one
place to another. If there are no reasonably convenient or affordable alternatives to
driving then all of those hours traveling will be spent behind the wheel of a car” (Ewing
and Kreutzner, 2006). Their findings indicate that organization of the environment
Green Residential High-rise Buildings 1

affects travel, both in the form of vehicle trip rates and distances traveled. The pollutants
that have been attributed to vehicle travel include carbon monoxide (CO), particulate
matter (PM), and other toxins, which are harmful in their own right; as well as nitrogen
oxides (Cox) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), which combine to form ozone
(Frank et al, 2000).
The core of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions problem lies in the disparity between the
industrialized and developing countries in terms of CO2 emission per individual. The
USA at twice the European average is still increasing its emissions which currently stand
at 23 percent of the world’s total (Smith, 2005). The Kyoto Protcol, signed by over 187
countries in 1997, pledged to cut CO2 emissions by more than 5.2 percent globally based
on 1990 levels. But one great anomaly is that air travel is excluded from the calculations
of CO2. It is estimated that by 2050 air transport will be responsible for two thirds of all
greenhouse gas emissions in the UK alone (Smith, 2005). Buildings being designed now
will, in most cases, still be functioning when fossil fuels are depleted. By 2010, the
projected fuel mix for the UK will be:
Coal 16 percent
Nuclear 16 percent
Renewables 10 percent
Gas 57 percent.
The pressure to incorporate the external costs such as damage to health, buildings, and
above all the biosphere into the price of fossil fuels will intensify as the effects of global
warming become increasingly threatening.
The U.S. Green Building Energy Council (USGBEC) has created the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System as the nationally accepted
benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green
buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an
immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a
whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas
of human and environmental health:
1)Sustainable site development,
2)Water savings,
3)Energy efficiency,
4)Materials selection, and
5)Indoor environmental quality.
LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building
type and each phase of a building lifecycle (USGEC, 2007).
The LEED Rating System was created to transform the built environment to
sustainability by providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for
what constitutes a green building. LEED for New Construction and Major
Renovations is a green building rating system that was designed to guide and distinguish
high-performance commercial and institutional projects, with a focus on office buildings.
Although it has been applied by practitioners to other building types, it has limitations
when applied to evaluating high-rise residential buildings. With more residential high-
rise buildings being constructed in cities, there is a need for more specialized criteria to

address sustainable design. LEED is currently developing a residential set of ratings, but
it is limited to only six-story buildings, and not high-rise buildings. Until recently, LEED
did not address social sustainability that encompasses community development. It has
yet to develop criteria that address social infrastructure, demographics, and social
integration. Furthermore, ecological sustainability is not explicitly considered in LEED
criteria where the space-defining characteristics of high-rise residential buildings and
their conformity with the natural surroundings and environmental impact on the city must
be considered. Social sustainability and community development, in conjunction with the
design of buildings and infrastructure, determine the livability of cities and effect high-
rise residential living.
Sustainable Community Design

The idea of community is central to social and ecological sustainability. The materials
and energies that constitute ecology create the form and pattern of the community, and
these constituent elements are characteristics of the community’s scale and size
(Williams, 2007). Community may be defined as an organism—“a complex structure of
interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties are largely
determined by their function in the whole” (Miriam-Webster Dictionary, 2007).
Much of the current thinking in urban and community design in the U.S.A. focuses on
the form of neighborhood and community. This includes walkable neighborhoods; small-
scale streets; good edge definition, design, and location of town and neighborhood
centers; transportation; and community gathering places. As cities grow, consideration
must also be given to where people will live, especially in densely populated and
developed cities. Mid- and high-rise residential buildings must be factored into the
housing equation, especially with regard to creating sustainable communities
where available land area is at a premium and as the distances between living, working,
and other functions increase. A sustainable urban and community pattern, therefore,
comes from understanding and connecting and adapting to local sustainable resources
(Williams, 2007).
The social model stems from two considerations. First is the relationship of residents to
one another as individual members of a community. For high-rise communities, “the
biggest social problems in the case of the high-rise are isolation and the increasing
alienation of the inhabitants from one another” (Yeang, 2002). Second is the relationship
of eh high-rise residence to its site and surroundings, and the resulting impact on its
occupants. Where and how people live share a direct relationship to the products and
services in their daily lives. Thus social infrastructure essentially means the framework
of services relevant to social organization, and is a principal determinant of the nature
and extent of social sustainability.
The ecological model, on the other hand, when applied to urban and community design,
guides the form of the urban pattern. The elements of the pattern will help to maximize
the use of existing resident renewable energy and resources. Sustainable urban and
community design connects these natural elements so that the community works together
as an urbanism, creating independent patterns that sustain each other (Williams, 2007).
Ecological sustainability in residential high-rises requires the architect to regard the
environment as a functioning natural system and to recognize its interdependence with
the built environment.

By reconnecting to “the ecology of a place” planners and architects can develop

sustainable land-use patterns that provide connections to local renewable resources and a
sense of place within a regional context. Livable communities are improved by orienting
streets and buildings to improve comfort within structures and within the civic realm,
developing building codes that promote healthy-building design, material reuse,
deconstruction, and green building industry standards.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA, 2007) has developed the following principles
for livable communities:
1.Design on a human scale: Compact, pedestrian-friendly communities where residents
can walk to shops, public services, cultural resources, and jobs to reduce traffic
congestion, benefit people’s health, and provide a sense of community.
2.Provide choices: People want variety in housing, shopping, recreation, transportation,
and employment. Variety creates lively neighborhoods and accommodates residents in
different stages of their lives.
3.Encourage mixed-use development: Integrating different land uses and varied building
types creates diverse, vibrant, and pedestrian-friendly communities.
4.Preserve urban centers: Restoring, revitalizing, and infilling urban centers take
advantage of existing streets, services, and buildings and avoid the need for new
infrastructure. This helps to curb sprawl and promotes sustainability of cities.
5.Vary transportation options: Giving people the option of walking, biking, and using
public transit, in addition to driving, reduces traffic congestion, protects the environment,
and encourages physical activity.
6.Build vibrant public spaces: Citizens need welcoming and well-defined public spaces
to stimulate face-to-face interaction, collectively celebrate and mourn, encourage civic
participation, admire public art, and gather for public events.
7.Create a neighborhood identity: A sense of place gives neighborhoods a unique
character, enhances the walking environment, and creates pride in the community.
8.Protect environmental resources: A well-designed balance of nature and development
preserves natural systems, protects waterways from pollution, reduces air pollution, and
protects property values.
9.Conserve landscapes: Open space, farms, and wildlife habitat are essential for
environmental, recreational, and cultural reasons.
10.Design matters: Design excellence is the foundation of successful and healthy
communities.
Community Green Building Programs

Sustainable development is not a new concept. Rather, it is the latest expression of a
long-standing ethic involving peoples’ relationships with the environment and the current
generation's responsibilities to future generations. For a community to be truly
sustainable, it must adopt a three-pronged approach that considers economic,
environmental and cultural resources. Communities must consider these needs in the
short term as well as the long term.
Green building is becoming more widespread both as a solution to specific building-
related problems, and as a means of working toward a sustainable future (SCN, 2007).
Community green building programs such as the following are making great strides
toward promoting public acceptance of green building and its benefits, as well as

encouraging builders to adopt green building practices. While some green building
programs are sponsored by state or local government, others are administered by home
building industry associations or by other nonprofit groups.
Blueprint 2030: Adopted in December 2002 by the Metropolitan Council, the regional
planning agency serving St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN, Blueprint 2030 is a new strategy
for how the region can strengthen its quality of life and addresses integrated land use,
infrastructure development, affordable housing, natural resource protection, and
agricultural land preservation.
The 2030 Regional Development Framework is the initial “chapter” and unifying theme
of the Council’s metropolitan development guide. Together with the Council’s regional
policy plans, the Framework is intended to help ensure the orderly, economical
development of the seven-county area and the efficient use of four regional systems:
transportation, aviation, water resources (including wastewater collection and treatment)
and regional parks and open space. The Framework was adopted in January 2004, and
amended in December 2006. The amendments are incorporated into the text and maps
below.
The Council’s strategies are organized around four policies (Metropolitan Council, 2004):
Accommodating growth in a flexible, connected and efficient manner.
Slowing the growth in traffic congestion and improving mobility.
Encouraging expanded choices in housing locations and types.
Conserving, protecting and enhancing the region’s vital natural resources.
The Framework recognizes that “one size does not fit all” – that different communities
have different opportunities, needs and aspirations. It includes tailored strategies for
different types of communities: fully developed communities, those that are still
developing, and four different types of rural communities.
The Hannover Principles: Written by architect William McDonough and Michael

Braungart (1992), the Hannover Principles is a 70-page philosophical tract that outlines a
sustainable design philosophy for buildings, cities and products. Within the document,
nine principles guide sustainable development:
1.Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse and
sustainable condition.
2.Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend
upon the natural world, with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design
considerations to recognizing even distant effects.
3.Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human
settlement including community, dwelling, industry and trade in terms of existing and
evolving connections between spiritual and material consciousness.
4.Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well- being,
the viability of natural systems and their right to co-exist.

5.Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with
requirements for maintenance or vigilant administration of potential danger due to the
careless creation of products, processes or standards.
6.Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life-cycle of
products and processes, to approach the state of natural systems, in which there is no
waste.
7.Rely on natural energy flows. Human designs should, like the living world, derive their
creative forces from perpetual solar income. Incorporate this energy efficiently and safely
for responsible use.
8.Understand the limitations of design. No human creation lasts forever and design
does not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the
face of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not as an inconvenience to be evaded
or controlled.
9.Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage direct and
open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers and users to link long
term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility, and re-establish the integral
relationship between natural processes and human activity.
The Hannover Principles should be seen as a living document committed to the

transformation and growth in the understanding of our interdependence with nature, so
that they may adapt as our knowledge of the world evolves.
The Green Building Guidelines: The Green Building Design Guidelines come from the
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, in cooperation with the National Association of
Home Builders (NAHB). The guidelines include case studies and checklists for builders
and even buyers interested in producing or purchasing energy- and resource-efficient
homes.
The purpose of the Green Building Design Guidelines is to create a successful high-
performance building. It requires the integrated design approach and the integrated team
approach to the project during the planning and programming phases. Variations of these
guidelines have been adopted by municipalities and governing bodies throughout the U.S.
For example, Alameda County, California has published a guide tilted Multifamily Green
Building Guidelines (Alameda County Waste Management Authority, 2004) which is a
comprehensive resource for architects and project managers, including 63 recommended
measures and 8 case studies. It contains information about
what measures are appropriate to use in specific developments

at what point to incorporate measures into the project schedule
the relative costs and benefits of specific measures
where to get additional technical information or materials

Community-Based Initiatives: Arlington County, Virginia offers both a Green Choice

Home Program that promotes green residential construction and a Green Building
Incentive Program that requires all site plan applications in the county to include a
completed LEED scorecard.
Built Green Colorado was developed to highlight green builders in the Denver Metro
Region, which now applies statewide. The program is voluntary and serves as a guide
and a marketing tool for homes that meet certain green criteria. Builders and remodelers
that participate in the program receive technical assistance, discounts on educational
seminars, and other benefits.
The California Green Builder Program is a voluntary program developed by the Building
Industry Institute that sets standards for improvements in energy efficiency, reduction in
air emissions, on-site waste recycling and reduction in water use.
The City of Portland’s Green Building Program is an integrated, conservation- based
effort to promote resource-efficient building and sustainable site design practices
throughout the City. Coordinating the expertise and resources of six City bureaus, this
initiative sets aggressive goals and recommends a carefully selected set of strategies to
leverage local expertise and develop cost-effective solutions for builders, developers, and
building owners and users.
The Maryland Green Building Program works with county and municipal planners to
evaluate and modify codes, ordinances and policies that foster green building and green
development. Also coordinates a traveling green building exhibit and sponsors
workshops.
New York’s Battery Park City Green Guidelines establish a process for the creation of
environmentally responsible residential buildings that are appreciably ahead of current
standards and practices. The guidelines address the following areas of concern (Carey,
2006):
1)Enhanced indoor air quality;
2)Water conservation and purification;
3)Energy efficiency;
4)Recycling construction waste and the use of recycled building materials; and
5)Commissioning to ensure building performance.
LEED for Neighborhood Development. The LEED for Neighborhood Development

Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building
into the first national standard for neighborhood design. LEED certification provides
independent, third-party verification that a development’s location and design meet
accepted high standards for environmentally responsible, sustainable, development
(USGBC, 2007). The LEED for Neighborhood Development Public Health Report
(Ewing and Kreutzner, 2006) comprehensively summarizes the relationship between how
our communities are built and a series of public health outcomes such as physical
activity, traffic crashes, respiratory health and mental health. This is one of the first
reports that not only summarizes the impact of the built environment on public health
topics but also discusses how this information can be translated into positive changes to
the built environment. The report was supported by funding from U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and sponsored by
the LEED for Neighborhood Development partnership.

The pilot program is expected to conclude in 2008. Based on feedback gathered during
the pilot, the rating system will be revised to improve its effectiveness and applicability to
the marketplace. The revised rating system will then be balloted according to the U.S.
Green Building Energy Council’s consensus process and undergo approval by the
Congress for New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is the leading organization promoting
walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to sprawl. CNU takes a
proactive, multi-disciplinary approach to restoring our communities. Members include
planners, developers, architects, engineers, public officials, investors, and community
activists who create and influence the built environment, transforming growth patterns
from the inside out (CNU, 2007).
The Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its
people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends. It has the
following goals (NDRC, 2007):
To restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life -- air, land and water -- and to
defend endangered natural places.
To establish sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth as central ethical
imperatives of human society. NRDC affirms the integral place of human beings in the
environment and to protect nature in ways that advance the long- term welfare of present
and future generations.
To foster the fundamental right of all people to have a voice in decisions that affect their
environment and to break down the pattern of disproportionate environmental burdens
borne by people of color and others who face social or economic inequities.
Green Building Design Strategies

The term “place-based design” refers to designs that include, integrate, and connect the
site’s natural characteristics and resources into the design of buildings and environments.
Sustainable design includes all aspects of the region and microclimate including analysis
of site and regional environmental conditions, ecology, biology, geological history,
anthropology, and climate data. An in-depth analysis of the site will help determine the
following (Williams, 2007):
Optimum form and size of the building footprint;
The building’s orientation relative to natural light and ventilation;
The glazing location, orientation, and size necessary for natural and passive daylight;
The location of glazing to promote or reduce heat gain;
Locations of openings for natural ventilation;
Building materials and finishes appropriate to the impacts from the climate and the
weather;
Landscape type, size, location, and variation; and
Low-maintenance strategy for the upkeep and operational costs of the structure.
Buildings and project sites also contain a considerable amount of infrastructure such as
structure, stormwater controls, sewers, water supply, heating, ventilating, and air

conditioning (HVAC), lighting, electrical circuitry, and data management among other
things. As a community ages, the infrastructure and utilities require considerable
retrofitting, as do the buildings. Because of this, architects and planners look toward new
approaches to solving problems without using the old infrastructure such as green roofs
instead of stormwater piping or additional operable glass for ventilation and daylighting
instead of new lighting or mechanical ventilation. Renovating and reusing existing
infrastructure and infilling the urban grid, therefore, are two of the most effective
sustainable design approaches (Williams, 2007).
High-Rise Residential Buildings. Residential buildings as a class represent the most

critical building types with regard to developing a livable city and a healthy, sustainable
community. Where and how we live impacts all other functions of daily life, and the
condition and quality of the residential infrastructure directly impacts the vitality of
neighborhoods, communities, and urban living in general. Developing quality, affordable
housing for large, diverse populations in urban centers has been a goal of architects and
planners for a long time. Only recently have they begun to consider the importance of
sustainability as a determinate of urban development and the livable city.
High-rise residential buildings are vitally important when considering the sustainable
design of our cities and communities. While not all people should live in high-rise
buildings, they have become a reality for many people throughout the world, particularly
in cities and countries where land is expensive or limited and population and urban
density, especially in megacities, is a factor (Beedle et al, 2007). Many criteria that apply
in general to all buildings can be used to determine the green design of residential high-
rise buildings. However, it must also be remembered that the criteria for LEED
certification, which have been developed primarily for office buildings, have limitations
when applied to residential buildings.
The three elements of a building are floor, wall, and ceiling. The corresponding
structural elements are the foundation, column (wall), and roof. Each has finish, a
material composition, and a structure, and each impacts the flow of energy from one point
another within the structure. The embodied energy required to make and transport the
material from its raw state to the manufacturing and processing plant and then to the
construction site must also be considered. Therefore, it is usually desirable to use local
materials or reuse materials from a local stockpile to achieve more sustainable buildings
(Williams, 2007).
The proper design of a building envelope or enclosure is a critical component in
sustainable design of buildings. If a building is bioclimatically designed, then the
building skin or layers should be breath, let water out (or in for evaporative cooling), and
be impervious to moisture and cold. It should, therefore, have a lose fit and be anchored
for reuse. Most important, it should be functionally layered rather than relying on one
material to perform all its functions (Williams, 2007).
Renewable Technologies. The sun is the primary source of renewable energy. Beside’s
offering a direct source of energy, it drives the Earth’s climate creating opportunities to
draw energy from wind, waves, tides (together with the moon), and a host of biological
sources (Smith, 2005). It is particularly appropriate as an energy source for buildings.

Solar Energy. Solar energy includes passive and active solar design. Passive solar
energy has been used for a long time, especially for vernacular buildings. However, few
advances in the technology have been made (Smith, 2005). It is estimated that passive
solar design could lead to a reduction in CO2 amounting to 3.5 million tons per year in
the UK alone by the year 2025 (DTI, 2003).
Active solar refers to the conversion of solar energy into some form of usable heat. In
temperate climates the most practical application of solar radiation is to exploit the heat
of the sun to supplement a conventional heating system.
In areas where there is substantial sunshine, solar energy can be used to generate
electricity in a number of ways. Designed primarily for desert locations, a solar chimney
consists of a tall column surrounded by a glass solar collector. The air is heated by the
circular greenhouse and drawn through the chimney which acts as a thermal accelerator.
Within the chimney are one or more vertical axis turbines. A prototype was built in
Manzanares, Spain, for example, with a 644-foot (195m) high tower served by a
greenhouse collector 792 feet (240m) in diameter and gave an electrical output of 50
kilowatts (Smith, 2005).
The parabolic solar thermal concentrator is another option for collecting solar energy for
locations that receive a lot of sun. It focuses solar radiation to produce heat up to 800
degrees C.
Photovoltaic (PV) cells are one of the most promising systems for converting solar
radiation into usable energy. PV materials generate direct electrical current (DC) when
exposed to light. The advantage of PV cells over other methods of converting solar
radiation into energy is the “photoelectric quantum effect in semi-conductors,” which
means that they use no moving parts and requires minimum maintenance. Silicon is the
dominant PV material, which is deposited on a suitable substrate such as glass. Its
disadvantages are its high cost, capability of a relatively low output of energy per unit of
area, and ability to operate only during daylight hours and, therefore, subject to
fluctuation in output due to diurnal, climate, and seasonal variation.
Wind power. Wind has been used as an energy source for over 2,000 years. There are
two types of wind generators: vertical and horizontal axis. The great majority of wind
generators in operation are the horizontal axis type with either two or three blades.
Vertical axis machines such as the helical turbine are particularly appropriate for
placement on high-rise buildings. However, like other alternative energy sources wind
power has disadvantages including aesthetics, distances from population centers, noise,
electrical interference to home appliances, communications, and radar, hazardous to bird
migration routes, and unpredictable output (Smith, 2005).
Biomass energy. The term biomass refers to the concept of either growing plants as a
source of energy or using plant waste such as that obtained from managed woodlands or
sawmills. It is estimated that the mount of fixed carbon in land plants is roughly
equivalent to that which is contained in recoverable fossil fuels (The World Dictionary of
Renewable Energy, 2003). There are three ways in which biomass can be converted into
energy:
Direct combustion;
Conversion to biogas;

Conversion to liquid fuel.
Geothermal energy. Geothermal systems extract energy directly from the earth for
heating and cooling buildings. The borehole heat exchanger (BHE) uses boreholes in the
earth through which water is pumped and returned to the surface for heating and cooling
buildings. This system is used in Switzerland for every 300 persons (Smith, 2005).
Hydrogen. Hydrogen is widely seen as the fuel of the future. It is non-polluting, has a
reasonable calorific value, and can be safely stored. Off-peak or PV electricity can be
used to split water molecules via an electrolyser to make hydrogen, which can be used as
a direct fuel or to make electricity thought he chemical reaction of a fuel cell.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device which feeds on hydrogen to produce electricity,
heat, and water. The most common fuel cell type today is the proton exchange
membrane type (PEMFC) which uses pure hydrogen. It has an operating temperature of
80 degrees C and is 30 percent efficient (Smith, 2005).
Development of Additional Criteria

As stated before, LEED does not currently consider social and ecological sustainability
criteria in its rating system. Sustainable residential high-rise buildings should use these
two additional criteria as a guide to a building’s overall performance. For example, under
social and sustainability, the following credits may be considered:
1.Centralization of social services
2.Individual psychological well-being
3.Socio-economic diversity of residents
4.Demographic diversity of residents
5.Social interaction
6.Redevelopment of “social brownfield”
Similarly, under ecological sustainability the following credits may be considered:

1.Energy consumption with regard to the natural environment
2.Building impact on surroundings
3.Reusable/recyclable materials
4.Climatic contexts
5.Vegetation and landscaping
By following the above strategies of social sustainability high-rise residents can become
integrated into the neighborhood community while also forming a community of their
own within their own building. Likewise, the ecological credits proposed here are
plausible notions that can act as guidelines for buildings seeking harmony with nature.
To design an ecologically-responsive building, the designer should take on a more
proactive and responsible attitude towards environmental issues. An ecologically
designed building must have minimal impact on the environment, and aim for drawing
renewable energy from natural sources, and utilize renewable materials thereby
providing a comfortable and healthy environmental within the building.

Green Residential High-Rise Buildings

High-rise living in major cities in the U.S. is enjoying a surge in popularity due in part to
demographic shifts, investments in real estate, and smart growth principles.
Donald Kaplan observes that these trends are part of a larger set of “life-style and health
choices” related to environmental awareness and sustainability. “These issues are not
only changing the way we live, but they are impacting and reinventing how we build
high-rise residential buildings” (Kaplan, 2007).
Although residential buildings from a key component in any sustainable urban network,
they frequently become “background” buildings, in that they do not receive the same
attention and inventiveness as high-rise commercial buildings. Opportunities for building
quality, high-rise residential buildings are emerging as costumers are beginning to
mandate a more advanced quality of life.
As buildings increase in height designing for sustainability becomes even more critical.
Tall buildings, in general, consume more energy than low-rise buildings.
Therefore, their “carbon footprints” are bigger. Designers can make tall buildings more
energy efficient by using high-performance technologies, such as photo-voltaic panels,
wind turbines, fuel cells, and passive design to augment conventional heating and cooling
systems. Other strategies include using green materials, passive solar, natural ventilation,
maximizing daylighting, and creating landscaped spaces within the building to control
microclimate and improve indoor air quality.
Figure 1: The Solaire,2003, Battery Park City, New York City, Caesar Pelli and Associates.
The Solaire: Located at Battery Park in New York City, the Solaire (Fig. 1) is
the first residential high-rise building in the U.S. to integrate green features in a
comprehensive way (Carey, 2006). It is a 27-story, 293-unit luxury apartment
building located on the Hudson River developed by the Albanese
Organization and designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates. Its sustainable
features include PV panels incorporated into the building’s facade, a
planted roof garden, and fully operational blackwater treatment system. It is
based on guidelines developed by the Battery Park City Authority, which
address five areas of concern:
1. Enhanced indoor air quality;

2.Water conservation and purification

3.Energy efficiency;
4.Recycling construction waste and the use of recycled materials;
5.Commissioning to ensure building performance.
The Solaire was the first residential high-rise building in the U.S. to be built under the
Battery Park City Authority’s (BPCA) Residential Environmental Guidelines (Carey,
2006). In planning the Solaire, the Authority realized that LEED guidelines for high-rise
buildings are geared toward office buildings, which are vastly different from apartment
buildings in terms of systems requirements, energy and water usage, and occupant
fluctuations. Though the Green Guidelines required energy efficiency 30% greater than
what was mandated by the NYS Energy Code, The Solaire uses 35% less energy than a
similar building designed to NYS code requirements, and 65% less electricity
during peak demand periods. In addition, the building’s design incorporated 382
solar panels, which generate no less than 5% of the building's base electrical load (Carey,
2006). The BPCA’s Residential Guidelines, developed by a green team of architects,
engineers, and environmental consultants led by Bob Fox, of Cook & Fox, have since
become a model for green high-rise residential buildings throughout the world.
The Helena. The Helena (Fig. 2) is an award-winning LEED Gold-rated building located
in New York City on Manhattan’s West Side. The 38-story, 600,000 gross square foot
(55,964 sq.m) building, designed by FXFOWLE Architects, was constructed to have a
minimal impact on the environment, while incorporating high-performance, sustainable
design elements in practical yet unexpected ways. While it targets urban professionals,
20% of the units are set aside for low- or moderate-income households.
The Helena features over 580 studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments, most with
river views and a host of amenities.
The building’s integrated green design features 11,906 square feet (1,093 sq.m) of
green roofs, which contribute to energy use reduction, minimize stormwater runoff by
75%, and mitigate the urban heat island effect—while creating a year-round outdoor
amenity for residents (Kaplan, 2007) Because the building envelope is sealed and
insulated for energy efficiency and moisture management, the Helena’s ventilation
strategy includes high filtration of the air supply and “trickle vents” in each operable
window for cold weather ventilation. Other sustainable contributing factors include
maximizing daylight, low-emitting materials, and a blackwater treatment plant that
conditions 76% of the building’s waste wastewater on site. The building’s design reduces
energy use by 65% by using high-efficiency water source heat pumps, micro- turbines,
occupancy sensors in stairwells and corridors, master switches in every apartment, as well
as Energy star appliances, corresponding to 33% cost savings per year (Kaplan, 2007).

Figure 2: The Helena, 2005, New York City, FXFOWLE Architects.
340 On the Park. 340 On the Park (Fig. 3) was designed by Martin
Woolf of Solomon, Cordwell, Buenz (SCB) in partnership with LR
Development. It is a new multi-family residential condominium
building on a parcel of the Lakeshore East development at 340 East
Randolph in downtown Chicago. The 64-story clad building contains
approximately 325 units and 430 parking spaces. In addition to the
standard amenities for a luxury residential building, this project takes
full advantage of the site by offering a 25 yard pool and a two-story
winter garden on the 25th floor overlooking Grant Park and Lake
Michigan. Reinforcing a commitment to sustainability, 340 on the
Park is Chicago’s first green residential high-rise and has achieved
Silver LEED certification.
It incorporates many ecological design features that can save about
10% in energy costs (Bange, 2007). The most obvious green
characteristics are its bamboo floors—a natural resource which is
readily renewable—energy efficient lights with motion detectors,
floor to ceiling high-tech insulated windows, and counter tops made
of recycled materials. It also has two outdoor terraces and a rooftop
that are designed to collect rain water, which is stored in an 11,000
gallon tank located in the basement and can be used for watering
plants during dry spells. During construction, about 80 percent of the
construction waste—approximately 2,800 tons—was diverted from
landfills back into recycling programs.

Figure 3: 340 On the Park, 2007, Chicago, IL, Solomon, Cordwell, Buenz and Associates.
Elephant and Castle Eco Towers. The Elephant and Castle Eco Towers (Fig.
4) are part of an extensive 180-acre plan to redevelop south-central London.
The mixed-use towers are situated to the east of a railway interchange that
divides the overall site. They are intended to function together as a vertical
city offering amenities found within a typical urban block. The central
feature of each tower is a vertical landscaped environment, configure
around a landscaped core. Large intermittent voids progress from public parks
and semi-public private entrance courts to private balconies, providing
communal “sky pods” and “sky courts.” The towers’ “green” features include
the landscaped spaces to buffer wind as well as absorb and reflect a high
percentage of solar radiation, reduce ambient temperatures during warmer
months, and rehabilitate the site’s ecosystem (Riley and Nordstrom, 2003).

Figure 4: Castle and Eco Towers, Project, 2000, London, England, T. R. Hamzah & Yeang.
Conclusions
LEED criteria, which have been written primarily for commercial and institutional
buildings, are just beginning to be applied to multi-family residential buildings. With
more residential high-rise buildings being constructed in cities, there is a need for more
specialized criteria to address sustainable design. This paper has shown that while LEED
does not adequately address social sustainability that encompasses community
development, social infrastructure, demographics, and social integration, initiatives such
as the Hanover Principles and Blueprint 2030 have already framed some of the criteria for
designing sustainable communities. LEED for Neighborhoods is a pilot program which,
if successful, could be a model for developing sustainable neighborhoods in urban areas.
However, ecological sustainability is not explicitly considered in any LEED criteria to
date.
The paper proposes some plausible design strategies that can be used to address social
and ecological criteria. While ecological criteria may be relevant to both residential and
commercial buildings, social sustainability is especially important for residential and
multi-use tall buildings where separation from the ground and communal spaces is a
factor. Although this paper has been focused on high-rise buildings, the authors contend
that many of the ideas can be applied to low-rise and mid-rise structures, as well as to
single- and multi-unit dwellings with some modifications.
The space-defining characteristics of high-rise residential buildings and their conformity
with the natural surroundings and environmental impact on the city also must be
considered. Social sustainability and community development, in conjunction with the
design of buildings and infrastructure, determine the livability of cities and effect high-
rise residential living. A new generation of residential high-rise buildings such as The
Solaire, The Helena, and 340 On the Park are setting new standards for designing
sustainable buildings and livable cities through resource conservation, passive and
bioclimatic design, and technological innovation. These buildings along with community

sustainable design initiatives serve to demonstrate that the livable city is intrinsically
related to the design and integration of sustainable principles that must be applied both to
high-rise residential buildings and their urban environments if we are to achieve livable
cities, healthy communities, and ecologically balanced urban environments.
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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 216 (2016) 778 –

787
Urban Planning and Architecture Design for Sustainable Development, UPADSD 14- 16 October 2015
GREEN ARCHITECTURE:
A CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY
Amany Ragheba*, Hisham El-Shimyb, Ghada Raghebb

a
Department of Architectural Engineering, Delta University for Science and Technology, Mansoura, Egypt
b
Department of Architectural Engineering, Pharos University, Alexandria 21311, Egypt
Abstract
In recent years, sustainability concept has become the common interest of numerous disciplines. The reason for this popularity is to perform the sustainable
development. The Concept of Green Architecture, also known as "sustainable architecture" or "green building," is the theory, science and style of
buildings designed and constructed in accordance with environmentally friendly principles. Green architecture strives to minimize the number of resources
consumed in the building's construction, use and operation, as well as curtailing the harm done to the environment through the emission, pollution
and waste of its components.
To design, construct, operate and maintain buildings energy, water and new materials are utilized as well as amounts of waste causing negative effects to
health and environment is generated. In order to limit these effects and design environmentally sound and resource efficient buildings; "green
building systems" must be introduced, clarified, understood and practiced.
This paper aims at highlighting these difficult and complex issues of sustainability which encompass the scope of almost every aspect of human life.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/).
©Peer-review
2016 The Authors. Published byof
under responsibility Elsevier
IEREK,Ltd.
International experts for Research Enrichment and Knowledge Exchange
Peer-review under responsibility of IEREK, International experts for Research Enrichment and Knowledge Exchange.
Keywords: Green-building systems; sustainable buildings; natural buildings; living architecture; renewable resources; eco-design; eco-friendly architecture; earth-friendly architecture;
environmental architecture; natural architecture.
1. Introduction
Sustainability is comprehensive therefore a complex subject. It is of vital importance to all because it deals with the survival of human
species and almost every living creature on the planet. Sustainable and eco-friendly architecture is one of the main aims that humans for creating a
better life have made as the ultimate model for all their activities. For this reason, moving towards a greener architecture is well-thought-out the main goal of
the present architecture of our time (Mahdavinejad, 2014)
At the rate the development needs of this world is using the scarce and limited resources found on the earth, it is becoming obvious that
unless there are major changes to Man's thinking and behavior, the future of civilization as known today is dubious. This complex
subject has no straight forward solution, especially considering that sustainability is a goal for all to reach as they continually strive to
reach towards it.Green architecture produces environmental, social and economic benefits. Environmentally, green architecture helps
reduce pollution, conserve natural resources and prevent environmental degradation. Economically, it
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +0-100-520-6790; fax: +2-03-3877423.

E-mail address: ghada.ragheb@pua.edu.eg
1877-0428 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of IEREK, International experts for Research Enrichment and Knowledge Exchange
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.12.075
Amany Ragheb et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 216 (2016) 778 – 779
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reduces the amount of money that the building's operators have to spend on water and energy and improves the productivity of those
using the facility (Thomas, 2009)
And, socially, green buildings are meant to be beautiful and cause only minimal strain on the local infrastructure.
The buildings in which we live, work, and play protect us from nature's extremes, yet they also affect our health and
environment in countless ways. As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a new field called "green
building" is gaining momentum.Green, or sustainable, building is the practice of creating and using healthier and more resource-
efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition (Roy,2008).
1. Green Architecture
Green architecture, or green design, is an approach to building that minimizes harmful effects on human health and the environment. The
"green" architect or designer attempts to safeguard air, water, and earth by choosing eco-friendly building materials and construction
practices (Roy,2008).
2. Green Architecture and Green Design
Green architecture defines an understanding of environment-friendly architecture under all classifications, and contains some universal
consent (Burcu, 2015), It may have many of these characteristics:
Ventilation systems designed for efficient heating and cooling
Energy-efficient lighting and appliances
Water-saving plumbing fixtures
Landscapes planned to maximize passive solar energy
Minimal harm to the natural habitat
Alternate power sources such as solar power or wind power
Non-synthetic, non-toxic materials
Locally-obtained woods and stone
Responsibly-harvested woods
Adaptive reuse of older buildings
Use of recycled architectural salvage
Efficient use of space
While most green buildings do not have all of these features, the highest goal of green architecture is to be fully sustainable.
Also Known As: Sustainable development, eco-design, eco-friendly architecture, earth-friendly architecture, environmental architecture,
natural architecture (USGBC, 2002).
2.METHODOLOGY
In order to achieve the stipulated aim, the study presented in this paper, traces the following steps:
1. General overview on applying “Green Architecture “as a concept of sustainability.
2. Defining Considerations for Green Building.
3. Defining the benefits of applying criteria for Green Building strategies that could maximize energy efficiency, and indoor air
quality.
4. Describing case Study potentials in terms of Green Building aspects.
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3. CONSIDERATION FOR GREEN BUILDING
Green building involves consideration in four main areas: site development, material selection and minimization, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality
•Consider site development to reduce the impact of development on the natural environment. For example, orient the buildings to take
advantage of solar access, shading and wind patterns that will lessen heating and cooling loads.
•Carefully select materials that are durable, contain recycled content, and are locally manufactured to reduce negative environmental impacts. A growing
market exists of quality recycled products at affordable prices.
•Incorporate energy-efficient design into buildings to create an efficient and comfortable environment. Take advantage of the natural elements
and technologies to conserve resources and increase occupant comfort/productivity while lowering long-term operational costs and pollutants (CBFEE, 1999).
• Design for high indoor air quality to promote occupant health and productivity.
•Minimize the waste in construction and demolition processes by recovering materials and reusing or recycling those (CGB, 2009).
4. THE PRINCIPLES OF GREEN BUILDING DESIGN
The green building design process begins with an intimate understanding of the site in all its beauties and complexities. An ecological approach to design
aims to integrate the systems being introduced with the existing on-site ecological functions performed by Mother Nature.
These ecological functions provide habitat, respond to the movements of the sun, purify the air as well as catch, filter and store water. Designers can create
features in their buildings that mimic the functions of particular eco-systems. Species that thrive in natural ecosystems
may also utilize habitats created in man-made structures. Creating new habitat on structures in urbanized areas is especially important to support
bio-diversity and a healthy ecosystem (Thomas, 2009).
The following points summarize key principles, strategies and technologies which are associated with the five major elements of green building design
which are: Sustainable Site Design; Water Conservation and Quality; Energy and Environment; Indoor Environmental
Quality; and Conservation of Materials and Resources. This information supports of the use of the USGBC LEED Green Building Rating System,
but focuses on principles and strategies rather than specific solutions or technologies, which are often site specific and will vary from project to project
(USGBC).
Fig.1: Elements of green building design by author (USGBC).
4.1. Water Systems
Water - often called the source of life - can be captured, stored, filtered, and reused. It provides a valuable
resource to be celebrated in the process of green building design.
According to Art Ludwig in Create an Oasis out of Greywater, only about 6% of the water we use is for drinking.
There is no need to use potable water for irrigation or sewage. The Green Building Design course introduces
methods of rainwater harvesting, grey water systems, and living pools (BCKL, 2009).
The protection and conservation of water throughout the life of a building may be accomplished by designing for
dual plumbing that
recycles water in toilet flushing or by using water for washing of the cars. Waste-water may be minimized by
utilizing water conserving fixtures such as ultra-low flush toilets and low-flow shower heads. Bidets help
eliminate the use of toilet paper, reducing sewer traffic and increasing possibilities of re-using water on-site. Point
of use water treatment (fig5) and heating improves both water quality and energy efficiency while reducing the
amount of water in circulation. The use of non-sewage and greywater for on-site use such as site-irrigation will
minimize demands on the local aquifer (Stephen & Harrell, 2008).
4.2. Natural Building
A natural building involves a range of building systems and materials that place major emphasis on sustainability.
Ways of achieving sustainability through natural building focus on durability and the use of minimally processed,
plentiful or renewable resources, as well as those that, while recycled or salvaged, produce healthy living
environments and maintain indoor air quality. Natural building tends to rely on human labor, more than
technology. As Michael G. Smith observes, it depends on "local ecology, geology and climate; on the
character of the particular building site, and on the needs and personalities of the builders and users (Smith,
2002).
The basis of natural building is the need to lessen the environmental impact of buildings and other
supporting systems, without sacrificing comfort or health. To be more sustainable, natural building uses
primarily abundantly available, renewable, reused or recycled materials. The use of rapidly renewable
materials is increasingly a focus.
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In addition to relying on natural building materials, the emphasis on the architectural design is heightened. The orientation of a building, the utilization of
local climate and site conditions, the emphasis on natural ventilation through design, fundamentally lessen operational costs and positively impact the
environmental. Building compactly and minimizing the ecological footprint is common, as are on-site handling of energy acquisition, on-site water capture,
alternate sewage treatment and water reuse (Smith, 2002).
4.3. Passive Solar Design
Passive solar design refers to the use of the sun’s energy for the heating and cooling of living spaces. The building itself or some element of it takes advantage
of natural energy characteristics in its materials to absorb and radiate the heat created by exposure to the sun. Passive systems are simple, have few moving
parts and no mechanical systems, require minimal maintenance and can decrease, or even eliminate, heating and cooling costs (BCKL, 2009).
Passive solar design uses that to capture the sun’s energy:
Solar passive features
Shape and form of buildings.
Orientation of the facades.
Design of Building plan and section.
Thermal insulation and thermal storage of roof.
Thermal Insulation and thermal storage of the exterior walls.
Homes in any climate can take advantage of solar energy by incorporating passive solar design features and decreasing carbon
dioxide emissions. Even in cold winters, passive solar design can help cut heating costs and increase comfort (BCKL, 2009).
Solar buildings are designed to keep environment comfortable in all seasons without much expenditure on electricity 30 to 40% savings
with additional 5 to 10% cost towards passive features.
Major Components: Orientation, double glazed windows, window overhangs, thermal storage walls roof, roof painting,
Ventilation, evaporation, day lighting, construction material etc.
Designs depend on direction & intensity of Sun & wind, ambient temp., humidity etc. Different designs for different climatic zones.
4. Green Building Materials
Green building materials are generally composed of renewable rather than non-renewable resources and are
environmentally responsible because their impacts are considered over the life of the product. In addition, green building
materials generally result in reduced maintenance and replacement costs over the life of the building, conserve energy, and
improve occupant health and productivity. Green building materials can be selected by evaluating characteristics such as reused and
recycled content, zero or low off-gassing of harmful air emissions, zero or low toxicity, sustainably and rapidly renewable harvested
materials, high recyclability, durability, longevity, and local production (Cullen, 2010).
The materials common to many types of natural building are clay and sand. When mixed with water and, usually, straw or another fiber,
the mixture may form cob or adobe (clay blocks). Other materials commonly used in natural building are: earth (as rammed earth or
earth bag), wood (cordwood or timber frame/post-and-beam), straw, rice-hulls, bamboo and stone. A wide variety of reused or recycled
non-toxic materials are common in natural building, including urbanite (salvaged chunks of used concrete), vehicle windscreens and
other recycled glass (Woolley , 2006).
One-half of the world’s population lives or works in buildings constructed of earth. Straw bale construction is now gaining in popularity
and Many jurisdictions in California have adopted the Straw bale Building Code. Green Building Design favors natural building for its
local availability, ease of use, lack of toxic ingredients, increased energy efficiency, and aesthetic appeal (NAOHB, 1998).
Several other materials are increasingly avoided by many practitioners of this building approach, due to their major negative
environmental or health impacts. These include unsustainably harvested wood, toxic wood-preservatives, Portland cement-based mixes,
paints and other coatings that off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and some plastics, particularly polyvinyl chloride (PVC or
"vinyl") and those containing harmful plasticizers or hormone-mimicking formulations (Woolley , 2006).
5. Living Architecture
The environment like our bodies can metabolize nutrients and waste. Living Architecture focuses on these processes, integrating
ecological functions into the buildings to catch, store, and filter water, purify air, and process other nutrients. Living Architecture also
addresses biophilia, the documented health benefits associated with being in touch with living systems in the
built environment (Susan, 2008).

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Throughout history greening of outside walls and roofs of buildings has taken place. Reasons for doing so were the increase of insulation
(keep cool in summer and keep cold out in winter), improved aesthetics, improved indoor and outdoor climate, reduce the greenhouse
gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) as well as increasing ecological values by
creating habitats for birds and insects (Sheweka & Magdy, 2011).
1. Green roofs
serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, increasing benevolence and decreasing
stress of the people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat
island effect (Vandermeulen, 2011)
There are two types of green roof:
1. Intensive roofs, which are thicker, with a minimum depth of 12.8 cm, and can support a wider variety of plants but are heavier and require more
maintenance.
2. Extensive roofs, which are shallow, ranging in depth from 2 cm to 12.7 cm, lighter than intensive green roofs, and require minimal maintenance
(Volder, 2014).
The term green roof may also be used to indicate roofs that use some form of green technology, such as a cool roof, a roof with solar thermal
collectors or photovoltaic panels. Green roofs are also referred to as eco-roofs, vegetated roofs, living roofs, green roofs and VCPH (Wilmers, 1990).
(Horizontal Vegetated Complex Partitions).
2. Green Walls
Also known as vertical greenery is actually introducing plants onto the building façade. Comparing to green roof, green walls can cover
more exposed hard surfaces in the built environment where skyscrapers are the predominant building style (Jonathan, 2003).
According to Ken (Ken,2008), if a skyscraper has a plant ratio of one to seven, and then the façade area is equivalent to almost three
times the area. So, if the building is covered two thirds of the façade, this have contributed to doubling the extend of
vegetation on site. So a skyscraper can become green, thus increasing the organic mass on the site (Wilmers, 1990).
There are three types of Green Walls:

The green walls can be divided into three fundamental types according to the species of the plants; types of growing media and
construction method.
1.Wall-climbing Green wall is the very common and traditional green walls method. Although it is a time consuming process,
climbing plants can cover the walls of building naturally. Sometimes they are grown upwards with the help of a trellis or other
supporting systems (Wilmers, 1990).
2.Hanging-down Green Wall is also another popular approach for green walls. It can easily form a complete vertical green belt on a
multi-story building through planting at every story compare to the wall-climbing type (Wilmers, 1990).
3.Module Green Wall is the latest concept compared to the previous two types. It requires more complicated design and
planning considerations before a vertical system can come to place. It is also probably the most expensive green walls method (Jonathan,
2003)
•GREEN BUILDING BENEFITS
Green building is not a simple development trend; it is an approach to building suited to the demands of its time, whose
relevance and importance will only continue to increase (USGBC)
• Comfort. Because a well-designed passive solar home or building is highly energy efficient, it is free of drafts. Extra sunlight from the
south windows makes it more cheerful and pleasant in the winter than a conventional house (Kats, 2006)
• Economy. If addressed at the design stage, passive solar construction doesn’t have to cost more than conventional
construction, and it can save money on fuel bills (Kats, 2003)
• Aesthetics. Passive solar buildings can have a conventional appearance on the outside, and the passive solar features make them bright
and pleasant inside.
• Environmentally responsible. Passive solar homes can significantly cut use of heating fuel and electricity used for lighting. If passive
cooling strategies are used in the design, summer air conditioning costs can be reduced as well (Woolley , 2006).
1.CASE study
The study area has a typical Mediterranean climate. It is characterized by a long fairly warm season and a short slightly rainy
temperature winter, favorable for thermophilic biological spectrum. Precipitation falls mainly during the colder season from autumn to
spring. The prototype is therefore designed for the warm humid climate of Northern Western Coast Hinterland in
Alexandria region (UNEP, 1995)

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6.1. Localized Indigenous Knowledge (IK).
In addition to IK, Development professionals treasure this local knowledge, finding it extremely useful in solving complex problems of health, agriculture,
education, and the environment, both in developed and in developing countries, enhancing the ways that knowledge has been adapted, applied, and
disseminated.
Investigations from existing housing units within the study area habitat demonstrated the combination of indigenous architectural elements leading
to much more efficient buildings in terms of adaptability to IK.Major IK concepts applied:
1. Courtyard. Courtyard homes are more prevalent in the study area, as an open central court can be an important aid to cooling house in warm weather.
Courtyard draws fresh air down through the wind catch. The comforts offered by a courtyard-air, light, privacy, security, and tranquility - provides
the shadows are properties nearly universally desired in human housing. Courtyard used for many purposes including cooking, sleeping, working, playing,
gardening, and even places to keep animals.
Fig.2: Courtyard design by author (Amany, 2013)
2.Thickness of stone walls. The walls are designed to provide insulation, sunlight filters
through increase wall thickness (40-50 cm).
3.Roof. It is placed a mixture of sand and lime mortar above the linoleum protect the bishop
from the impact of the sun's heat and reduces the permeability of water falling from the rain in
the winter.
4.Narrow openings. Narrow openings and high from the ground to prevent the entry of heat
during the day for the inside and
maintain them for the night
6.2. Housing Prototype Suggestion
This study produced prototype referred to as Typical Housing Prototype (THP) which is built
with a central courtyard, single- story two bedrooms. The plan of the prototype is shown in
Fig.25 below.
Fig.3: House prototype floor plan by author (Amany, 2013)

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Features were considered to optimize the integration of passive design strategies. Building orientation determines the amount of solar
radiation it receives. In addition to other elements such as Evergreen trees were planted on north side to act as a wind break in winter,
while deciduous trees on south side to shade in summer only.
Courtyard design. The central courtyard allows spaces for relaxation and interaction of occupants keeping their activities
away from neighbors in addition to passive cooling strategies. It achieves enough daylight penetration, reduces solar heat and promotes
cooling breezes while keeping out hot and dusty wind.
Sun angles and Shadings. The design doesn’t oversize the amount of south-facing windows as oversizing can lead to
overheating. Horizontal exterior overhangs are used on the south side of the building to block direct summer sun. Ideal
proportions for an overhang are calculated by latitude (Alexandria, 31.2000° N).The overhang is large enough to block
summer sun, but doesn’t block sun in winter.
Fig.4: South horizontal overhangs by author (Amany, 2013)
Thermal Mass. The walls of the house are thick and massive. The high-mass walls are cooled
from the cool night time temperatures. In turn, the walls then cool the occupants during the day by
accepting the heat radiating from their bodies.
 Construction Materials.
Walls: Solid 8" Masonry wall which could be double wall for maximizing thermal mass.
Roof Construction: Flat light weight concrete (20 cm) and plaster (1 cm).
Floor: Slab on Grade covered by carpet or casework.
Rain water harvesting. The roof of the building consists of gutters or pipes that deliver rainwater
falling on the rooftop to the storage tank. Harvested water can be used for toilet flushing and garden
irrigation.
Aquifer Water. Well pumps are built to be used for extracting water from an underground source.
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Fig.5: Cross section of the suggested prototype by author (Amany, 2013)
Energy Systems.
Biogas Plant production. Biogas is one of many renewable energy systems that provide greater
independence at very low cost. Produced gas from anaerobic digestion of organic material will usually be
piped from the top of the tank to a biogas cooking stove and/or biogas lights.
Photovoltaic (PV array). Photovoltaic panels are installed on south-facing roof which is inclined with an
angle to maximize the amount of electricity produced.
Solar domestic hot water. Solar hot water systems are used to collect energy from the sun in panels or
tubes to produce
domestic hot water used in the house.
Fig.6: 3D model of the suggested prototype by author (Amany, 2013)

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Conclusion
Principles of Green Architecture are: Water features and their management; natural building design; passive solar design; green
building materials; living Architecture. These principles are applied in a sustainable fashion to achieve an eco- friendly building.
Any architect has the ability to change an entire building process by specifying materials with low carbon dioxide emissions.
Green building standards are available for almost every type of building on a global basis and these standards are well
developed and are regularly being updated; they cover all phases of a building’s life cycle from design through demolition.
Buildings that have been designed according to sustainability standards need to be operated and maintained according to these same
standards.
Buildings that were built prior to enacting these sustainability standards can also be upgraded to meet the standards that have
subsequently been put in place.
Green buildings must have a number of common components: these include a focus on energy efficiency and, in some cases, renewable
energy; the efficient use of water; the use of environmentally desirable building materials and specifications; a minimization of
the waste and toxic chemicals generated in the building's construction and operations; good indoor air quality; and an eye on so-called
"smart" growth and sustainable development.
Green architecture produces environmental, social and economic benefits. Environmentally, green architecture helps reduce
pollution, conserve natural resources and prevent environmental degradation. Economically, it reduces the amount of money that the
building's operators have to spend on water and energy and improves the productivity of those using the facility. And, socially, green
buildings are meant to be beautiful and cause only minimal strain on the local infrastructure.
Traditional building materials are to be adapted to meet code-required standards for health and safety in contemporary
buildings. Not only are they cost effective and environmentally friendly, but, when used correctly, these natural alternatives match the
strength and durability of many mainstream construction materials.
New building technologies, and in particular ICT automation and new materials, are to constantly be introduced to enhance the
sustainable building process with the goal of reducing the impact of the building on the surrounding environment by using resources
more efficiently (e.g. energy, water); enhancing and protecting the health and well-being of the occupants; and reducing any
negative impacts.
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Conceptual High-Rise Design
A design tool combining stakeholders and
demands with design
Master’s thesis in Structural Engineering and Building Technology
JOHANNA RIAD
Department of Applied Mechanics

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Gothenburg, Sweden 2016
MASTER’S THESIS 2016:62
High-Rise Building Design

A design tool combining stakeholders and demands with design
JOHANNA RIAD

Division of Material and Computational Mechanics
CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Göteborg, Sweden 2016
A design tool combining stakeholders and demands with design
JOHANNA RIAD
© JOHANNA RIAD, 2016
Supervisor: Erik Beets, VBK

Examiner: Mats Ander, Department of Applied Mechanics
Master’s Thesis 2016:62

ISSN 1652-8557
Division of Material and Computational Mechanics
Chalmers University of Technology SE-412 96 Göteborg
Sweden
Telephone: + 46 (0)31-772 1000
Cover:
Sketches from the report of a selection of different aspects of high-rise design.
Printed by Reposervice Göteborg, Sweden 2016

A design tool combining stakeholders and demands with design Master’s thesis in Structural
Engineering and Building Technology JOHANNA RIAD
Division of Material and Computational Mechanics Chalmers University of Technology
Abstract
High-rise buildings are becoming more common in Sweden, with several projects planned in
the next few years. Experience in tall building design is limited in Sweden, which can be
problematic considering the complexity of this type of projects. There are many aspects to
take into consideration, such as economy, sustainability, wind performance and vertical
transportation. It is difficult to make design changes at late project stages to adapt to aspects
that have been overlooked. Therefore, early design choices are very important in order to
achieve a satisfactory building performance.
The purpose of this thesis is to provide aid in the conceptual design process for designers with
limited experience of high-rises. Their understanding of the demands on high-rise buildings
and the implications design choices have is vital. A tool incorporating key stakeholders such
as residents, client and citizens and their demands gives a good general idea of high-rise
design and the challenges it entails.
To gain an understanding of high-rise projects, a literature study was conducted and

interviews were made with several stakeholders and high-rise experts on different aspects of
high-rise design. The nature of the information collected was analysed and a suitable way of
conveying it through a design tool was developed. The design tool is a parametric computer
code programmed in Grasshopper for Rhinoceros 3D. It takes design parameters like building
height, shape, function and slenderness as input values. It then processes the information and
gives the user feedback on the design with regards to different demands, such as daylight,
economy and structural efficiency.
It was found that working with a computational design tool is a good way to give instant
feedback on design and help the designer in their process. The design tool displays
comprehensive information that is directly connected to the current design concept, which
makes the information very accessible. However, creating an intuitive user interface proved a
challenge. Programming the information into a tool takes time and depending on the project,
modifications of the tool may be needed.
The most important stakeholders, demands and design aspects have been treated in this thesis
project, and they are discussed within the report. A design tool has been constructed and
verified through a case study. Although not all features have been implemented, the results are
promising and the design tool is a working prototype that can be used as it is or as a base for
further development.
Key words: high-rise buildings, tall buildings, architectural design, structural design,
conceptual design, parametric modelling, design process, design tools
I
Konceptuell design av höghus
Ett designverktyg som kopplar samman intressenter och krav med design Examensarbete
inom Konstruktionsteknik och Byggnadsteknologi JOHANNA RIAD
Instutitionen för tillämpad mekanik
Avdelningen för Material och beräkningsmekanik Chalmers tekniska högskola
Sammanfattning
Riktigt höga hus börjar bli vanligare även i Sverige och flera höghusprojekt planeras de
kommande åren. I Sverige är erfarenheten av höghusbyggande begränsad och det finns många
aspekter att ta hänsyn till som inte är relevanta i vanliga byggnader. Om man missar viktiga
faktorer i ett tidigt stadie är det ofta för sent att tänka ut ett nytt koncept när problem väl
upptäcks. I bästa fall kan man hitta en kompromiss så att byggnaden fungerar ändå men i
sämsta fall blir resultatet sämre än man önskat.
Syftet med det här arbetet är att skapa ett designverktyg som kan användas då erfarenheten av
höghusprojekt är begränsad. Genom att man förstår de olika aspekterna av höghusbyggande
och vilka följder ett designbeslut får kan man hitta ett bra koncept från början istället för att
behöva kompromissa med sitt koncept i senare stadier.
En litteraturstudie gjordes och intervjuer gjordes med flera olika intressenter och experter
inom höghusbyggnad. Informationen analyserades och ett lämpligt sätt att redvisa den
utvecklades. Resultatet blev ett digitalt designverktyg som tar designparametrar såsom
byggnadens höjd och form som indata. Användaren får därefter återkoppling på den aktuella
designen med analyser av bland annat dagsljus, ekonomi och byggnadssystem.
Att använda ett designverktyg visade sig vara ett bra sätt att få en överblick och förståelse för
projektet. Designverktyget visar information som är direkt sammankopplad med det aktuella
konceptet, vilket gör att den blir lätt att tillgå. Däremot är det svårt att skapa ett lättförståeligt
användargränssnitt och det tar lång tid att programmera. För olika projekt kan olika versioner
av designverktyget behövas.
De viktigaste intressenterna, kraven och designaspekterna har behandlats i det här arbetet och
de diskuteras i rapporten. Ett designverktyg har skapats och verifierats genom en fallstudie.
Trots att inte alla delar av verktyget har implementerats har resultaten hittills verkat lovande.
Designverktyget är i nuläget en fungerande prototyp som kan utvecklas vidare.
Nyckelord: höghus, skyskrapor, arkitektur, konstruktionsteknik, konceptuell design,

parametrisk modellering, designprocess, designverktyg
II
Contents
1Introduction 1
1. Background 1
2. Purpose 1 Objectives 1 Delimitations 2
3. Method 2 Describing High-Rise Projects 2 Collecting Information 2
Design Tool 3 Case Study: The Karlatornet Gothenburg Tower 3
2Introduction to High-Rises 4
1. What is a High-Rise Building? 4
2. Success in High-Rise Projects 4
3. Why Tall Buildings? 5
4. History 6
3Stakeholders 8
1. Client 9
2. Architect 10
3. City Planning Office 11
4. Consultants 11 Structural Engineer 12 Vertical Transportation Expert
12 Fire Safety Consultant 12
5. Contractor 12
6. Residents 13
7. Neighbours and Citizens 14
8. Industry 15
4Demands 16
1. Publicity 19
2. Views 20
3. Daylight 22
4. Vertical Transportation 23
5. Economy 24 Area Efficiency 24
III
Repeatability 25
Compliance with Demands 26
Structural and Material Efficiency 26
6. Manufacture and Assembly 27
7. Environmental Impact 27
Designing an Efficient High-Rise 27
Added Density 28
8. Gravitational Load Capacity 28
9. Stability 30
Wind Effects 31
Wind Tunnel Testing 33
The Beam Model 35
Combined Loads 37
Structural Efficiency 39
10.Fire Safety 39
5Design 41
1. Height 43
Height Advantages 44
Height Disadvantages 44
Approximate Height Breakpoints 44
Height, Story Height and Number of Stories 45
2. Slenderness 45
3. Shape 47
Floor Shape 47
Vertical Variation 47
4. Structural System 49
Stabilizing Core 51
Stabilizing Core with Outriggers 52
Framed-Tube Structure 53
Braced-Tube Structure 54
Space Structure 55
5. Function 57
Daylight 57
Story Height 57
Vertical Transportation 57
Loads 57
IV
6 Design Tool 58
1. Why a Design Tool? 58
2. Design Tool Options 59
3. Design Tool Description 60
4. Design Tool Functions and Details 64
Structural Analysis 64
Economy 66
Views 66
5. Reversing the Design Process 66
7 Case Study: The Karlatornet Gothenburg Tower 70
1. Context 70
2. Stakeholders 72
3. Demands 73
4. Design and Design Tool Comparison 75
8 Results 79
9 Discussion 81
Establishing information 81
Making connections 81
Displaying information 82
Future Studies 82
Case Study 82
10 Conclusion 84
11 References 85
11.1 Literature 85
11.2 Interviews and Presentations 86
11.3 Figures 87
V
VI
Preface
High-rise buildings interest me, and so does the design process used in building design. In this
thesis project I have had the chance to work with these interesting topics and have developed
my knowledge in the area. The idea for this study was partly my own, and partly the result of
rewarding conversations with professor Morten Lund and structural engineer Dmitri Jajich
last year.
The study was conducted at Chalmers University of Technology and at structural engineering
consultant’s office VBK. Interviews were conducted with people from many other
organizations and an independent literature study was performed.
First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Erik Beets at VBK and examiner Mats Ander
at Chalmers for their guidance and support throughout this study. I am also grateful to
everyone I have interviewed for taking the time and effort to assist me in this project. A
special thank you is directed to my opponent Ellen Simonsson for invaluable comments and
advice.
Göteborg, August 2016 JOHANNA RIAD
VII
VIII
1 Introduction
This master’s thesis is a study of how design choices affect high-rise building performance
and how the design process can be adapted to incorporate information about different
design aspects at an early conceptual design phase. Stakeholders, demands and design
parameters in a high-rise project are studied and described. A design tool combining all
these aspects is created, in order to display the information in a way that can aid designers
in the early conceptual design phase.
1. Background
High-rise buildings have become increasingly popular in the last few decades. In Gothenburg
the Karlatornet Gothenburg tower, which is to become Sweden's tallest building, is
planned for the city's 400th anniversary. As high-rises are becoming more common in
Sweden, it is important to understand the challenges and opportunities they entail, which
are unique to this type of building. There are many different stakeholders, demands and
design aspects to consider and the experience in designing high-rises is relatively limited
in Sweden. High-rises are complex buildings and it is difficult to overview the effects of
design choices, as many different aspects are likely to be affected. It is also a great
challenge to achieve good communication and understanding between the many different
professional groups involved in designing high-rises. Ill-considered early design choices
may lead to poor performance or large expenses in later stages and it is therefore vital that
all necessary aspects are considered and well understood early in the conceptual design
phase.
There is a lot of experience and information in the different aspects of high-rise design, such
as structural design, vertical transportation and fire safety. However, this knowledge is
difficult to access, especially since there is usually a separate source of information for
each design aspect. In a high-rise project, dozens of different consultants can be involved,
each with expertise and focus on their own part of the design. It is therefore difficult for
designers to use previous knowledge at an early design stage, where there is not enough
time or resources available to collect all the information needed to make informed design
choices.
Consequently, ill-informed design choices are likely to be made and since the early choices
greatly influence the final design, the negative consequences of these choices can be
large. Finding a way of using previous experience and expertise in high-rise design is
vital for future high-rises in Sweden to become well-performing buildings.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this project is to investigate tall building design from a holistic viewpoint and
determine how different design aspects relate to each other. The link between
architectural and structural qualities and other aspects of performance, such as
environmental and economical, will be illustrated in a design tool.
The design tool should be of help to designers in the early conceptual design phase of tall
buildings in Sweden. The aim is for the design tool to be comprehensive for all parties
involved in the design process and to be a guide in creating a successful design concept.
Objectives
 Identify the most important stakeholders, demands, design aspects and design choices
in a high-rise project
CHALMERS, Applied Mechanics, Master’s Thesis 2016:62 1
 Investigate how stakeholders, demands, design aspects and design choices are
interrelated
 Display this information in a useful and intuitive way through a design tool that can
aid in creating a successful high-rise design.
Delimitations
This thesis focuses on the early concept design phase of high-rise design. Therefore,
simplifications and guidelines are used rather than more detailed studies. Some design
aspects, such as ventilation design and foundations, are left out due to time constraints.
Questions concerning building context are treated only to a small extent since a specific
site is not chosen for the study. Most stakeholder interviews are conducted with
stakeholders in the Karlatornet Gothenburg project. The thesis focuses on high-rise
design in Sweden even if much of the content is general. Swedish regulations and
recommendations are used.
1.3 Method
Describing High-Rise Projects
In this study, high-rise projects are described in terms of project stakeholders, demands
and design. The stakeholders are the groups or individuals who form the project as
well as those who are affected by it. Demands are requests and wishes from
stakeholders as well as technical requirements. Design is described in terms of
parameters such as building height, slenderness and shape.
This approach was chosen since it captures a broad range of perspectives, giving a
comprehensive view of high-rise projects. It gives a structure that is useful for
understanding and categorizing information and is a widely accepted approach within
the building sector.
Collecting Information
To gain further knowledge in the area, literature studies were conducted. This included
studying built high-rises in Sweden and other parts of the world as well as learning about the
design and construction process and practices used in Sweden.
Different stakeholders in a high-rise project were identified. Demands from these stakeholders
as well as technical demands were then identified and the most important were selected to
investigate. These demands were then used when investigating and evaluating design aspects.
Interviews were conducted with architects, engineers, clients and other potential stakeholders,
to gain a better understanding of their respective viewpoints. Information was collected in a
broad and semi-structured way at first to understand the subject better. When enough
information was gathered to understand the core questions more specific questions were asked
in structured interviews and by complementing earlier interviews.
2 CHALMERS, Applied Mechanics, Master’s Thesis 2016:62

Some of the most important demands were found to be the building’s stiffness and its ability
to carry gravitational loads. Different structural systems were investigated and the advantages
and limitations of each were studied. The effects of wind forces proved to be an especially
important issue to consider and suggestions on how to adapt the building to high wind forces
were explored.
Design Tool
It was decided at an early stage that some type of design tool should be created to give easy
access to the information collected and discovered through this thesis project. What this tool
should look like was not determined, as it depended on the nature of the information that was
gathered in the literature study and through interviews.
Existing design tools were studied and the method best suitable for this thesis project was
chosen. It was important that the tool should not be too complicated or time-consuming to
create. It was also important that changes and additions should be easy to make as more
information to be incorporated was collected in parallel with creating the tool.
Some of the options were a computational tool, a flow chart, a written report or some type of a
guide book. In the end, it was decided to create a computational tool that uses this written
report for reference and more in-depth information. The program was written in Grasshopper,
which is a parametric programming tool inside the 3D modelling program Rhinoceros.
As a further step, multi-objective optimization was studied in order to find if it could be useful
for creating designs in a reversed process, described in chapter 6.3. Some trials made would
need to be studied more in-depth.
Case Study: The Karlatornet Gothenburg Tower

The Karlatornet Gothenburg project in Gothenburg was used as a case study. How the design
was done for this project was compared to the information gathered from the study and the
design tool was implemented to see what was done well in the Karlatornet Gothenburg project
process and what could be improved. The case study was also used to check how the design
tool works. There was an intention to test the design tool on other projects, for example the
Turning Torso, but unfortunately there was not enough time to do so.

2 Introduction to High-Rises
1. What is a High-Rise Building?
That high-rises are complex projects with many disciplines involved becomes clear from the
definition of a high-rise. There is no absolute definition of what a “tall building” is, such
as a height limit or slenderness value. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
mention height relative to context, proportions and tall building technologies as factors
which can determine whether the building can be classified as a “tall building”. If the
building displays high-rise qualities in any of these categories it is a “tall building”
(Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 2016). Some examples of high-rise
definitions found in literature are listed below.
“A building which is primarily influenced by wind loads” – Structural Engineers definition,

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (Gane & Haymaker, 2010)
“A building with height at least three times the width” – American Society of Heating,
Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (Gane & Haymaker, 2010)
“A building which is considerably higher than surrounding buildings” (Kloft, 2003)
“Buildings in which the floor of at least one occupied room is more than 22 m above the
natural or a prescribed ground level” – German consensus (Kloft, 2003)
In Sweden, any building above around 16 stories can probably be considered a high-rise
according to most definitions. However, in this thesis project, it has not been important to
choose an exact definition to work with.
2. Success in High-Rise Projects

One of the aims of this thesis is to create a design tool that can aid designers in inventing
successful high-rise design concepts. In order to do this, one must first understand what
characterizes a successful design.
Project stakeholders are, as will be described in chapter 3, defined as a person or group that
has an interest in a project. In a complex project, there are a number of different
stakeholders and they each have different requirements. The success of a project may be
expressed in terms of the happiness of these stakeholders, which in turn depends on the
fulfillment of their demands. It is difficult to fulfil all demands since they are often in
conflict with each other.
Therefore, demands and stakeholders need to be prioritized, which can be done using
stakeholder mapping, see Figure 3. Minimizing critical unhappiness among stakeholders
or
optimizing value in a project are two different views on how to define project success.
Managing stakeholders and their requirements in a project is usually a worthwhile task
since it avoids some of the most common causes of project failure. (Maylor, 2010).
Management researchers Dvir and Lechler, in their study of how planning affects project
success, choose to define success as customer satisfaction combined with project
efficiency. Customer satisfaction is by far the most important single factor for measuring
success but there are several studies that show that it has a strong correlation with project
efficiency (Dvir
& Lechler, 2003). In a high-rise project, of course, it is more appropriate to switch customers
4 for stakeholders.
CHALMERS, Applied Mechanics, Master’s Thesis 2016:62
Using the stakeholder and demand approach of defining success is considered suitable in this
thesis, since it is easy to understand and provides a structured way of viewing project success.
It also aligns with the way projects are described in this thesis.
3. Why Tall Buildings?

High-rise buildings as we see them today are not the first or only tall structures created by
man. The pyramids of Giza, ancient church towers and the Eiffel Tower are all examples of
tall buildings designed for different purposes, but with the common denominator of being
highly symbolic structures. They are certainly not the most practical or economical buildings
in a normal sense but still serve their respective purposes.
There are several possible reasons why a high-rise is built. It is important to understand what
the driving force behind the building is, as it decides what is central in the design. Building as
economically as possible is a quite different starting point from wishing to create a new icon
in the city.
Historically, high-rise buildings were developed in response to increasing land prices and the
wish to reside close to the city centers. In large cities where land prices are very high, such as
New York and London, this is a viable reason today. Flatiron building, New York is an
example of where the high prices in the city made a difficult plot economic to use for a tall
building (Rem, 2016).
Another reason to build tall is the wish to create a denser city. This enables more people to
live closer to their work places and amenities, which decreases the need for transport. It gives
people the ability to have more sustainable lifestyles. High-density areas also have the amount
of people needed for an efficient public transport system. A high-rise building is planned for
the Chalmers campus. Joakim Wallin and Åke Thunberg of Chalmers Studentbostäder state
that one of the main reasons for building tall is to fit as much student accommodation as
possible onto the attractive site (Thunberg & Wallin, 2016).
A common aim is also to create a new iconic building. It may be an icon of a country, a city,
an organization or an individual. There are many examples of this and in many regions, cities
compete to build even taller than their rivals do. An iconic building gets publicity and can
serve marketing purposes and symbolize power.
A related reason that is not to be neglected is that many are fascinated by high-rises. They are
prepared to pay a premium to live in or have their office in a high-rise. This fascination can be
seen from the comments in the case study, see Figure 61.
The main reasons to build tall can be summarized as:

 Economic gain in areas with high land prices
 Building a denser city
 Publicity
 Fascination
These reasons will be discussed more thoroughly in the chapter about demands, 4.

2.4 History
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the first high-rises were constructed in America, mainly
in New York and Chicago. The very first skyscraper is generally credited to William Le
Baron Jenney with his Home Insurance Company Building, built in 1885. High-rise buildings
were developed when rising real estate prices and the demand from businesses to stay close to
city centers made it desirable to build tall. These buildings were enabled by the development
of cast iron and steel, and made feasible by inventions such as the security elevator and mass-
produced building elements (Fazio, et al., 2008).
The first skyscraper boom culminated in the 443-meter high Empire State Building, which
was completed in 1931. It would take until the 1960’s before high-rises again became popular.
Engineers had then developed the tube structure, where load-bearing outer walls carry vertical
and horizontal loads. This enabled a very material efficient structure where the amount of
steel used could almost be halved compared to earlier structures. Examples of buildings in
this style are John Hancock Center and Sears Tower in Chicago, designed by engineer Fazlur
Kahn and architect John Graham. John Hancock Center is constructed as a huge truss, see
Figure 1, and Sears Tower has nine tubes consisting of stiff frames bundled together to form
the tower.
Figure 1 Left: Home Insurance Building Right: John Hancock Center

Other structural options have also been explored in the last few decades. The world’s tallest
building as of now, Burj Khalifa, is constructed using a symmetrical Y-shaped plan with
stabilizing struts in three directions. It was built partly in concrete, which is a very common
construction material in high-rises.

In Sweden, with its old city centers and history of lower buildings, high-rise buildings have
not started to appear until the last few decades. The tallest building in Sweden as of today is
the Turning Torso in Malmö, reaching 190 meters above the ground. It is designed by
Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2005. Outside Stockholm the Kista Science Tower (124
m) by White Arkitektkontor AB, and Scandic Viktoria Tower (117 m) by Wingårdhs
Arkitektkontor AB are two other high-rises from the early 21st century (Samuelsson, 2015).
Figure 2 Left: Turning Torso by Santiago Calatrava Right: Scandic Viktoria Tower by
Wingårdhs
In his investigation of the suitability of building high-rises in Gothenburg, Professor Claes
Caldenby (Caldenby, 1990) identifies a clear difference between American and European
high-rises. In the USA, the first high-rises originated from a practical and economical need. In
Europe, however, tall buildings have always been viewed as elements in city planning. In
Sweden, at least so far, the reason for building high-rises is not purely economical.

3 Stakeholders
Stakeholders are defined as “any individual or group with an interest in the project process or
outcome”. They can be divided into internal and external stakeholders, where internal
stakeholders are directly involved in the project and external stakeholders are people or
groups affected by the project process or outcome. Different stakeholders have different
levels of interest in and influence over the project. When there are many stakeholders
involved, it may be difficult to understand how each of them should be managed. A way to
keep track of stakeholders and monitoring them is stakeholder mapping, where stakeholders
are ranked according to their interest and influence, see Figure 3 (Maylor, 2010).
Figure 3 Mapping of possible stakeholders in a high-rise project. The ones considered

most important in the early design stages were selected for further studies.

Studying the stakeholders in a project is a good way to understand the background of the
project. Knowing who they are and what they want is vital in order to achieve a successful
project outcome, as described in chapter 2.2. Therefore, it is important to get a good overview
of the stakeholder landscape. According to Maylor, this is vital to avoid the most common
causes for project failure (Maylor, 2010).
There are many more stakeholders in a high-rise project than in a smaller building project.
Therefore it is of great importance to identify and manage stakeholders throughout a building
project. In this thesis, possible stakeholders in a high-rise project were identified and ranked
according to interest and influence. The most important stakeholders are those who have a
high interest in the project and high power to influence it. An initial stakeholder mapping is
shown in Figure 3. Since the thesis is aimed at the early stages of design, only stakeholders
important to this stage were chosen to be investigated. Some stakeholders considered less
important were not included in this study and some that were too similar to others were also
excluded. This chapter describes the chosen stakeholders and what their role in the high-rise
project is.
Stakeholders investigated are:

Client
Architect
City Planning Office
Consultants
Residents
Neighbors and Citizens
Industry
3.1 Client
In this thesis, the person or organization that initiates a high-rises project is titled “the client”.
They are the driving force behind the project and to a large extent choose what other
designers and consultants to involve. By direct decisions and by choosing who to work with,
they are one of the most important decision makers in the high-rise design. Since they are
responsible for the economy in the project, they usually have the final say in the most
important decisions, while less central issues are delegated.
In Sweden, construction companies are quite often the initiators of building projects.
Caldenby is of the view that in Sweden, construction companies have a very strong position
compared to other stakeholders. The city planning office used to be more influential in the
planning process but today commercial companies have a leading role in building projects
(Caldenby, 2016).
Clients have a very high interest in the project since the ultimate responsibility of projects lies
with them. They can make good profit and gain publicity with a successful high-rise project
whereas a failure can have serious consequences both economically and for their reputation.
A high-rise building has many unknowns and there is less experience with high-rises than
more regular buildings, especially in countries with very few tall buildings, such as Sweden.
Charlotte Petzell at construction company Serneke believes that a tall building project can be
considered high risk to sell compared to many other projects (Petzell, 2016).
The client is interested in fulfilling the requirements of the future residents, since they are
dependent on finding tenants to be able to go through with the project. It is common that a

certain ratio of apartments in a residential building has to be sold before construction can
begin. It is therefore extremely important for the client to be able to convince future residents
of the qualities of the building.
Many companies have a wish to be viewed as sustainable. Whether sustainability itself is

important to a company is difficult to know, but it definitely gives good publicity. In Sweden,
many residents will expect features like being able to recycle waste. Sustainability can also be
a strong sales argument for conscious buyers and create good-will among citizens and with
the city planning office.
As described, along with high interest, clients have more power over the project than any
other stakeholder. Therefore, they can be found at the top right of the stakeholder matrix, see
Figure 3.
3.2 Architect
An architect is usually the first designer commissioned by the client. They are responsible for
coordinating the project design and together with the client they have the most influence on
the design. Their responsibilities include functionality and aesthetics of the building and they
are the ones who create the design concept, given a certain brief to fulfil.
Architects are often chosen through architectural competitions, where several architects put
forward suggestions for how the project should be designed. The option deemed most
promising is then chosen to develop. An architecture firm preferred by the client may also be
directly commissioned without a competition. Sometimes several different architects are
involved with different parts and stages of a project. A good reputation and project portfolio is
very important in the choice of architect. It is likely that a client will require some degree of
experience in high-rise buildings to be comfortable with the architect’s design.
Architects are responsible for creating good living space for occupants and a positive addition
to the city for citizens. Designing movement patterns within and outside the building and
making sure that it is accessible are a few more of the architect’s tasks. A certain aesthetical
expression is usually strived for and different architects have different design philosophies to
create a strong design concept. A high-rise building is likely to receive publicity in Sweden
and it gives the architect an opportunity to improve their portfolio and gain attention.
According to architect Filip Rem, who worked with architects Wingårdhs proposal for the
planned high-rise in Gothenburg, one of the challenges in high-rise architecture compared to
other buildings is that a high-rise building will be experienced from both near and afar. An
aim should be to create a building which draws advantage of its size, since the size
automatically becomes a part of the building’s aesthetical expression. Tall buildings also have
the negative potential to become inhuman in their scale and size. The vertical layout leads to a
risk that the different floors are experienced as isolated from each other. It is a challenge to
create a tall building for people to like living or working in, despite the large vertical
distances (Rem, 2016).
Architects usually have some knowledge within other disciplines, such as fire safety and
daylight analysis. The extent of this knowledge depends on the specialization and experience
of the architect. Where there is not enough experience, external consultants need to be hired.
In Sweden, there are few architects that have much experience in high-rise architecture.

3. City Planning Office
This title encompasses the city planning office, the city architect and city council to the extent
they influence the work of the decision making. The city architect’s role is to work for the
general good of the public in the city. The city planning office creates layout and zoning plans
for the city regulating where and how it is permitted to build and the city council is the
decision maker that must approve any new zoning plan. These stakeholders have the power to
greatly influence high-rise projects.
Björn Siesjö, who is the city architect of Gothenburg, was interviewed about his views of
high-rises and their role in the city. He believes that the conditions for building high-rises are
similar in all the bigger cities in Sweden. However, the conditions in the Nordic countries are
quite different from those in countries further south. In Sweden the sun barely rises above the
horizon during several months each year. This means that there is a lack of sun and daylight,
and shadows cast by buildings are long. In countries further south conditions are very
different. This is an important aspect to consider when placing and designing high-rises in
Swedish cities. Another significant issue is the amount of people concentrated to one place.
Communications and public transport need to be sufficient or there is a risk that the traffic
situation becomes chaotic. A risk when building tall is also that the economy of the project
will fail. Constructing high-rises is expensive and smaller profit margins may have to be
accepted for the building to be realized (Siesjö, 2016).
A high-rise can symbolize success and belief in the future. Siesjö refers to Turning Torso in
Malmö which has become an icon for Malmö and Västra Hamnen, the district where it is
placed. However, the design of the building affects its potential to become iconic and well-
known. The shape cannot be too simple and the proportions and façade materials need to be
of good architectural standard. These are demands that will be placed on any future high-rise
in Gothenburg. A prequalified international competition is a way to ensure that the design of a
planned high-rise is of a high standard. This can be a requirement from the planning office in
order to go ahead with the building plans (Siesjö, 2016).
While smaller decisions are delegated to the city building committee, the city council makes
the final decision on any plans that have a great public interest. A high-rise building, at least
in Sweden, can be viewed as such. Often there is some type of unofficial agreement between
parties so that unnecessary work on a project is not carried out. If a plan has little chance of
being accepted, it is not economic to spend a lot of time on it. Since there is no paperwork on
these early unofficial agreements, it is difficult to know what agreements have been made and
why.
4. Consultants
In a big and complex building project such as a high-rise, everything from cleaning windows
to disposal of garbage becomes issues that require some level of expertise to solve. Many
different consultants are involved in high-rise projects. In this master’s thesis, some of the
most important consultants are treated, but there are many more involved in different stages of
the project.
Generally, consultants are involved in a specific part of a project and have their own
respective areas of responsibility. Their tasks in the project may be more or less extensive.
Sometimes their work is independent of other groups’ work but most often, the different tasks
overlap and depend on each other. For example, the size of the ventilation ducts affects the

architect’s layout and the required ceiling height, which in turn affects the structural
engineer’s work, and so on.
Consultants are concerned with completing their own part of the work well. However, often
different areas of responsibility are in conflict with each other and the easiest and best solution
for one particular consultant may not be the best for the project as a whole. This means that
willingness to compromise, clear goals and understanding of the project complexity are vital
for the project to succeed. This is true for smaller projects as well but especially important for
large and complex projects such as tall buildings.
The consultants most important at an early conceptual design stage in a project were selected
to investigate further. The consultants treated in this thesis project are listed and described
briefly below. Their respective areas of responsibility are discussed in more detail in chapter
4.
Structural Engineer
The structural engineer is responsible for the structural safety and performance of the
building. This is one of the most crucial tasks in a high-rise project and structural engineers
get involved relatively early in the design process. Dmitri Jajich, who is a structural engineer
and high-rise expert at SOM, believes the best results are achieved if advice from structural
engineers is taken into account from the beginning of the architect’s conceptual design phase
(Jajich, 2016). In a high-rise project, expertise is required in dynamics and there are effects
that are not important in smaller buildings that need to be considered when designing high-
rises.
Vertical Transportation Expert
The amount and type of elevators needed is critical in a high-rise building. The amount of
space elevators take up makes it crucial to optimize elevator performance. Experts in vertical
transportation, who can simulate people flow and elevator capacity are often hired to design
the vertical transportation system.
Fire Safety Consultant
Fire safety is a difficult issue in high-rise design, since in the event of a fire there are a lot of
people to evacuate and the evacuation routes to the ground are relatively long. Special rules
apply to buildings that reach certain heights and elements of design not needed in regular
buildings are often essential in high-rises. Hiring a consultant with knowledge in high-rise fire
safety and conferring with local authorities is often necessary in a tall building project.
3.5 Contractor
The contractor is responsible for the fabrication and assembly of the building. In Sweden, it is
common for the client company to do the construction, but it may also be a separate
construction company.
Predictability and ease of construction are some of the most important demands for a
contractor. Different structural systems require different methods of construction and some are
more complex than others are to construct. High-rise expert Mark Lavery, who works at Buro
Happold in Dubai, believes that local labour cost and experience have a large impact on what
design is more suitable. For example, in the Middle East, concrete can be sourced locally and
labourers are experienced with the material, whereas steel has to be imported and is less well
known. This information speaks in favour of using concrete in Middle East buildings (Lavery,
2016).

In Sweden, there are not many companies with experience in high-rise construction.
Therefore, this type of project cannot be seen as the most predictable for the contractor and it
may be difficult to find a construction company with enough knowledge and resources to
carry out the work required in a high-rise project. However, the chance of getting good
publicity through a high-rise project can also be a factor to take into account for potential
contractors.
3.6 Residents
Residents can be considered external stakeholders. They buy or rent spaces in the completed
building and usually do not take active part in the design process. However, their demands are
carefully considered and they are sometimes asked to give their opinion during the different
design stages. Residents have a very high interest in the building since they will live, work or
run their business in it. If resident requirements are not met, there is a risk that it will be
difficult to find people interested in buying or renting spaces in the building. Not being able to
sell or let enough space results in economic failure since the income from the project is then
too low. Often, a certain ratio of the floor space needs to be sold before construction starts,
since the client cannot afford to have an empty building.
Residential high-rises, office buildings and hotels have a range of different requirements,
though some demands are common to all potential occupants.
Jimmie Andersson (Andersson, 2016), who used to live in one of the tallest residential towers
in Dubai, and Anna Svahn, who has lived in the Turning Torso tower in Malmö, were
interviewed about their views on living in a high-rise. They both stated having great views as
the best thing about living in a high-rise. Svahn also enjoyed the great light in her apartment
(Svahn, 2016).
Neither of them could see many downsides to living in a high-rise but Svahn points out that
she knew people who moved out of the building because it was too similar to living in a hotel.
Andersson says that he recognized people from his floor and those with the same habits as
himself, but it was impossible to know everyone who lived in the building. If this anonymity
is perceived as a problem seems to vary from person to person. Svahn enjoyed the sense of
privacy. Waiting for elevators could be a problem if they were not properly designed for the
building and some people claimed to feel the building vibrating uncomfortably. It was also
worrying to think of storms or fires (Andersson, 2016) (Svahn, 2016).
In Turning Torso most residents are single with a high income and academic background
while in Elite Residence where Andersson (Andersson, 2016) lived there was a mix of
families, couples and flat-sharers. In Elite Residence the facilities included swimming pool,
gym, conference rooms, a play room and a room with pool tables. Turning Torso is more
focused on the luxury market with wine cellars and party rooms among the facilities. This is
also reflected by the layout of one of the apartments Svahn (Svahn, 2016) lived in, which was
a 1-bedroom flat with two bathrooms at 104 m2. Both buildings had a 24-hour concierge.
A survey among people interested in buying flats in Karlatornet Gothenburg, conducted by

Serneke, gives some further ideas on what is important to high-rise residents. Many are
attracted by the sense of luxury and uniqueness in a high-rise, and a trendy life-style seems to
be an important concept to many of the survey participants.

Living in a High-Rise Building
Advantages Disadvantages
+ Views - Anonymity
+ Daylight - Vibrations
+ Facilities - Waiting for elevators
+ Privacy - Safety concerns
+ Trendiness - Unsuitable for pets
Table 1 Table showing some advantages and disadvantages of living in a high-rise

compared to a regular residential building.
In office buildings, many demands are similar to those of residential buildings. It should be
noted that more ventilation and a higher ceiling height is required in order to fulfill comfort
criteria. Another factor to bear in mind is that office buildings have a much higher occupant
density than residential buildings, which puts higher demands on for example the vertical
transportation.
3.7 Neighbors and Citizens

Both neighbors of the building and citizens are external stakeholders in a high-rise project.
Their interest in the project varies and their individual power over the project is limited.
However, the gathered public opinion can be relatively important in influencing the decisions
of the city council, and a positive opinion among the public is to prefer.
In Swedish conditions, which this master’s thesis focuses on, a new high-rise building brings
a relatively large change to an area. Compared to Manhattan or Dubai, where a new high-rise
is not likely to get much attention, a tall building in Sweden is a big deal to a city. Therefore,
the opinions on the building are likely to be quite strong.
High-rises evoke strong feelings among the public and those living in the vicinity of the
building. The opinions on tall buildings are divided and some people are against any type of
tall building. High-rises are different from other types of buildings in the sense that they can
be seen from afar. At least in Nordic cities, where high-rises are still uncommon, a high-rise
can be seen from large parts of the city. Some people think this is intrusive and that the high-
rise spoils other parts of the city by its presence (Petzell, 2016). In Gothenburg there have
been views that the historical port area will be ruined once the new Karlatornet Gothenburg
tower is raised (Siesjö, 2016). Others are positive to the publicity and change a high-rise will
bring to an area and think that tall buildings are exciting and modern.
The people living close to the high-rise site are most affected by both the construction process
and the completed building. Some people are afraid of changes to their city, especially
neighbors who may be more directly affected with changed value of their property (Siesjö,
2016). For example, the new building may block their view. Since a high-rise project has the
potential to change the status of an area, people who rent their accommodation may fear
higher rent in the area in the long-term perspective.
On the other hand, development of the area may also raise house prices, which is beneficial
for homeowners. The potential of a high-rise building to lift the status of the area and give life
to the neighborhood can be considered mostly an advantage. Neighbors are likely to welcome
new restaurants and shops as well as better public transport, which the increase in people are
likely to lead to.

Concerning the design of the high-rise, it is important that the climate around the building is
comfortable. Protection from the wind and no uncomfortable glare and reflections from the
building are important design aspects (Thunberg & Wallin, 2016). The shadows cast by the
building must also be considered and the design needs to be adapted to achieve a pleasant
outdoor environment near the building.
Siesjö believes that a high-rise should add value not only for the residents, but also for the
public. This is a way for the building to “give back” to its environment and compensate for
the space and attention it will crave. A public area at the top of the building gives the public
the chance enjoy the spectacular views. Other functions that benefit the public can also be
incorporated into the design (Siesjö, 2016).
To sum up, the most important thing for the public is that a new high-rise is well placed,
designed and adapted to its surroundings, that it is aesthetically pleasing and that its design is
iconic enough to create good publicity for the area or city.
3.8 Industry
Local industry and commerce has a high impact on the city economy. Even if they have no
direct power over building projects, it is likely that they have significant indirect power. For
them it is important for building projects not to disturb their work. Good publicity is of course
important for them, and a high-rise building that draws attention to the city or area is of
advantage.
In Gothenburg, Chalmers University are planning to build a high-rise on campus. One of the
reasons for building a high-rise is to create publicity and an icon for the university. Large
organizations and companies in the city can initiate high-rise projects for this purpose and
they are likely to have a positive opinion on high-rises in their city or area.
Since they are very important to the city, the large industries and companies are likely to have
a relatively large influence on council politicians.

4 Demands
Each of the stakeholders have certain demands, or requirements, on the project process and
outcome. For example, a high-rise building resident probably requires nice views and a
comfortable indoor climate, as well as other things. Demands may also be of a more technical
nature, such as the building’s ability to carry certain loads. In this chapter some of the most
important demands on a tall building will be described.
It is relatively easy to control that fire safety demands have been fulfilled, while it is more
subjective whether the building is comfortable to live in. Some demands can be considered
measurable while others are immeasurable. Neither is more important than the other but focus
tends to be put on measurable qualities as they are much easier to monitor. In this thesis both
measurable and immeasurable demands are discussed.
A range of demands in high-rise projects have been identified with the help of literature and
stakeholder interviews. The most relevant in the early design phases have been selected as the
ones to investigate. Some of the demands have been rephrased during the process to make
them easier to understand and more useful. There are some demands important for the
finished product that do not need to be considered in the early stages. Examples of this is
interior design and window specifications, both of which will greatly affect the indoor
comfort. There are also demands that are related to the city planning around the tower, and
not the building itself. These types of demands have not been considered in this report.
Investigated demands:
Publicity
Views
Daylight
Vertical Transportation
Economy
Manufacture and Assembly
Environmental Impact
Gravitational Load Capacity
Stability
Fire Safety
Examples of other demands:

Layout of apartments
Services and Facilities
Outdoor Environment
Building Operations
Accidental Loads
Social Sustainability
Ventilation
Some demands are absolutely necessary to fulfil while others are preferable to fulfil but not
essential. It is, for example, compulsory to comply with fire safety demands and to design the

building to withstand wind loads. Creating iconic value is important to many stakeholders but
it is not necessarily demanded for the project to be completed, even if it adds to its quality.
This is a desired quality rather than a required quality. Many of the demands discussed in this
theses are required to fulfil up to a certain standard but above that standard it is a question of
added quality. For example, it is required by law to have certain daylight factors in residential
spaces, but even better daylight qualities than are required may be desired in the project.
Different Types of Demands

Required Demands Desired Demands
Daylight (minimum) Publicity Views
Vertical Transportation (minimum) Economy Daylight (good)
(minimum) Vertical Transportation (good) Economy
Gravitational Load Capacity (good) Environmental Impact Manufacture
Stability (minimum) Fire Safety and Assembly Stability (good)
Table 2 Table dividing the demands into absolutely necessary demands and the desired
demands. Some demands have a required minimum standard and a desired
higher standard.
Some demands are important only to one of the stakeholder groups while some are common
for many different stakeholders. Some demands are closely related to each other while some
are completely independent. It can be helpful to know where demands originate, and how they
are connected to the different stakeholders, in order to understand what is to be prioritized and
why. One way to get an overview of this is through mapping the key stakeholders and
demands graphically. See Figure 4 on the next page for a mapping of demands and
stakeholders in a high-rise project.

Figure 4 Map of what demands different stakeholders have on a high-rise project.
Stakeholders are also connected to each other. For example, architects are
very concerned with the “People” category and therefore also with the
demands connected to them.

4.1 Publicity
Obtaining publicity and creating an iconic building that becomes a symbol for a person or
organization is one of the most important motivations for building high-rises. Caldenby
compares modern high-rises and their image to the way churches rose above the city and
displayed the power of the church in the previous centuries (Caldenby, 2016). The symbol of
power and knowledge that a high-rise can become is appealing to many organizations that
want to draw attention to themselves.
Not all high-rises achieve iconic status. Siesjö refers to the shape, proportions and façade as
important factors to work with in order to achieve a spectacular building (Siesjö, 2016).
Iconic buildings express something and they are a response to their context. High quality and
iconic status are two completely different things and the building does not need to function
well to be iconic. WSP’s article about iconic high-rises concludes that being iconic is about
catching people’s imagination and doing something in a new and different way (WSP Group,
2014).
A building does not need to be tall to be iconic, but the tallest building in a city is likely to be
iconic as it catches the light in a special way and acts like a vertical sculpture. Another way to
stand out can be to contrast in aesthetic expression with the surrounding buildings.
Figure 5 Left: 30 St Mary Axe, commonly known as ”The Gherkin” by Foster +

Partners Right: The Shard by Renzo Piano
The 30 St Mary Axe, or “The Gherkin” as it is commonly called, designed by Foster and
Partners has received much publicity even before it was built (Kloft, 2003). It is now a well-
known landmark and icon in London. In this case, the structural system has been used as part
of the expression. Another London icon is The Shard, designed by Renzo Piano.
It is worth noting that, while being significantly taller than the surrounding buildings, both of
these towers are less than half the height of the tallest buildings in the world. “The Gherkin”

does not even reach the top-100 list. This shows that the shape and expression of the building
are more important than height to create iconic buildings. A certain height is important,
however, for the tower to be able to function as a landmark. This is part of the iconic value of
high-rises and only works if the building can be seen from afar.
To get publicity internationally for its height, the building needs to compete with the top
tallest buildings in the world. To get a lot of attention in Sweden, it needs to be approaching
the 200-meter mark, since that is the maximum height in the Nordic countries today. If the
building does not reach those heights, it needs other aspects to make it interesting.
Figure 6 In order for a tower to function as a landmark it needs to be considerably

higher than the surrounding topology.
Figure 7 To achieve publicity, a building does not necessarily need to be higher than
surrounding buildings. Having a different shape or aesthetic expression is also
efficient.
Publicity is an immeasurable demand and difficult to monitor and predict. There is also the
risk of obtaining negative publicity, especially in places where high-rises are uncommon, such
as Sweden. This makes publicity one of the most difficult demands to understand and
monitor.
4.2 Views
Great views is the number one most important reason for people to wish to live in a high-rise.
Information collected when preparing the Karlatornet Gothenburg project clearly stated this
(Petzell, 2016) and it is confirmed by the interviews conducted with former high-rise residents
(Svahn, 2016)(Andersson, 2016). A tall building can give views unavailable anywhere else in
the city, especially if there are few natural differences in elevation that can give the same
effect. Since they are unique to the building, the views give a sense of exclusivity
Square meter prices usually rise the further up the building one gets and views are assumed to
be the best at the top of the building. This is certainly the case in Manhattan, where many

high-rises are placed in near proximity to each other and the views from lower floors are
likely to be of the façade of the next building. The super-slender buildings being constructed
in New York with base-to-height ratios of up to 1:24 are designed very tall and slender so that
as much of the floor area as possible is situated above the surrounding buildings (WSP Group,
2014).
However, worth noticing is that views do not necessarily become better further up the
building. In creating images intended for selling apartments in the Karlatornet Gothenburg
tower, views from the mid sections of the tower were used This was where the views were
thought the most attractive for sales materials. When further up there is a feeling of
disconnection that can perhaps be experienced as negative (Petzell, 2016). This is confirmed
by architect Filip Rem, who thinks that the feeling of isolation that height creates is a much
larger challenge to overcome than the technical challenges in building a high-rise (Rem,
2016).
Figure 8 View from a high-rise building. The sense of privacy created from the height is
considered an advantage by some residents, while some feel isolated.
Views cannot be directly measured but the ratio of good views is assumed to increase with
increasing height and slenderness of the building. The views are also affected by the shape of
the floor plan and layout of apartments, as well as the chosen structural system, which may
interfere with views. Views are of course affected by the site and the height of the buildings
and topography around the tower. They are also affected by the size and type of windows
used. In Sweden, it is very popular to have a balcony to make the most of sunny days and nice
views. However, it is difficult to provide a comfortable outdoor climate on a high-rise

balcony, mostly because of high winds and the noise it creates. It is also difficult to achieve a
good sense of safety.
4.3 Daylight
Daylight is an important feature for well-being in spaces where people spend a lot of time, for
example homes and offices. In a high-rise building, it is common for functions without
daylight requirements to be placed in the center of the building. This includes elevators, stairs,
ventilation shafts and corridors. This layout enables the space closer to façades to be used as
quality rentable space. However, there are other options where vertical transportation is
allocated to the outside of the building, to create large, open floors.
There is a limit to how many meters an apartment can stretch from the façade before it starts
being perceived as dark. In residential buildings, a guideline for good daylight is a 6-meter
maximum “depth” from façade to inner wall of a room (Rem, 2016). According to a rule of
thumb often used, residential apartments can be up to 10 meters deep, with dark rooms like
bathrooms being placed at the back and 14 meters maximum depth is the corresponding value
for offices, where the layout is generally more open. The slenderer the tower is, the more
open the layout and the more glass in the façade, the more daylight will be let in. The shape of
the tower also affects the amount of daylight reaching the center of the building. Svahn
mentions that one of the things she appreciated most living in Turning Torso was the great
daylight in the apartments (Svahn, 2016).
In Sweden, different regulations apply to apartments larger than 55 m2, between 35 m2 and 55
m2 and smaller than 35 m2. Rooms or separate parts of rooms for more than temporary use
should have windows towards the outdoors. Smaller apartments and student apartments have
less strict regulations but any living space should always have good access to daylight
(Boverket, 2015). Daylight factor calculations can be done to make sure a room has enough
daylight. The calculations are relatively complex and will not be described in this study. An
estimate may be used in certain conditions stating that there should be a window area
equivalent to at least 10% of the floor area of the room (Boverket, 2015).
Computational daylight analyses are usually conducted to determine the daylight performance
within a building. However, running thorough analyses is relatively time-consuming and in
the early stages of conceptual design the information needed has not been developed yet. In
this study a simplified approach is used. A maximum value for how far the light will reach
from the façade is set. This value is set to 8 meters for residential buildings and hotels and 14
meters for offices. See Figure 9 for pictures of analysis methods.
Figure 9 Left: Thorough daylight analysis in software Right: Simplified approach using
estimate values for daylight penetration

In the Nordic countries, as opposed to locations further south, shadows from tall buildings
become much more dominant (Siesjö, 2016). With a low sun, how to provide suitable shading
and indoor lighting climate also differs from locations with a higher sun. The colder climate
also means a difference in how to view cooling and heating options. In many countries,
cooling is more critical than heating, but it is usually the opposite in Sweden, at least in
residential buildings.
4.4 Vertical Transportation

The taller a building is the more space needs to be allocated to vertical transportation. A high-
rise needs elevators, emergency elevators and staircases. These functions require a much
higher floor area ratio in a tall building than in a regular building. The exact amount and size
of elevators required is difficult to predict as it depends not only on known factors, but also a
lot on the behavior of people. Behavior is different for residents, hotel guests and office
workers and varies with individual behavior because of factors such as age, culture, weight
and so on (Scott, 2016). Patrik Albertsson, who was involved in the design of high-rise hotel
Gothia Towers in Gothenburg gives as example that a person with a suitcase takes up much
more space and is slower than a person without one (Albertsson, 2016).
Elevator speed and size is also important when designing elevators. High-rise resident Jimmie
Andersson (Andersson, 2016) mentions bad elevator access as a large potential drawback of
living in a tower and Albertsson (Albertsson, 2016) describes how the Gothia Towers hotel
had to install extra elevators as a result of guest complaints. In Gothia Towers, the limited
height and unusual floor plan enabled adding elevators after building completion, but
installing extra elevators at such a late stage is usually practically impossible. The cost of the
elevators themselves is quite negligible (Scott, 2016), but the space they take up in the
building means lost rentable area. This in turn means that having elevator overcapacity is very
expensive. Designing elevators properly from the beginning is therefore of great importance.
Adam Scott is an expert in vertical transportation and works at Sweco UK, with projects such
as the Karlatornet Gothenburg tower. He describes elevator design as a complex field of study,
where many factors influence the design. It is first of all very important to know what type of
building one is dealing with. Office, residential and hotel high-rises all have, as mentioned,
very different movement patterns and densities and this is the most important division to
make at an early stage (Scott, 2016).
In high-rises it is common to work with several different elevator sets that serve different
floors. In some cases one might even need to change elevator on the way to a certain floor.
There are also examples where two elevators operate in the same shaft. Because of the
complexity of the factors influencing design, it is difficult to provide accurate guidelines on
what number and type of elevators that are needed for a certain building. However, some
estimates can be calculated before using the more advanced people flow analyses that are
required to get a better understanding. These benchmark values should give an idea of
reasonable elevator capacity, at least for buildings that are not super tall, see Table 3 (Scott,
2016).
There are different standards to aim for when designing elevators. The standards are based on
waiting time and travel time. Depending on expected values for these times, the elevator
system receives a grading, where service time is “excellent”, “good”, “satisfactory”,
“acceptable” or “not acceptable”. Interestingly, opinions are divided on whether it is better to
minimize waiting or total service time. Some mean that it is psychologically easier for

passengers to accept a longer service time as long as the waiting time is short. Some mean
that it is better to have a longer waiting time if it makes the total service time shorter.
It is easy to assume that faster elevators can solve service time problems in taller buildings.
However, a limiting factor in elevator design is passenger comfort. Even if higher maximum
speeds can technically be reached, the discomfort felt when the acceleration of the elevator
car is too high limits this method. An acceleration of 1.4 to 1.6 m/s2 is the maximum that can
be used without passengers feeling uncomfortable. The maximum speed in today’s elevators
is about 17-18 m/s. This means that it takes around 100 meters for the elevator to reach its
maximum speed and the same distance for it to slow down to a stop. It is quite unlikely that it
will reach this speed very often, as it has to make stops along the way. In tall buildings,
“express” elevators that do not serve the lower floors can be used and in this case, a high
elevator maximum speed is beneficial.
Elevator Guidelines
Office Residential Hotel
1 elevator per 200-250 people Minimum 2 elevators 1 elevator per 100 rooms
Average 1 person per 10 m2 Over 20 floors, 3 elevators 1 service lift per 2 passenger
net area Over 40 floors, 4 elevators lifts
Not more than 8 elevators per Over 55 floors, 5 elevators or
set more
1 service lift if net area is
over 10 000 m2, 2 if over
30 000 m2.
Table 3 Table showing guidelines for elevator design for different building functions.
4.5 Economy
There are hundreds of factors that influence the economy of a tall building project, many of
which are difficult to accurately predict in the early stages. The economy of a project depends
on how much is spent but also on the quality of the completed product, which affects how
much people are willing to pay for it. Therefore, economy is closely related to the demands of
the occupants. This thesis will not attempt to cover all economical aspects, only a few which
are relatively important and which can give an early indication on the economy of a high-rise
project.
Area Efficiency
Area efficiency is important in any project. It can be measured as the ratio between rentable
space and total space. Its importance is confirmed both by Joakim Wallin and Åke Thunberg
(Thunberg & Wallin, 2016) at Chalmers Studentbostäder and Anna Tirén at Serneke (Tirén,
2016). “We’re looking for every square centimeter to utilize in our project” says Tirén. Only
the rentable space will give any revenue and therefore this ratio needs to be as high as
possible. Depending on the function of the building, different values are possible to achieve.
As an example, an aim for a residential building may be to reach a ratio of at least 0.75
between rentable space and total space.
Buildings with apartments all around the perimeter and staircase and elevator shafts placed in
the center can usually reach a high area efficiency (Thunberg & Wallin, 2016). In taller
buildings, however, more of the space is taken up by functions such as vertical transportation
and ventilation shafts. Columns and walls also need to be thicker. From an area efficiency

point of view, large floor plates are preferable, see Figure 10. Even if the population increases
with an increased floor area the space for functions only needs to increase a marginally
compared to the rentable area gain. However, there are disadvantages connected to large floor
plates, such as poor daylight qualities.
Figure 10 Picture showing the principle of different area efficiencies. The lower floor
plate has a much higher efficiency ratio than the top one.
Repeatability
High repeatability in a project improves its possibility to be economically sustainable. The
degree of repeatability is something Chalmers Studentbostäder (Thunberg & Wallin, 2016)
look for in any project to indicate economic soundness. In many building projects
repeatability means many of the same unit being placed next to each other, but in a high-rise it
can mean having many units stacked on top of each other, see Figure 11. Symmetry is also a
type of repeatability.
In the structural system for example, the column and wall sizes are not structurally optimized
for the loads on each floor. This would not be economical since it would be more complicated
to keep track of all the measurements and new formwork would have to be built for each floor.
Instead, the floors are divided into sets of perhaps ten, and all the floors in each set are made
identical. The same principle can be used for apartment layouts and other aspects of the
design.

Figure 11 Repeatability with units placed next to each other, which is common for low-
rise developments, and on top of each other, which is the case for high-rises.
Compliance with Demands

People are usually willing to pay more the better the quality of the product they are buying is.
A high-rise is an expensive building and floor area in it will not be cheap, even in an
economically efficient project. It is therefore of great importance to create good value for
money so that people will be willing to pay a premium.
For example, in an office building it is important not to compromise too much on the ceiling
height, as this is a noticeable disadvantage and makes the building more difficult to let
(Albertsson, 2016). The cost savings of decreasing the ceiling height must therefore be
balanced against the decreased value.
Structural and Material Efficiency

One way to achieve an economic building is using as little material as possible. This strategy
saves money and is also beneficial from a sustainability viewpoint. Most of the newer high-
rises from the 1960’s and forward use a significantly lower amount of material than the older
ones. The differences can be as large as 40%. Subsequently, the savings made can be high.
However, a more efficient structural system will often require a more complex geometry, with
diagonals as well as horizontal and vertical elements. This increases cost as connections are
expensive to fabricate and more complex to put in place.
Cost of labor is an important factor in the choice of structural system. Mark Lavery, high-rise
engineer at Buro Happold in Dubai, states that labor is cheap in the Middle East, making
concrete buildings popular, whereas in Europe and America steel can be more attractive
(Lavery, 2016). Dmitri Jajich at SOM agrees; “Production and labor are generally much more
expensive than the raw material itself. For steel, the cost of the raw material is only about a
quarter of the cost of the finished product” (Jajich, 2016).
Generally, concrete is becoming the most common material in high-rise buildings (Jajich,
2016). However, according to Samuelsson in his book on the art of engineering, concrete is
near its practical limit when it comes to building height with the Burj Khalifa This is due to
the fact that with increasing height, columns need to increase in size and the design ultimately
becomes too inefficient to build (Samuelsson, 2015). This can be argued but it is true that
super tall buildings in concrete have very poor area efficiency compared to other buildings.
Taller structures are of course possible to create if factors like economy are disregarded.

6. Manufacture and Assembly
How to manufacture and assemble the building is another important aspect of high-rise
design. It is closely related to economy as different production methods have different costs
attached to them. It is also closely linked to the choice of structural system, since different
production methods are suitable for different systems
As high-rises are usually built in cities the sites can be very limited and logistics play a
limiting role in the success of the project. Important to consider is the degree of
prefabrication. A high level of prefabrication can shorten the building time and ease site
logistics by reducing the amount of work being carried out on site. This means a less crowded
site, which is beneficial for control and safety.
Transporting large prefabricated elements to the site and putting them in place may however
be a problem, and in some cases cause a safety issue. Some mean that prefabricated concrete
elements are not suitable in tall buildings because of the difficulties and dangers in moving
them into place. The operating time for the crane also increases when there are many building
elements that cannot be transported in elevators or, as in the case when using fresh concrete,
pumped in fluid form to the right height. Pumping concrete to large heights also comes with
problems. Very high pressure is needed and the concrete mix needs to be adapted to get the
concrete to flow.
7. Environmental Impact
In his book about the environmental impact of high-rise buildings, architect Ken Yeang states:
“Right at the outset, we should be clear that the skyscraper is not an ecological building type.
In fact it is one of the most un-ecological of all building types” (Yeang, 2009). High-rises are,
in many respects, a very inefficient building type. They need a lot of structural material per
square meter, as will be explained in chapter 4.8. In addition, building operations tend to be
energy consuming, with vertical transportation and cooling as two of the big issues.
There are, however, different aspects to consider when designing high-rises to make them
more sustainable. It is also interesting to look at the building’s environmental impact from a
city planning viewpoint.
Designing an Efficient High-Rise
There are ways to make a tall building more energy efficient. High-rises often have large
windows or wholly glazed facades in order to let daylight in and make the most of the views
from the building. The balance between letting daylight in and keeping glare and heat from
the sun out is one of the key issues in the design, at least in warmer climates. This question
becomes more complex in the colder Swedish climate where heat from the sun may be
beneficial in the colder months. There is also a difference depending on the function of the
building. Office buildings generally need more cooling than residential buildings. When the
sun is low, as it often is in Sweden, it can cause uncomfortable glare. This is also an issue that
needs to be dealt with in the design.
Sun shading can be placed inside or outside the façade depending on if added heat is
beneficial or not. If shading is placed outside windows, direct heat is blocked as well as glare.
If it is placed on the inside, glare is blocked but heat is let in. Blocking the sun when it is low
in the sky is impossible without obstructing views, which makes a system that can adapt
throughout the day preferable. Letting a lot of daylight into the building decreases the need

for artificial lighting. Occupancy sensors, daylight sensors and other controls can be installed
in offices to decrease energy consumption.
Using natural or forced ventilation as well as type of lighting system are also choices that
affect the energy performance. Lighting systems can be added and the ventilation system can
be improved at later stages. It is, however, important to think about the ducts being large and
simple enough at an early design stage. The BREEAM or LEED system can be used to aid the
design for both the whole building and separate parts of it.
There are some examples of putting plants or wind turbines on buildings to improve
sustainability performance, but it is often the case that the net effect of this type of solution is
adverse.
Added Density
Dense cities are good from a sustainability viewpoint, since the need for transportation is
decreased. A high density makes it possible for service functions to establish close to people’s
homes and a good public transport system becomes feasible. Citizens can live more
sustainable lifestyles in this type of city. High-rise buildings add to the density of an area,
whether they are residential, hotel or office buildings. Thanks to their height, they can fit
many people onto a small footprint. It is arguable whether high-rises are the best way to
achieve high density. High-rises are difficult to place close to each other without interfering
with the outdoor environment too much. Therefore, medium-height buildings, which may be
spaced more closely, are an alternative to consider.
The net effect of the environmental impact of a high-rise during its lifetime is very difficult to
estimate when complex effects like these should be taken into consideration. People tend to
focus on the construction phase since it is easier to monitor, but to understand the whole
picture more thorough investigations are needed.
4.8 Gravitational Load Capacity

Disregarding everything else except material efficiency, it is always more efficient to build a
single-story building, rather than several stories (Jajich, 2016). Stacking floors on top of each
other means an increase of loads on the lower stories and therefore an increased amount of
material needed in vertical load-bearing elements. The area covered by columns and walls on
each floor is costly, regarding both structural material and lost floor space. The taller the
building is, the larger this problem becomes.
The effect is illustrated in Figure 12, where the same loads are applied to a conceptual single-
story building and a four-story tower, with the same total floor area. As can be seen, the total
loads on the lower stories in the tower become increased, since the loads from above are
added. The vertical load-bearing elements will therefore need to be bigger in the tower than in
the single-story building. The columns on a given story in a high-rise need to carry the weight
of all the stories above. This includes the loads from floor slabs, installations and other
materials as well as people, furniture and movable elements. They also need to carry the
weight of all columns on floors above.

Figure 12 The difference in loads between a 1-story and 4-story building with the same
total floor area.
To design vertical elements in a simplified manner, the self-weight and imposed load on each
story can be calculated. Then the loads from stories above can be added to those of the story
in question to get the total load to design the columns for.
However, the weight of the columns above can be very large at the lower stories of a tall
building. This is because the columns need to increase in size the further down the tower they
are placed, in response to the increasing loads from above. To accommodate this effect in the
design, an iterative calculation is needed, described below and in Figure 13.
The first step is to size columns according to simplified loads, then the weight of these
columns can be calculated and added to the loads on each floor. Then the column size can be
re-calculated with better precision. More iterations can be made to get even more accurate
results, but one iteration is probably enough, even for more detailed design. This is because a
very precise solution is unnecessary, since it is unlikely that columns will be sized
individually for each floor. Optimizing the column sizes with regards to material only is not
the most economic solution, since there are other factors, such as formwork and connections,
to consider. In the Karlatornet Gothenburg tower, the columns change cross section every 10
to 15 floors.
Figure 13 The accumulated loads on each floor are used to calculate needed column
sizes. Then the weight of the columns is added to the other loads to get the
total loads on each floor.

As explained, much of the loads and mass are concentrated to the lower part of a high-rise
building. If the building is reduced in height it structurally means that the bottommost part is
removed, which means losing much of the loads. A relatively small reduction in height can
therefore save a lot of material. Figure 14 below shows a diagram of vertical loads, which can
be approximated as linearly distributed over the height of the building. The figure shows that
reducing the building to 7/10 of its height means reducing the vertical loads to half.
Figure 14 The vertical (gravitational) loads are distributed approximately linearly over
the height of the building, see Figure 12. Reducing the building to 7/10 of its
original height results in reducing the vertical loads by half.
4.9 Stability
High-rise buildings are, as earlier mentioned, sometimes defined by structural engineers as “A
building which is primarily influenced by wind loads” according to the Council on Tall
Buildings and Urban Habitat (Gane & Haymaker, 2010). Tall buildings are exposed to very
strong winds since winds are stronger high up from the ground. For tall buildings, wind loads
are so large they are often more critical than the gravitational loads. At what building height
wind loads become more important than gravitational loads varies depending on location and
building design. The building’s capability to handle wind loads is one of the most important
structural demands. The capability to withstand seismic loads is also critical in earthquake
zones.
Figure 15 shows a diagram of the amount of steel needed for buildings of different heights.
Note that the steel needed for wind bracing is dominant for taller buildings while floor
framing and columns are dominant for lower buildings.

Figure 15 Amount of steel needed related to number of floors according to Smith and
Coull (Stafford Smith & Coull, 1991).
Wind Effects
Simple calculations can be used to estimate the static wind force at a certain location and for a
certain building height. The wind force, �𝑤 is calculated through the following
method:
�𝑤 = ��(��)�𝑟�� [𝑁]
��: coefficients taking different effects into account

�𝑟�� [�2]: area
� = �𝑏2⁄1600 [𝑁/� 22]
��𝑏(��) = � (�)� [𝑁/� ]
�𝑏 [�/�]: �basic𝑏 wind velocity
��(�): exposure factor
The wind force increases with increasing building height, as is illustrated in Figure 16, which
shows the wind exposure factor, ��(�) for different terrain categories.

Figure 16 Diagram showing the wind exposure factor up to 100 m above the ground.
For high-rises, other more critical wind effects than the static wind force affect the building.
The most critical effect is the so-called vortex shedding, a phenomenon that causes large
forces in the direction perpendicular to the wind direction. Vortex shedding occurs when the
wind flows past a building. A pulsating force that pushes the building from side to side at a
regular frequency is generated, even though the wind speed is constant. There is no simple
way to calculate the forces caused by this effect. There are some estimations in building codes
that can be used but since they have a large error margin it is common to use wind tunnel
testing to predict vortex shedding effects at different wind speeds and directions.
It is important to take all wind aspects into account at an early stage in order to be able to
optimize the building. Resonance effects may cause problems in high-rise buildings and this
needs to be investigated in addition to the pressure and suction caused by wind in order to
achieve a well-functioning and efficient building (Gerhardt, 2003).
Figure 17 The wind force acts in the direction of the wind as pressure and suction.

Figure 18 Vortex shedding is an oscillating flow that occurs when the wind flows past the
building at certain velocities. The effect varies with the size and shape of the
building.
Tall buildings need to be very stiff. This is in order to avoid uncomfortable motions for the
occupants of the building and deformations that can cause windows and other building
components to crack (Addis, 2007). Giving the building stability enough to avoid
uncomfortable swaying can often be the limiting factor when designing high-rises. Therefore,
the Serviceability Limit State, which concerns demands related to comfort and practicalities, is
often more critical than the Ultimate Limit State, related to collapse of the structural system.
Wind Tunnel Testing
Because wind flows are very complex, it is almost impossible for wind engineers to make
suggestions on building solutions without the aid of wind tunnel tests. Using CFD analysis is
not enough to calculate the wind flows acting on buildings accurately, due to the enormous
complexity (Cammelli, 2016).
Wind tunnel tests can establish what type of vortex shedding will happen and the type of wind
(frequency and magnitude) that can cause the building to start oscillating. It needs to be made
sure that the natural frequency of the building does not match those conditions (Addis, 2007).
The building can be detuned so that the eigenfrequencies are moved outside the critical range.
This is mainly done through changing the mass distribution in the building. Passive or active
dampeners can also be used to reduce oscillations (Wörner & Nordhues, 2003). Different
versions of the building can be modelled and tested to see if there is a certain shape or
position of the building that is better suited. Cammelli mentions examples where rotating the
floor plan of a building was enough to solve serious wind issues. The wind tunnel testing may
in many cases be seen as a design aid (Cammelli, 2016).
A wind tunnel test comprises of two parts. The first is making a physical model and using the
wind tunnel to determine airflow effects and forces. The second is a mathematical processing
of the data from the wind tunnel test in order to “translate” it to useful data for engineers to
analyze. It is possible to test different building stiffness distributions with this mathematical
method. The stiffness distribution with the best results can then be chosen and the building be
modelled in accordance to this (Jajich, 2016).
It has become common practice to do wind tunnel tests for almost all taller buildings,
according to Jajich (Jajich, 2016). Mark Lavery, who is a tall building expert at Buro Happold
in Dubai, agrees; “The cost and speed at which wind tunnel tests can be done now means
there is no sensible reason not to do one” (Lavery, 2016). Lavery adds that any building that

is deemed dynamically sensitive or has a natural frequency over around 4 Hz should be
investigated more closely. Any building over 300 meters is definitely governed by wind.
Cammelli gives an estimate of a slenderness of around 1:5 as a limit where consulting an
expert is appropriate while Jajich says anything over around 40 stories should go into a wind
tunnel (Cammelli, 2016), (Jajich, 2016).
One key issue is to find whether the building’s natural frequency is close to the frequency of
the wind and its effects. The Canadian and Australian building codes have some preliminary
calculations that can be performed to investigate the likelihood of the building having
performance issues due to dynamic response (Lavery, 2016).
Figure 19 shows an early study done in the Karlatornet Gothenburg tower design. The critical
width of the building at different wind speeds was compared to the actual width of the
building. The critical width is defined as the width of the building at a given height at which
the frequency of vortex shedding would match the first mode of vibration of the building.
This study shows that the building is likely to have large dynamic response at very high wind
speeds (1000 year return period).

Figure 19 The critical width of the building for different wind speeds and heights
compared to the actual width. The picture is from the Karlatornet Gothenburg
project.
The Beam Model
There are some preliminary estimations that can be used in the early design phase to get an
idea of the building design. A common guideline to use is that the maximum horizontal
displacement due to static wind loads should be no more than the building height divided by
500 (Jajich, 2016). This calculation can be done quite easily knowing the building stiffness
distribution.
In a very simplified manner, one can model a high-rise building as a cantilevering beam fully
restrained to the ground (Jajich, 2016). The bending stiffness of this “beam” can be calculated
from the buildings structural system and materials. Its deformations due to horizontal loads
can then be calculated, as a first estimate. Figure 20 shows a model of a cantilevering beam.

Figure 20 Diagram showing a high-rise building modelled as a beam. The wind load can
in a rough analysis be simplified to the uniformly distributed load W 1.
The horizontal displacement at the top of the building can be computed as:
�1�4
�1 =
8𝐸�
Where 𝐸� corresponds to the bending stiffness of the building due to its materials and cross
section. Despite the simplicity of this model, it can be useful to understand some of the most
basic concepts in high-rise design. It is worth noticing that the displacement is related to the
height of the building by a power of four. This means a small increase in height gives a large
added displacement. Therefore, an increase in height inevitably means a substantial increase
in the amount of material used to give the same displacement.
The horizontal deflection in the building is a combination of flexural and shear deformations.
Structural systems and materials handle these two types of deflection to a varying degree of
efficiency.
In this study, three different types of cross sections of the building have been studied, see
Figure 21. These are the core, the core with outriggers, and perimeter systems. The different
versions of these systems studied are described more thoroughly in chapter 5.4. The material
in columns and core walls is here assumed to be concrete, but it is possible to change the

material to steel or another material, since the same principle applies regardless of the
material used. The building is assumed to have the same cross section throughout its height
and the different columns and walls are assumed to act together as one interconnected cross
section.
The combined moment of inertia, � can be calculated with the help of Steiner’s theorem:
2
� = ∑ �𝑛 + �𝑛�𝑛
�𝑛 [�2]: area of cross-section element n
�𝑛 [�]: distance of cross-section element n to cross-section center
Where, for rectangular elements, the moment of inertia �𝑛 can be calculated as:
𝑏ℎ3
�=
12
𝑏 [�]: width
ℎ [�]: height
Figure 21 Simplified cross sections of core, core and outrigger and perimeter structural
systems.
There are some measures that can be taken in the design to improve the possibility of good
wind performance. Generally, a heavier structure will perform better. It is also important to
avoid sharp corners. Softening the edges decreases vortex shedding. It is also advisable to
avoid regular extruded shapes as large regular areas increase vortex shedding. This is
especially important at the top third of the building as this is where the effects of vortex
shedding can be most critical (Cammelli, 2016).
Combined Loads
Both gravitational loads and wind loads contribute to the forces in the vertical load-bearing
elements. Therefore, load combinations need to be used in order to design for the combined
effect of different loads. Checks need to be made for serviceability limit state as well as for
the ultimate limit state. Other issues, like buckling and dynamic response, also need to be
taken into consideration.

Figure 22 Beam model of a high-rise with different loads. Left: Only vertical load
Middle: Only horizontal load Right: Vertical and horizontal loads
Figure 22 shows the different loads in a simplified manner. In this analysis gravitational loads
and wind loads are studied separately (left and middle), while in reality they act at the same
time as a combined load (right).
Navier’s formula gives the stress in each point of the beam:

𝑁 �
𝜎= + �
� �
The stresses due to vertical loads, due to horizontal loads and the combination of the
two can be seen in Figure 23, from left to right. This corresponds to the first term on the
right-hand side of the equation, 𝑁/�, the second term on the right-hand side of the
equation, ��/�, and the combined stress 𝜎.
Figure 23 Stress distribution of the beam at the connection to the ground for the load
cases in Figure 22.
As can be seen in the middle figure of Figure 22, the wind loads generate both compression
and tension stresses in the structure. Often it is of interest to limit the tension stresses since
these can give difficulties in the structure itself as well as the foundations of the building.
Depending on the relative magnitudes of gravitational and wind loads, tension forces may or
may not arise. A heavier structure that gives large gravitational forces counteracts tension
forces and can be preferable from this viewpoint. In Figure 24, the combined stresses in a
heavier building are shown on the left. The stresses varies throughout the cross-section but are

always compressive. The stresses in a lighter building are shown on the right. Here there is a
tensional component as well as a compressive.
Figure 24 Depending on the size of the vertical loads compared to the horizontal loads,
tension may arise in parts of the ground connection. If so, the structural system
needs to be adapted to handle these loads.
Structural Efficiency
One way of estimating the efficiency of the structural system in a concrete building is to
determine the ratio between the concrete volume and the floor area. This gives an idea of the
material efficiency and subsequently the cost of the structure. The concrete volume is the
added volume of the slab and columns. For a one-story building, columns are negligibly small
and the volume is only the volume of the slab. The taller the building is the larger is the
contribution from the columns and walls.
� 0.25� ∗ 1�2
= = 0.25
� 1�2
For a slab of 0.25 m, this ratio can be no less than 0.25, see the simple calculation above. This
is if the columns are negligibly small. According to Dmitri Jajich at SOM, a value to aim for
in a high-rise may be about 0.35. If the ratio is above 0.5, the building is starting to become
very inefficient (Jajich, 2016).
4.10 Fire Safety

Fire safety issues influence high-rise design to a large extent. Evacuating a tall building takes
a long time since there are many flights of stairs to descend and a long way to the ground. The
emergency routes need to be safe from fire and smoke. It is also very complicated to
extinguish a fire far up in a high-rise. It is difficult to reach the higher floors from the outside

and on the inside a safe elevator is needed for firefighters to reach the fire. To have access to
enough water to put out a fire, there has to be a system to pump water to the upper floors at a
high enough pace.
Figure 25 A Dubai high-rise on fire.

Forensic analysis shows that the reason the World Trade Center towers collapsed was not the
impact itself and the façade columns destroyed but rather the fire that came after (Addis,
2007). In Dubai there have been several major fires in the last few years. According to an
article about these fires, flammable materials were used for insulation and stricter rules apply
for new buildings (Walker, 2016). However, a fire may arise in any building and the structural
system needs to well protected in order to avoid a major collapse and the fire must be
prevented from spreading. Especially when designing steel buildings, a lot of fire protection is
needed for the structural system, as steel deforms disastrously at high temperatures.
Fire safety elevators are regulated by local codes and laws, rather than individually designed
for each building (Cammelli, 2016). For example, in Sweden, a safety elevator is required in
all buildings higher than 10 floors. An enclosed space is required outside the elevator to give
firefighters a safe way to exit the elevator (Boverket, 2015). If the building is taller than 16
stories, a second emergency exit route is required.
In this thesis project, fire safety issues are not treated in depth but noted as an important factor
to take into consideration when designing since fire safety regulations have a large impact on
the design.

5 Design
There are many different factors and design choices that affect the completed building in a
high-rise project. There is an almost unlimited amount of smaller decisions to be made and all
choices somehow have an effect on the final result. Some choices, however, have bigger
impact than others and are difficult to change in a later stage of the project. For example, it is
impossible to change the story height once construction is underway, but whether to put in
parquet or carpets is a later decision. Both story height and floor cladding have large impact
on how a room is, but story height is the more important choice during the early conceptual
design stage. The design factors chosen all affect the end result to a great extent and are
interesting to investigate. Many other factors are mentioned and discussed in the project but
these are the most critical design choices to understand.
The design factors chosen for investigation in this project are:

Height
Structural system
Function
Slenderness
Shape
Height and slenderness are numerically measurable design factors. Structural system, function
and shape each have a set of different options. For example, the function can be either
residential, hotel or office. The table below shows if each demand is affected by each design
factor. If there is a connection between a design factor and demand, it is marked with “x”. For
height and slenderness, it also shows whether the demands are improved (↗) or decreased
(↘) with an increasing value in height or slenderness.
Demand \ Design Height Slenderness Shape Structure Function
Views ↗ ↗ x x
Daylight ↗ x x x
Elevator Access ↘ x
Economy ↘ ↘ x x
Environmental Impact ↘
Gravitational Load Capacity ↘ x x
Wind Loads/Stability ↘ ↘ x x
Publicity/Iconic Value ↗ x
Ease Manufacture/Assembly ↘ x x
Population/Added Density ↗ ↘ x
Fire Safety ↘ x
Table 4 Table of how design variables affect demands. The symbols used can be
explained with examples: ↗ Views increase with increasing height, ↘ Stability
decreases with increasing height, x Economy is affected by structural system.

Figure 26 Map showing how the design variables affect the different demands.
The design variables studied in this project all affect several different
demands.

5.1 Height
The building height is the first thing people are interested to know in a high-rise project. Tall
buildings fascinate people and in high-rise projects, there is a tendency to design a building as
tall as possible. However, when designing a high-rise, the height greatly affects factor such as
economy, sustainability and views. Changing the height by a few meters may have large
implications and relations between height and other factors tend to be exponential rather than
linear. This chapter aims to explain the major implications of building height.
The height of the building quite obviously affects the views. The surrounding topography also
has a major impact on views. As mentioned in chapter 4.2, the views may not necessarily be
the best at the top of the building. Lower stories may have great views as long as they are
situated above the surrounding topography. The most important values needed to estimate
quality of views are the height of the high-rise and the height of surrounding buildings and
topography.
Figure 27 Views are affected by the building height as well as the height of surrounding
buildings and topology. A percentage of building area above average
surrounding building height can be used as a measure of views.
The building height is also closely related to the economy of the project. Generally, it can be
stated that lower buildings are cheaper to construct per area unit of floor space. The costs
associated with high-rise building technical demands are high, and the lower area efficiency
due to vertical transportation, ventilation shafts etc. makes the cost/m2 ratio increase with
increasing building height. Cost tends to be exponentially rather than linearly related to
building height, see Figure 28.
However, when land prices are high it may be more economic to build tall. In New York City
it is more economic to build relatively tall buildings, according to structural engineer Dmitri
Jajich (Jajich, 2016). It is also well established that residents are prepared to pay a premium
for higher floors, which makes the top floors in a high-rise very valuable. In the Karlatornet
Gothenburg tower the apartments on the lower stories cost about 50 0001 SEK/m2 while at the
top the cost may be as high as 150 000 SEK/m2 (Petzell, 2016).
1
In the initial interview with Charlotte Petzell the prize 50 000 1 SEK/m2 was given as the lower limit but has
since then changed to around 65 0001 SEK/m2

It is difficult to predict an exact optimum height of a building concerning economy, as there
are so many unknown factors. However, a reasonable height span can be predicted for the
project in question. What height span that is viable depends on the site and project conditions,
such as land price, building function and sale prices in the area. Figure 28 shows how building
cost, land cost and predicted income are related.
Figure 28 Sketch of possible economic conditions for a high-rise building. There is

typically a minimum and maximum building height that is economic to build,
but these values vary from project to project.
The environmental impact from the building increases with increasing height, while the added
density effect may argue for a taller building from a sustainability viewpoint, see chapter 4.7.
As discussed in chapter 4.8 and 4.9, the loads on the building increase with increasing height.
Both the vertical and horizontal load capacity therefore need to increase.
Height Advantages
The taller the building, the better the views and daylight properties and the better the chances
are of creating a building with iconic value and landmark status. The added population density
leads to benefits from a sustainability perspective.
Height Disadvantages
The taller the building, the more difficult it will be to provide elevator access, fire safety and
achieve good economy in the project. It will also become structurally more complicated and is
bound to become less sustainable as a building and more difficult to construct.
Approximate Height Breakpoints

16 stories Two exit routes are required
100 meters A central core is probably not enough to stabilize building

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ctbuh.

Title: Guidelines for Tall Buildings

Subject: Urban Design

Keywords: Human Scale

Publication Date: 2012

Original International Journal of High-Rise Buildings Volume 1 Number 4

© Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat / Kheir Al-Kodmany

Guidelines for Tall Buildings Development

1. Overview Each building, however, interfaces with the city and

2.1. The built heritage

Figure 1. Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit, MI. The ar-

building height profile where appropriate. A

potential of tall buildings to function as landmarks at tation points, and pleasing

Figure 13. Step-like profile (top left) improves spatial rela-

realm. In general, the taller the building, the stronger is

safety redundancies. Concrete cores are robust and

Green Design of Residential High-Rise Buildings in Livable Cities

Mir M. Ali, PhD Paul J. Armstrong, RA

School of Architecture University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Green Residential High-rise Buildings 1

Green Residential High-rise Buildings 2

Sustainable Community Design

Green Residential High-rise Buildings 3

By reconnecting to “the ecology of a place” planners and architects can develop

Community Green Building Programs

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The Hannover Principles: Written by architect William McDonough and Michael

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The Hannover Principles should be seen as a living document committed to the

what measures are appropriate to use in specific developments

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Community-Based Initiatives: Arlington County, Virginia offers both a Green Choice

LEED for Neighborhood Development. The LEED for Neighborhood Development

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Green Building Design Strategies

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High-Rise Residential Buildings. Residential buildings as a class represent the most

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Conversion to liquid fuel.

Development of Additional Criteria

Similarly, under ecological sustainability the following credits may be considered:

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Green Residential High-Rise Buildings

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2.Water conservation and purification

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Figure 2: The Helena, 2005, New York City, FXFOWLE Architects.

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AIA, 2007. “AIA Communities by Design’s 10 Principles for Livable Communities,”

Alameda County Waste Management Authority, 2004. Multifamily Green Building

CNU, 2007. “Who We Are,” Congress on New Urbanism, www.cnu.org.

Kaplan, D., 2007. “Sustainable Design in High-rise Residential,” CTBUH Journal,

McDonough, W. and Braungart, M., 1992. “The Hannover Principles,”

Metropolitan Council, 2004. Blueprint 2030, “2030 Regional Development Framework,”

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Miriam-Webster Dictionary, 2007. Miriam Webster Online, hhttp://m-

NRDC, 2007. “Mission Statement,” Natural Resources Defense Council,

Smith, P. F., 2005. Architecture in a Climate of Change: A Guide to Sustainable Design,

SCN, 2007. “Green Building Design Strategies,” Smart Communities Network,

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