Design and Construction of Skyscraper

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 General:

Fig 1. Burj Khalifa

A skyscraper is a very tall, building. The minimum height requirement currently to be

accepted as a skyscraper is 800 feet (244 meters). The word skyscraper was first
known to such buildings in the late 19th century, which reflects public amazement at
the tall buildings that are being built in New York City.

The structural definition of the word skyscraper was later refined by architectural,
historians, based on engineering developments of the 1880s that had enabled the
construction of tall multi-story buildings. This definition was based on the steel
skeleton as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry, which passed their
practical limit in 1891 with Chicago's Monadnock Building. The steel frame developed
in stages of increasing self-sufficiency, with several buildings in New York and
Chicago advancing the technology that allowed the steel frame to carry a building on
its own. Today, however, many of the tallest skyscrapers are built more or less entirely
with reinforced concrete.

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A skyscraper taller than 305 meters (1,000 feet) may sometimes be referred to as a
supertall. The crucial developments for skyscrapers were steel, reinforced concrete,
water pumps, and elevators. Until the 19th century, buildings of over six stories were
rare. So many flights of stairs were impractical for inhabitants, and water pressure was
usually insufficient to supply running water above about 15 meters (50 feet).

1.2 Structural evolution of high-rise buildings:

I. First-generation (1780-1850)
1. The exterior walls of these buildings consisted of stone or brick, although
sometimes cast iron was added for decorative purposes.
2. The columns were constructed of cast iron, often unprotected; steel and
wrought iron were used for the beams, and the floors were made of wood.

II. Second generation (1850-1940)

1. The second generation of tall buildings, which includes the metropolitan life
building (1909), the Woolworth building (1913), and the empire state building
(1931), are frame structures, in which the skeleton of welded- or riveted steel
columns and beams, often encased in concrete, runs through the entire
building.
2. This type of construction makes for an extremely strong structure, but not such
attractive floor space. The interiors are full of heavy, load-bearing columns and
walls.

Fig 2. Home insurance building, empire state building and shanghai financial
tower

III. Third Generation (1940-present)

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1. Buildings constructed after world war 2 until today make up the most recent
generation of high-rise buildings.
2. Within this generation, there are those of steel-framed construction, reinforced
concrete construction.
3. Hybrid systems also evolved during this time. These systems make use of more
than one type of structural system in a building.

1.3The necessity of skyscrapers:

1. If we have a shortage of construction area. Most of the cities are already full of
residential buildings which makes land inside the city limit very expensive.
Thus developers need to make sure they get as much as possible out of the plot
they get by building upwards.
2. If the city keeps expanding, we need necessary infra to be grown along with it.
Huge money is required to develop that.
3. With the invention of the elevator, building to ever-increasing heights is
possible. If I can build multiple high-rise structures in a relatively small piece
of real estate, then I get a higher return on investment.
4. A company needs all their staff to be located at one place to bring down over
the head. Easy of making between business at a nearby location.

1.4Advantages of skyscrapers:
1. Many skyscrapers in the city. It gives a different view of the city. These views
could be so stunning that it leads to a tourist attraction, which could intern
bring in money for the city that it is in.
2. Skyscrapers have very obvious space. Skyscrapers have so much space inside
of the building that it could fit more than one company in it. by having more
than one company in the building it helps not take up as much space in the city.
3. Skyscrapers are the symbolism. The symbolism of the tower could be
something like a tragedy that happened in that spot and they are making its spot
and naming the building after it. This could be a major attraction to the city
which intern would bring in more money to the city.
4. They save space and accommodate more residents as compared to a shorter
building.
5. The higher floor is relatively airier and receives more sunlight.

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
6. They are much more economical as buying small land and constructing a tall
building is more affordable than purchasing widespread land.

1.5Disadvantages of skyscrapers:
1. One of the major concerns of the skyscraper is the safety of the building. These
huge structures are way more possible to be hurt by some natural disaster
because of how big they are. The bigger the building means that the have to a
greater foundation so if there is a natural disaster and there is any problem.
2. One other cost that is a huge problem for building a skyscraper is the cost of
the building. These buildings are so massive that they cost so much that people
often think that they are not worth the money.
3. The construction of a very tall building requires highly skilled engineers and
architects to design the building, thus increasing the total cost.
4. very tall buildings bear wind forces and seismic forces apart from dead and live
loads.
5. Buildings above 100 story height face the problem of oscillation, sometimes
resulting in the crashing of windowpanes.
6. The foundations of a very tall building with smaller construction land are under
tremendous load and failure of soil may lead to the collapse of the building.

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Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
Structure, Material and Building Technique:
2.1 Foundations and the Excavation Pit:
Skyscraper foundations are considerably more complex than those for normal
buildings. The complexity brought is just because of their height and weight and can
further depend on certain specific factors such as nature of the soil, exposure to wind,
earthquake and their location in relation to surrounding property. Depending on the
nature of the structure, the type of foundation and the characteristics of the ground, the
value of the foundation/excavation can be as much as 7.5% of the total project value.

The foundation is the supporting layer of a structure. The main purpose of the
foundation is to transfer the various loads (wind, seismic, dead and live) from the
structure into the ground. Different factors can influence the type and dimension of the
foundations; soil type and stiffness, water content, void ratio, bulk density, angle of
repose, cohesion, porosity to name but a few. Characteristics of the ground can also
experience change due to the geological history or previous construction activities.

There are many different types of retaining walls:

 Interlocking sheet piles; can be temporary or permanent

 Contiguous, secant piled walls, the latter more likely to be used in soft/wet
soils
 Diaphragm walls; particularly used in soft ground with high groundwater
and/or adjacent to other structures
 Crosswalks; often used in addition to one of the above where is a particularly
high exposure to adjacent properties

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2.2 Structure of the Main Skeleton, Design and Material:
Of the 100 tallest buildings the number using steel has reduced by at least 15% each
decade since 1970, and in 2010 only 22% of the tallest building is steel. The key issues
with high-performance concrete (high-performance concrete is reinforced concrete
with a compressive strength at 28 days in excess of 50 MPa) relate to the quality of the
material and the expertise of the contractors. Only a few of them are familiar with
these concretes. The controls on site must be quite strict and without compromise.

The columns of The Coeur Defense towers in the business district of Paris have a
diameter of 110m and used a high-performance concrete of 80 MPa. When it comes to
steel, the quality of the material is with the suppliers. On-site, the main concern will be
on the various assemblies. This is like giant Meccano, however as often these projects
take place in a confined urban environment, logistics and third-party exposures are an
important consideration.

In respect of structural systems, it is possible to define 5 categories:

1. The framed tube: the system of rigid frames (flatiron building in 1903)
2. The bundled tube: a combination of framed tubes (Sears towers, 1974)
3. Tube in tube: central and peripheral tubes (World Trade Centre in NY, 1972)
4. Diagonalised: stressed tubes, diagrids/braced frames (Alcoa bld. in Chicago)
5. Core plus outrigger: central lateral system linked to the perimeter system
through outriggers (PETRONAS Tower, 1999 –Taipei 101, 2003 )

It is however important for a construction underwriter to look at the problems

emerging from these loads (earthquake or wind) during the various construction

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
stages. The wind analysis is very often conducted with a view to understanding how
the building will behave when it is completed. However for example the cladding of
the building may require further tests to make sure that during the construction stages,
the wind load distribution will not generate unexpected problems

2.3 Cladding System

The cladding systems comprise the external building envelope or the outer finish. These have
evolved over time to reflect the ambitions of the developers and the creative and
innovative talents of modern architects.

Key factors which will affect the characteristics of the cladding systems include;
climatic conditions, support and anchorage systems, owner’s “taste”, maintenance
services, ventilation or air-circulation system. The dimensions of the individual
external wall elements, forming part of the external building envelope, are designed to
fit between two respective structural floors, the main objectives being:
 Water-tightness, Aesthetics, Wind, Privacy
 Thermal protection (including control of sunlight entry)
 Reduction in noise-level, and Strength/durability.

There are four different groups and their sub-groups of Façade systems / Cladding
systems existing. They are (though not an exhaustive list):

 Traditional
 Brick façade (e.g. Empire State Building, Chrysler building, etc.)
 Marble panel system
 Ventilated Façade
 Aluminum, stone, ceramics, fiber reinforced concrete
 Curtain wall (Non-load bearing)
 Glass
 Adding coatings to the glass in order to protect it and tint, would also
increase the weight of the glass panel.

2.4 Building Material

i. Aluminum
 has become the material of choice for the outer frames.

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ii. Window Panes
 made of high-grade glass filled with noble gases and a surface coating in
order to reflect infrared light.

iii. Laminated Glass

iv. Sandwich Panels
 One of the primary materials used in façade systems of a building are so-
called "sandwich" panels or also known as "composite" panels. - Sandwich
or Composite panels are thermal insulating materials. These panels consist
of two thin metal facings/sheets (i.e. outer "skin"), usually steel or
aluminum, bonded to an inner core of thermally insulating material of
varying thickness. This system includes joints and supports. The
combustible panels include: Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), Extruded
Polystyrene (XPS), Polyurethane (PUR), Polyisocyanurate (PIR), Phenolic
Foam (PF) - The non-combustible panels include: Mineral Wool, Rock
Fibre (MWRF), Glass fiber (MWGF), Foamed Glass (Cellular Glass)
 There is great interest in the combustible-type panels because they are the
most widely used in buildings like apartment/residential, hotels,
office/commercial, hospitals.
 The combustible panels are widely used/installed in countries situated in
the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf peninsula due to the harsh climatic
conditions, characterized by high temperature all year long especially
between June and September. The most widely used panels are the
polystyrene and the polyurethane panels for many reasons, to name a few
(a) low installation cost, (b) easy in handling and installation, and (c)
strength/durability

2.5 Wind Loads:

Wind engineering analyzes the effects of wind in the natural and the built environment
and studies the possible damage, inconvenience, or benefits that may result from the
wind. In the field of structural engineering, it includes strong winds, which may cause
discomfort, as well as extreme winds, such as in a tornado, hurricane or heavy storm,
which may cause widespread destruction.

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
In the fields of wind energy and air pollution, it also includes low and moderate winds
as these are relevant to electricity production resp. dispersion of contaminants. Wind
engineering draws upon meteorology, fluid dynamics, mechanics, geographic
information systems and a number of specialist engineering disciplines including
aerodynamics, and structural dynamics.

Wind engineering involves, among other topics:

 Wind impact on structures (buildings, bridges, towers).
 Wind comfort near buildings.
 Effects of wind on the ventilation system in a building.
 Wind climate for wind energy.
 Air pollution near buildings. Wind engineering may be considered by structural
engineers to be closely related to earthquake engineering and explosion
protection.

2.6 Seismic Loading:

Seismic loading is one of the basic concepts of earthquake engineering which means
the application of an earthquake-generated agitation to a structure. It happens at
contact surfaces of a structure either with the ground, or with adjacent structures, or
with gravity waves from tsunami.

Seismic loading depends, primarily, on:

 Anticipated earthquake's parameters at the site - known as seismic hazard
 Geotechnical parameters of the site
 Structure's parameters
 Characteristics of the anticipated gravity waves from tsunami (if applicable).

Sometimes, seismic load exceeds the ability of a or completely. Due to their mutual, a
structure is intimately related. Earthquake or seismic performance such as its safety
and serviceability normally, considered safe if it does not endanger the lives and well
by partially or completely collapsing. A structure may be considered to fulfill the
operational functions for which it was designed.

Basic concepts of earthquake engineering, implemented in the ma that a building

should survive a rare, very severe earthquake by sustaining significant damage but

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
without globally collapsing frequent, but less severe seismic events. Sometimes,
seismic load exceeds the ability of a structure to resist it without being broken,
partially Due to their mutual interaction; seismic loading and seismic performance are
intimately related. seismic performance defines a structure's ability to sustain its main
functions, serviceability, at and after a particular earthquake exposure. A structure is, if
it does not endanger the lives and well-being of those in or around it by partially or
completely collapsing. A structure may be considered serviceable fulfill the
operational functions for which it was designed.

Basic concepts of earthquake engineering, implemented in the major building codes,

assume that a building should survive a rare, very severe earthquake by sustaining
significant damage but without globally collapsing. On the other hand, it should
remain operational for more frequent, but less severe seismic events. To resist it
without being broken, partially seismic performance of defines a structure's ability to
sustain its main functions, a particular earthquake exposure. A structure is, being of
those in or around it serviceable if it can jor building codes, assume that a building
should survive a rare, very severe earthquake by sustaining significant damage, On the
other hand, it should remain operational for more

2.7 Vibration Control:

In earthquake engineering, vibration control is a set of technical means aimed to
mitigate seismic impacts in building and non-building structures. All seismic vibration
control devices may be classified as passive, active or hybrid where:
 Passive control devices have no feedback capability between them, structural
elements and the ground;

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 Hybrid control devices have combined features of active and passive control
systems. When ground seismic waves reach up and start to penetrate a base of a
building, their energy flow density, due to reflections, reduces dramatically:
usually, up to 90%.
 To dissipate the wave energy inside a superstructure with properly engineered
dampers;
 To disperse the wave energy between a wider range of frequencies;
 To absorb the resonant portions of the whole wave frequencies band with the
help of so called mass dampers.

Devices of the last kind, abbreviated correspondingly as TMD for the tuned (passive),
as AMD for the active, and as HMD for the hybrid mass dampers, have been studied
and installed in highrise buildings, predominantly in Japan, for a quarter of a century.

In refineries or plants, snubbers are often used for vibration control. Snubbers come in
two different variations: hydraulic snubber and mechanical snubber.

 Hydraulic snubbers are used on piping systems when restrained thermal

movement is allowed.

 Mechanical snubbers operate on the standards of restricting acceleration of any

pipe movements to a threshold of 0.2 g's, which is the maximum acceleration
that the snubber will permit the piping.

2.8 Construction Techniques:

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
The weight of a skyscraper mainly consists of dead load, the load exerted by the
building itself. Any extra weight from people, furniture, vehicles, etc. is known as a
live load. In addition, wind and other unexpected sources can be load providers. The
design of a skyscraper is mainly dictated by how the total load is to be distributed.
Skyscraper designs are categorized as steel frames, shear walls, concrete core, or tube
designs.

I. Shear walls:
In a shear wall design, the weight of the structure is distributed through the walls.
These structures are often made of steel-reinforced brick or cinder block–materials
with high compressive strength. The shear wall design is primarily used in small
projects such as urban brownstones or suburban housing. As the load exerted on the
building increases, shear walls must increase in bulk, meaning skyscrapers would need
considerably large walls. Because of this, for tall buildings, this system is only used in
conjunction with other supporting systems.
IV. Steel Frame:
When one thinks of low-rise skyscrapers, the steel frame design comes to mind. This
design is characterized by a large steel box, containing smaller steel boxes inside. This
3D grid is simple and efficient for most low-rises but has its' drawbacks for high-rise
structures. As the building's height increases, the space between steel beams must
decrease to compensate for the extra weight, resulting in less office space and the need
for more material.

Shear walls: Steel Frame:

V. Tube Frame:

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The tube design is a recent innovation used to maximize floor space and increase
resistance to lateral force in any direction. The building's skin (outside) consists of
closely aligned supporting columns. This design only leaves about one-half of the
building's exterior left for windows. Depending on the designer's outlook, this can be
an advantage or disadvantage. The decreased window space helps those who suffer
acrophobia (a fear of heights) comfortably occupy the space; however, it decreases the
visibility and openness offered by other designs.

The tube frame design was made popular by the World Trade Centers, whose ultimate
failure; some belief was due to the tube frame design.

VI. Concrete Core:

This is the most common design for modern skyscrapers as it is fast to build and
provides a strong center. All the utilities, elevators, and stairwells are centralized in
this design, making it easier for building modifications and repair. This design can be
dangerous. If a part of the core is damaged, everything above that section will be cut
off from ground access.

This happened in the World Trade Center towers during the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, making it impossible for many people to escape the burning towers.

2.9 Earthquake Resistant Construction Reinforced Masonry

Structures:
A construction system where steel reinforcement is embedded in the mortar joints of
masonry or placed in holes and after filled with concrete or grout is called reinforced
masonry. The devastating 1933 Long Beach earthquake revealed that masonry
construction should be improved immediately. Then, the California State Code made
the reinforced masonry mandatory. To achieve a ductile behavior of masonry, it is
necessary that the shear strength of the wall is greater than the flexural strength.

2.10 Reinforced Concrete Structures:

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Reinforced concrete is concrete in which steel reinforcement bars (rebars) or fibers
have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be brittle. It can
be used to produce beams, columns, floors or bridges.

Prestressed concrete is a kind of reinforced concrete used for overcoming concrete's

natural weakness in tension. It can be applied to beams, floors or bridges with a longer
span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete. Prestressing tendons
(generally of high tensile steel cable or rods) are used to provide a clamping load
which produces a compressive stress that offsets the tensile stress that the concrete
compression member would, otherwise, experience due to a bending load.

2.11 PRESTRESSED STRUCTURES:

The prestressed structure is the one whose overall integrity, stability and security
depend, primarily, on prestressing. Prestressing means the intentional creation of
permanent stresses in a structure for the purpose of improving its performance under
various service conditions.

There are the following basic types of prestressing:

 Pre-compression (mostly, with the own weight of a structure)
 Pre tensioning with high-strength embedded tendons
 Post-tensioning with high-strength bonded or unbonded tendons

Today, the concept of prestressed structure is widely engaged in the design of

buildings, underground structures, TV towers, power stations, floating storage and
offshore facilities, nuclear reactor vessels, and numerous kinds of bridge systems.

2.12 Steel Structures:

Steel structures are considered mostly earthquake-resistant but this isn't always the
case. A great number of Welded Steel Moment Resisting Frame buildings, which
looked earthquake-proof, surprisingly experienced brittle behavior and were
hazardously damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. After that, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiated the development of repair
techniques and new design approaches to minimize damage to steel moment frame
buildings in future earthquakes. For structural steel seismic design based on Load and
Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) approach, it is very important to assess the ability of

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
a structure to develop and maintain its bearing resistance in the inelastic range. A
measure of this ability is ductility, which may be observed in material itself, in a
structural element, or to a whole structure.

2.13 Prefabrication:
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or
other manufacturing site and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to
the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is used to
distinguish this process from the more conventional construction practice of
transporting the basic materials to the construction site where all assembly is carried
out.

The term prefabrication also applies to the manufacturing of things other than
structures at a fixed site. It is frequently used when the fabrication of a section of a
machine or any movable structure is shifted from the main manufacturing site to
another location, and the section is supplied assembled and ready to fit. It is not
generally used to refer to electrical or electronic components of a machine, or
mechanical parts such as pumps, gearboxes and compressors which are usually
supplied as separate items, but to sections of the body of the machine which in the past
were fabricated with the whole machine. Prefabricated parts of the body of the
machine may be called 'sub-assemblies to distinguish them from the other components

Chapter 3

CASESTUDY
3.1 Taipei 101
Taipei 101, formerly known as the Taipei world financial center, is a landmark
supertall skyscraper in the xinyi district of Taipei, Taiwan. The building was officially
classified as the world's tallest in 2004, and remained such until the opening of Burj
khalifa in Dubai in 2010

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
 Site area - 30,277 m2
 Floor area - 3,73,831 m2
 Height - 508 m
 No of floor - 101
 Main tower - 101
 Podium - 6
 Basement - 5
 Type - Office building

 Seismic design measure

A tuned mass damper, also known as a harmonic absorber or seismic damper, is a
device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their
application can prevent discomfort, damage or outright structural failure. They are
frequently used in power transmission, automobiles, and buildings.

The complete name of the Taipei 101, wind damper is the tuned mass damper(TMD).
The Taipei 101 observatory has the world's largest and heaviest wind damper with a
diameter reaching 5.5m and a weight of 660 tons. The TMD has been specifically
designed as a passive damper system and is positioned at the center of the tower
between the 87th and 92nd floors. Its main purpose is to reduce the swaying of the tower
during strong winds. Visitors can take a look at the entire wind damper system and see
how it operates at the observatory.

3.2 BurjKhalifa – Dubai (2010) 829 m

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Key Facts: -

 Constructed in 6 years.
 World’s tallest building.
 163 Storeys.
 45,000 square meters of concrete weighing
110,000 tonnes
 Tallest service elevator.
 31,400 metric tonnes of steel used.
 58 number of elevators
 900 number of apartments
 Highest outdoor observation Deck (440m)
 The Peak Electricity demand of tower is 5
MVA
 946,000 liters of water are used every day.

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 Design and Construction of Skyscraper
SUMMARY

1) I would like to say that it is a great technology in construction engineering. With

this technology, a very light and durable structure is possible with a lot more
space for activities. But, we have to take care of the environment and
surroundings also so that the materials and the materials and the technologies used
should be green and have minimum impact on the environment. They are not just
built for the economy of space but they are considered as a symbol of a city's
economic power.
2) It has been the symbol of excellence and technology for the nation. It is the
structure that is flexible enough to withstand an earthquake and strong enough to
resist typhoon winds.
3) The shape of modules and step form in planning gives it an edge over the high-
speed wind, which is one of the most important design criteria of skyscrapers.
4) The soft soil subgrade required mat foundations on bored piles and slurry walls.
5) The project illustrates both large and small design decisions in architecture and
engineering necessary to complete building challenges.

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REFERENCES

1) Bani Masood, Amir (2010)" Western Architecture Roots and Concepts" Honar-e
memari Qarn publication, Tehran, pp.215.
2) Data Standards : high-rise building (ESN18727), Emporis Standards, Accessed
online October16,2009.
3) M,Ali,P,Armstrong.(2008)."overview of sustainable design factors in high-rise
building",CTBUH8thworldcongress,Dubai.
4) Sajjadi Ghaem Maghami, P.,Pourdyhymy,Sh.,&Zarghami,I.(2010)." Principles of
social stability in the residential community in Iranian scholars and experts view,
quarterly, 51,pp.87-75.
5) Shafieiyoon, Hammed, Najafpoor,Davood.(2015)."Ecotech: An Old Style in
Iran’s Architecture" Cumhuriyet University Faculty of Science, Science Journal
(CSJ),Vol. 36,Special Issue No. 4,ISSN:1300-1949.
6) Hatamigolzar,Elham.(1387)."Iranian traditional architecture and sustainable
development", Engineering infrastructure journal, IssueNo.6, Tehran, Iran.
7) Ghobadian,Vahid(2013)"Style and Concepts in Iranian Contemporary
Architecture" Elmemeamar publication, Tehran.

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