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CTBUH Platinum Member
Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
About
Member Since: 1987
Member Offices: Atlanta, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dallas, Denver, Dubai, Edinburgh, Fort Lauderdale, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, Kansas City, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Mississauga, Moscow, Mumbai, New York City, Newark, Ottawa, Perth, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seattle, Shanghai, Sydney, Tampa, Toronto, Washington D.C.
Website: http://www.thorntontomasetti.com/
Thornton Tomasetti applies engineering and scientific principles to solve the world’s challenges. An independent organization of creative thinkers and innovative doers collaborating from offices worldwide, we optimize the design and performance of structures, materials and systems for projects of every size and level of complexity. Our mission is to bring our clients’ ideas to life and, in the process, lay the groundwork for a better, more resilient future. We are committed to being a sustainable, diverse and enduring organization and the global driver of change and innovation in the industries in which we work.
Fields of Expertise
Architecture; Civil Engineering; Computers / IT / Software; Engineering, Multi-discipline; Engineering, Other; Environmental Engineering; Façade Design / Engineering; Façade Systems; Fire Engineering; Geotechnic / Foundations; Historical Preservation; Insurance / Risk; Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing; Project Management; Security Consultancy; Seismic Design; Structural Engineering; Transportation / Urban Infrastructure; Urban Design
Buildings
|
RANK
|
Name
|
Status
Completed Architecturally Topped Out Structurally Topped Out Under Construction On Hold Proposed Vision Never Completed Demolished Competition Entry Canceled Proposed Renovation Under Renovation Renovated Under Demolition |
Height
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai Tower | 632 m / 2,073 ft | |
| 2 | Ping An Finance Center | 599.1 m / 1,965 ft | |
| 3 | Lotte World Tower | 554.5 m / 1,819 ft | |
| 4 | TAIPEI 101 | 508 m / 1,667 ft | |
| 5 | Petronas Twin Tower 1 | 451.9 m / 1,483 ft | |
| 6 | Petronas Twin Tower 2 | 451.9 m / 1,483 ft | |
| 7 | Wuhan Tower | 443.1 m / 1,454 ft | |
| 8 | Willis Tower | 442.1 m / 1,451 ft | |
| 9 | 30 Hudson Yards | 387.1 m / 1,270 ft | |
| 10 | Federation Tower | 373.7 m / 1,226 ft |
Awards
Award of Excellence: 30 Hudson Yards
Structure Award 2022
Winner: Comcast Technology Center
Best Tall Building, by Region, Americas 2021
Award of Excellence: Comcast Technology Center
Best Tall Building, by Height, 300-399 meters 2021
Award of Excellence: Wuhan Center Tower
Best Tall Building, by Height, 400 meters and above 2021
Winner: Ping An Finance Center
Best Tall Building, by Height, 400 meters and above 2019
Award of Excellence: Wilshire Grand Center
Structure Award 2019
Award of Excellence: Ping An Finance Center
Fire & Risk Engineering 2019
Winner: Aine Brazil
Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Award 2018
Award of Excellence: Ping An Finance Center
Construction Award 2018
Award of Excellence: Ping An Finance Center
Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2018
Award of Excellence: Lotte World Tower
Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2018
Winner: Shanghai Tower
Best Tall Building Worldwide 2016
Winner: TAIPEI 101
Performance Award 2016
Winner: Shanghai Tower
Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2016
common.china-winners: Mega-Suspended Curtain Wall
China Innovation 2016
Winner: Charles Thornton
Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Award 2012
Winner: Richard Tomasetti
Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Award 2012
Ctbuh Leaders
Paul Fu
CTBUH Expert Peer Review Committee, 2014 – Present
CTBUH New York City Chapter, 2015 – Present
Videos
24 May 2022
Stockholm Central Station: A Steel-Timber Transit-Oriented Development
A unique response to solving a complex master planning and over decking project, steel and timber are used in a hybrid fashion to provide ultimate...
Research
22 December 2023
Remembering Charles H. Thornton, 2012 Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Awardee
This edition of Talking Tall is an interview from the CTBUH archives. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat would like to remember Charles...
Global News
26 September 2023
New Antenna Installed Atop Willis Tower
ABC7 Chicago successfully installed a brand new antenna on the Willis Tower on a Sunday morning. The process was captured by Chopper 7. A helicopter...
Associated companies
Lev Zetlin Associates (1977)
Simon & Associates, Inc. (2012)
Lev Zetlin Associates (1977)
Simon & Associates, Inc. (2012)
|
RANK
|
Name
|
City
|
Status
Completed Architecturally Topped Out Structurally Topped Out Under Construction On Hold Proposed Vision Never Completed Demolished Competition Entry Canceled Proposed Renovation Under Renovation Renovated Under Demolition |
Completion
|
Height
|
Floors
|
Function
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeddah Tower | Jeddah | - |
1,000 m / 3,281 ft |
167 | Residential / Serviced Apartments | |
| 2 | Suzhou Zhongnan Center | Suzhou | - |
729 m / 2,392 ft |
137 | Hotel / Residential / Office | |
| 3 | Wuhan Greenland Center | Wuhan | - |
636 m / 2,087 ft |
126 | Hotel / Residential / Office | |
| 4 | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai | 2015 |
632 m / 2,073 ft |
128 | Hotel / Office | |
| 5 | Ping An Finance Center | Shenzhen | 2017 |
599 m / 1,965 ft |
115 | Office | |
| 6 | Lotte World Tower | Seoul | 2017 |
555 m / 1,819 ft |
123 | Hotel / Residential / Office / Retail | |
| 7 | TAIPEI 101 | Taipei | 2004 |
508 m / 1,667 ft |
101 | Office | |
| 8 | Chengdu Greenland Tower | Chengdu | - |
468 m / 1,535 ft |
101 | Hotel / Office | |
| 9 | Petronas Twin Tower 1 | Kuala Lumpur | 1998 |
452 m / 1,483 ft |
88 | Office | |
| 9 | Petronas Twin Tower 2 | Kuala Lumpur | 1998 |
452 m / 1,483 ft |
88 | Office | |
| 11 | Wuhan Tower | Wuhan | 2019 |
443 m / 1,454 ft |
88 | Hotel / Residential / Office | |
| 12 | Willis Tower | Chicago | 1974 |
442 m / 1,451 ft |
108 | Office | |
| 13 | 30 Hudson Yards | New York City | 2019 |
387 m / 1,270 ft |
73 | Office | |
| 14 | Federation Tower | Moscow | 2016 |
374 m / 1,226 ft |
93 | Residential / Office | |
| 15 | One Shenzhen Bay Tower 7 | Shenzhen | 2018 |
341 m / 1,120 ft |
71 | Residential / Hotel / Office | |
| 16 | Comcast Technology Center | Philadelphia | 2018 |
339 m / 1,112 ft |
59 | Hotel / Office | |
| 17 | Wilshire Grand Center | Los Angeles | 2017 |
335 m / 1,100 ft |
62 | Hotel / Office | |
| 18 | 3 World Trade Center | New York City | 2018 |
329 m / 1,079 ft |
69 | Office |
Statistics
Average Building Age*
13 Years
Most Common Function*
Office (55%)
Most Common Material*
Concrete (43%)
* Based on 150 m+ buildings currently in the database
Building Completions Timeline
Building Map
Construction Time Chart
NOTE: Construction start time is not available for all buildings. The average construction time is only displayed if there is three or more buildings with construction start and complete data in that year.
Create your own charts using the Explore Data tool.
Designated Experts
Ctbuh Leaders At Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
CTBUH Expert Peer Review Committee, 2014 – Present
Paul Fu
Senior Principal, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
CTBUH New York City Chapter, 2015 – Present
Dennis Poon
Managing Principal, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
CTBUH Height and Data Committee, 2018 – Present
Joseph Burns
Managing Principal, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
CTBUH Future Leaders Committee, Chicago, 2019 – Present
Nuria Sanz
Associate, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
CTBUH New York City Chapter, 2021 – Present
Charles Portelli
Senior Associate, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
CTBUH Steel-Timber Research Project Steering Committee, 2022 – Present
Eddie Jump
Director, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
Videos
24 May 2022
Stockholm Central Station: A Steel-Timber Transit-Oriented Development
A unique response to solving a complex master planning and over decking project, steel and timber are used in a hybrid fashion to provide ultimate...
23 May 2022
Santander Bank, London: Raising Head Heights and Lowering Embodied Carbon
A system of steel columns and beams with shear studs, overlaid with CLT routed with grooves for composite action and a concrete topping slab cast...
28 April 2020
Agile AEC
The pandemic crisis of COVID-19 has catalyzed a shockwave of action throughout the AEC industry like never before. The CTBUH Chicago Chapter presents a virtual...
17 September 2018
Five Minutes with: Aine Brazil
Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman, Thornton Tomasetti, sat down with CTBUH to discuss her 40-plus year career creating internationally acclaimed high-rises across the world.
31 May 2018
A Milestone in Supertall Construction
Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) is an extraordinary project, which responds to the challenges of constructing in dense urban environments. PAFC advanced nearly every dimension...
31 May 2018
The Axis Mundi of the Pearl River Delta Megacity
The Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) is a transit-integrated, 600-meter-tall building that occupies a major node in the increasingly connected megacity of Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou....
31 May 2018
Vertical Village as National Symbol
Joining the ranks of the world’s top ten tallest buildings, the 123-story Lotte World Tower rises to 555 meters and offers one of the world’s...
30 May 2018
Shaping Skylines Through Engineering Innovation
Aine M. Brazil is a leading structural engineer who has been instrumental in shaping the skylines of cities across the globe. In her 40-plus year...
30 May 2018
Interview: Aine Brazil
Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman of Thornton Tomasetti, is interviewed by Chris Bentley regarding her structural work after recieving the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Award during...
28 March 2018
Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: Naturalizing the Vertical Realm
Thursday, February 1, 2018. Chicago, United States of America. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) held...
30 October 2017
Quay Quarter Tower: Humanizing the High-Rise
Quay Quarter Tower (QQT) will create a stunning new building on the Sydney skyline that sets new benchmarks in office tower design globally and creates...
30 October 2017
Rethinking CTBUH's Height Criteria in the Context of Tall Timber
Recent developments in the design and construction of progressively taller buildings using engineered timber as a structural material raise important questions about the language that...
21 August 2017
Flyover of The Finance Centre in Taguig City, Philippines
An aerial view of The Finance Centre in Taguig City, Philippines, while the building was topped out in 2017.
16 March 2017
Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: How High Can We Go?
Thursday, March 16, 2017. Chicago, United States of America. Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the first lecture of the series Building Tall...
16 March 2017
How High Can We Go? (Highlight)
Thursday, March 16, 2017. Chicago, United States of America. Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the first event in the Building Tall lecture...
03 November 2016
Building on Unprecedented Performance: TAIPEI 101
Perhaps what is most notable about the TAIPEI 101 performance upgrade is not its complexity, but rather that the tower was already relatively efficient. All...
03 November 2016
A Vernacular Megatall: Shanghai Tower
As the tallest building in China upon completion, Shanghai Tower has had an immediate and profound impact on the country’s perceptions of how a skyscraper...
03 November 2016
Interview: TAIPEI 101
Joseph Chou and Freda Tsai, Taipei Financial Center Corporation, are interviewed by Chris Bentley regarding TAIPEI 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, the recipient of the 2016...
03 November 2016
Interview: Shanghai Tower
Jianping Gu, General Manager, Shanghai Tower C&D, & Grant Uhlir, Managing Director, Gensler, are interviewed by Chris Bentley regarding Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, the 2016 CTBUH...
19 October 2016
From San Diego to Guangzhou: The Story of Marketing Tall Buildings
One of the keys to attracting buyers and tenants for a contemporary tall building is a succinct marketing strategy and a robust understanding of how...
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18 October 2016
Saudi Arabia, Jeddah City and Jeddah Tower
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious project to construct the world’s tallest building, Jeddah Tower. Surrounding the kilometer-plus building will be...
18 October 2016
Jeddah Mall: The Connection Between Jeddah Tower and the Urban Environment
The Jeddah Economic City Mall and Exhibition Center is a multi-functional installation that rises up to the challenge of making the city walkable around the...
18 October 2016
Lighting the Next Tallest Building in the World, the Jeddah Tower
Following experience around the world with tall buildings and monuments, Pierre Marcout has sought to transmit his passion for highlighting monuments for new constructors and...
18 October 2016
Urban Development and Tall Buildings in Shenzhen
Tuesday October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Chongguang Xu of Shenzhen Municipal Government, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 7b: Shenzhen Bay Development. This presentation...
18 October 2016
One Shenzhen Bay – Breakthroughs and Innovations in a Premier Urban Complex
Today’s super high-rise buildings not only present the height of buildings, but also play more important roles of integrating into the development of cities, coexisting...
18 October 2016
A World-Class City Calls for World-Class Architecture (One Shenzhen Bay)
Tuesday October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Marianne Kwok of Kohn Pedersen Fox, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 7b: Shenzhen Bay Development. Research and...
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Jon Pickard
Jon Pickard of Pickard Chilton is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Jon discusses the local economic impacts of tall buildings.
18 October 2016
Shenzhen Bay Development Q&A
Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Kui Zhuang, CCDI Group; Chongguang Xu, Shenzhen Municipal Government; Hang Xu, Parkland Real Estate Development Co, Ltd, Maianne Kwok,...
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Mounib Hammoud
Mounib Hammoud of Jeddah Economic Company is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Mounib discusses the Jeddah Economic City development centered...
18 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference Jeddah City & Jeddah Tower Q&A
Tuesday October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Julian Chen, Henning Larsen Architects; Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company; Denis Valode, Valode & Pistre Architects; Piere Marcout, Prisme...
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Andrew Nicholson
Andrew Nicholson of CBRE is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Andrew discusses the building management of the Shanghai Tower.
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Hashimah Hashim
Hashimah Hashim of KLCC Property Holdings Berhad is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Hashimah discusses the master planning and development...
18 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference - Panel,"Tall Buildings and Context: How High Can We Go and Why Should We?"
Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Ron Klemencic, Magnusson Klemencic Associates; Karl Almstead, Turner Construction Company; Andrew Nicholson, CBRE; Jon Pickard, Pickard Chilton; Ian Smith,...
17 October 2016
Intelligent Advances in Ping An Tower
This presentation discussed client requirements on both functional and aesthetic aspects for four mega-scale gates on the Ping An Financial Centre (PAFC) north tower. The...
17 October 2016
X Information Modeling: Data-Driven Decision Making in the Design of Tall Buildings
This presentation outlined X-Information Modeling or XIM, a method of data-driven decision-making for the design of tall buildings. Developed over its application on more than...
17 October 2016
Panel Discussion: Shenzhen Re-centralization – Post Evaluation and Revitalization Strategy: Futian District
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Zhizhe Yu of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; Yixin Chen of Shenzhen Urban Planning Bureau; Weiwen Huang of Shenzhen Public...
17 October 2016
Mega Size Mixed-Use Projects: Redefining Vertical Urbanism
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 4c: Structural & Geotechnic Engineering. As the...
17 October 2016
Mixed Use Tall Buildings – The Challenges and Benefits of Vertical Urbanization
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Samuel So, JLL, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 3c: Building Operation. China is the global epicenter of...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Freda Tsai
Freda Tsai of Taipei Financial Center Corporation is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Freda discusses the retrofit and management strategy...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Hang Xu
Hang Xu of Parkland Real Estate Development Company is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Hang discusses the design process of...
17 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference - Session 3c: Building Operation Q&A
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Tim Neal, Arcadis; Samuel So, JLL; Joseph Chou, Taipei Financial Center Corporation; Zhao Ming Wang, CCDI answer questions at...
17 October 2016
The State of the Art (Technologies) Q&A
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. David Malott, Kohn Pedersen Fox; Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Fing An Financial Centre; Karl-Ott Schoellkopf, Thyssenkrupp, answer questions at...
17 October 2016
Panel Discussion: Future Cities: What are the Biggest Threats and Opportunities?
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. A panel discussing the challenges of growing urban populations throughout the globe.
17 October 2016
Structural & Geotechnic Engineering Q&A
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. William O'Donnell, DeSimone Consulting Engineers; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; SawTeen Seen, Leslie E. Robertson Associates, answer questions at the...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Jianping Gu
Jianping Gu of Shanghai Tower Construction & Development is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Jianping discusses the economics of constructing...
17 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference - Joseph Chu, " TAIPEI 101’s Upgrade Recertification to LEED O+M v4"
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Joseph Chu, Taipei Financial Center Corporation, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 3c: Building Operation. The sheer size...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Claude Bojer Godefroy
Claude Bojer Godefroy of Henning Larsen Architects is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Claude discusses the design process for interior...
16 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Karl Fender
Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis Architects is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Karl discusses the design concept for Merdeka PNB118...
16 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Abrar Sheriff
Abrar Sheriff of Turner International is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Abrar discusses the planning and construction process for supertall...
27 October 2015
Ping An: Insurance and Tall Buildings
The Ping An Finance Center is located at the commercial center of the Futian District in Shenzhen, on the southwest intersection of Fuhua Road and...
27 October 2015
Kingdom Tower/Kingdom City: History in the Making
Jeddah Economic Company's mission to envision, to design, to build, and to manage – in short, to master plan in the fullest sense – an...
27 October 2015
Interview: Mounib Hammoud
Mounib Hammoud of Jeddah Economic Company is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. Mounib...
27 October 2015
Interview: Faudziah Ibrahim
Faudziah Ibrahim of KLCC is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. Faudziah discusses Vision...
27 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Plenary 2 - Q&A
H.E. Abdulrahman Al-Shaikh, MOMRA; Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company; Irvine Sellar, Sellar Property Group; and Sorapoj Techakraisri, PACE Development, answer questions at the end of...
26 October 2015
Petronas Towers and KLCC: Urban Catalyst
This presentation examines the role of skyscrapers in a well-planned mixed commercial development that is not driven by speculative short-term investment goals in revamping the...
26 October 2015
Challenges and Opportunities for Structural Design of the 123-Story Jamsil Lotte World Tower
The Jamsil Lotte World Tower, a high-rise component of the 2nd Lotte World Amusement Complex, is being constructed at Jamsil, Seoul, Korea. This 123-story building...
26 October 2015
Adopting a Program Management Approach to Maximize the Benefit of ‘Vertical Cities’
Tall buildings are bigger, better, faster and more prevalent than ever. The race among the world's cities to build the tallest, ultimate record-busting skyscraper on...
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Supertall towers, when done correctly, are the catalyst for the city or district around them. They give an area an identity. They increase the local...
26 October 2015
Designing a Non-coplanar Exoskeleton Supertall Tower that Transforms the Skyline of Chengdu
The city of Chengdu is quickly becoming the center for high-rise development in southwest China. The focal point of this new vertical landscape will be...
26 October 2015
Elevator Designs for the Kingdom Tower
When it is completed in 2019, the 167-story mixed-use Kingdom Tower will become the new World's Tallest Tower. It will contain multiple, stacked mixed-use population...
26 October 2015
From Supertall to Megatall: Analysis and Design of the Kingdom Tower Piled Raft
As part of the booming development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Langan international was hired to assist in all phases of soil investigation and...
26 October 2015
Interview: James von Klemperer
James von Klemperer of KPF is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. James discusses...
26 October 2015
Developing Tall in the New York Context
Gary Barnett, Extell Development Corporation; Ric Clark, Brookfield Properties; Joseph Moinian, Moinian Group; and Larry Silverstein, Silverstein Properties, discuss development in New York City and...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 1b - Q&A
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Keith Brooks, ARCADIS Architects; George Leventis, Langan; and Alan Poeppel, Langan, answer questions at the end of...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 2a - Q&A
Jong-Ho Kim, Chang Minwoo Structural Consultants; William Howell, Turner International; and Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti, answer questions at the end of 2015 New York Conference...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 2b - Q&A
Santeri Suoranta, KONE; James Fortune, Fortune Shepler Consulting; and David Pilzer, Israel Ministry of Finance, answer questions at the end of 2015 New York Conference...
10 June 2015
Ping An Finance Center
The Shenzhen Ping An Financial Centre Construction and Development Co. Ltd. examines Ping An Finance Center and it's construction progress.
06 November 2014
Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award: Wind Engineering the World’s Tallest
Peter Irwin, one of the founding partners of Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI), has led wind engineering on many of the world’s tallest...
18 September 2014
Urban Density and the Porous High Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City
September 18, 2014. Shanghai, China. James von Klemperer from Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC presents at the 2014 Shanghai Conference closing plenary on "Urban Density...
18 September 2014
Construction Technology and Management Innovation in Shanghai Tower
The extreme height and unusual shape of the Shanghai Tower are factors that require additional considerations in terms of construction feasibility. By performing extensive data...
18 September 2014
Design of CWSS of Shanghai Tower Based on Buildability
Due to the varying distance from the exterior curtain wall to the main structural system of the Shanghai Tower, the building’s curtain wall support structure...
18 September 2014
Innovation Management in the Supervision Process of Shanghai Tower
This briefing outlines the creative management methods that were used by supervision personnel during the construction of Shanghai Tower. Specifically, this discussion will target key...
18 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Shanghai Tower Room, S4 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Shanghai Tower Room, S4 Questions & Answers session with speakers Duanxue Shi, Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd., Zhijun He, Tongji Architectural...
18 September 2014
High-Performance Sustainable Ultra High-Rise: Case Study of Ping An Finance Center
The Ping An Finance Center that has adopted a low energy, high-performance sustainable building model. With a focus on effective elevator systems, an efficient façade,...
18 September 2014
Engineering Contractor Management
Designing and planning for the construction of the Ping An Finance Center required a number of innovative engineering solutions regarding vertical shipping, labor allocation, large...
18 September 2014
Power, Elevators & Customer Oriented Sustainability Strategies: PAFC
This presentation outlines the engineering design solutions that were used for the Ping An Finance Center in order to provide a reliable power supply, expedient...
18 September 2014
Structural Design Challenges of Zhongnan Center
This presentation will give an overview of the following solutions used to address the structural challenges of the Zhongnan Center: a foundation to support the...
18 September 2014
Foundation Pit Support Design and Environment Protection Measure of Suzhou Zhongnan Center
The Suzhou Zhongnan Center excavation site is very large, very deep, and has complex surrounding environmental conditions. Hydrogeological conditions and other unfavorable factors have brought...
18 September 2014
Analysis of Pile Foundations and Loading Test of Suzhou Zhongnan Center
The Zhongnan Center is located on soft soil deposits in Suzhou, China and is currently under construction. This presentation describes the pile design and the...
18 September 2014
Unique Aspects of Shanghai Tower
In order to construct an unprecedented building like the Shanghai Tower, creative structural solutions are required in order to distribute loads evenly and optimize the...
18 September 2014
Several Points about the Practical Application of BIM Technology in Projects
The 632-meter Shanghai Tower began construction in 2008 and is expected to begin operation in 2015. Throughout the growth of this building, building information management...
18 September 2014
A Review of the Shanghai Tower Structural Performance Monitoring Project
The Shanghai Tower features performance monitoring systems that help dynamically observe risks, quality levels, and structural states under extreme weather conditions – both during construction...
18 September 2014
Zhongnan Center Elevator System and Elevator Evacuation Design
Because super high-rise buildings are a very recent phenomenon, there are no specific building codes written for them. For any building over 50 stories, direct...
18 September 2014
The MEP Design Challenges of a Mega Tall Building in China – the Suzhou Zhongnan Center
Design challenges from MEP perspective for the Zhongnan Center arise from the need for a safe, reliable, high tech, green, sustainable, user-friendly building. The devised...
18 September 2014
Design for Sustainability in Super High Rise Buildings
Over recent years, green building technology has developed at a rapid pace. The key objective of this presentation is to explore the way towards sustainable...
18 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 5 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 5 Questions & Answers session with speakers Xiaomei Lee & Frederick Liu, Gensler, Kam Chuen (Vincent) Tse...
17 September 2014
Shanghai Tower: Building a Green, Vertical City in the Heart of Shanghai
The Shanghai Tower establishes a new paradigm for tall buildings and vertical urbanism. This presentation provides an overview of the strong role that innovation and...
17 September 2014
Ping An Finance Center: The Development and Construction of a Megatall
The extraordinary megatall tower adopts extraordinary shape-optimization techniques and requires unprecedented levels of coordination to achieve its unique form.
17 September 2014
Suzhou Zhongnan Center: Rising Above Engineering Challenges
Suzhou is only 30 minutes by train from Shanghai, but has a rich history and identity all its own, soon to be augmented by the...
17 September 2014
Design Challenges of the 3 Tallest Buildings in North/ East/ South China
This presentation describes the MEP and VTS design challenges of the tallest buildings in three major cities in China; namely, Beijing, Suzhou and Guangzhou. The...
17 September 2014
The ROI of User Experience
Although there has been much research on the performance of double skin façades, there are still arguments that challenge their costs-effectiveness. Using the Shanghai Tower...
17 September 2014
Moving Towards Sustainable Vertical Urbanism
To ensure the delivery of a comfortable and harmonious commercial atmosphere, special attention was paid to building management practices in the Shanghai Tower. This presentation...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Shanghai Tower Room, Session 1 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Shanghai Tower Room, Session 1 Questions & Answers session with speakers Jiang Wu, Tongji University, Benedict Tranel & Xiaomei Lee, Gensler...
17 September 2014
Brief on the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Project Development
Targeted for completion in 2016, the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center is a project that represents a significant triumph for the Ping An Group, who...
17 September 2014
Designing China’s Tallest: DNA of the Ping An Finance Center
Rather than attempting to radically redefine how contemporary skyscrapers are designed, KPF architects prefer to adopt an approach of continuous refinement; drawing from successful high-rise...
17 September 2014
Cost Planning and Control of Tall Buildings: The Case of Ping An Finance Center
For tall buildings to be financially viable, effective cost planning and control of construction costs is essential in determining project feasibility. As demonstrated in the...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Ping An Tower Room, Session 1 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Ping An Tower Room, Session 1 Questions & Answers session with speakers Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center...
17 September 2014
Introduction of the Suzhou Zhongnan Center Project
Learn about the iterative process taken to arrive at the branding for Suzhou Zhongnan Center by way of a wide array of prior Interbrand projects,...
17 September 2014
Architectural Design for Vertical Inhabiting – The Suzhou Zhongnan Center
Aspiring to be the tallest tower in China, the Suzhou Zhongnan Center was designed with a balance of aesthetics and cutting-edge technology – striving to...
17 September 2014
Designing a Supertall for the Venice of China
In this presentation, attendees will learn about the unique structural elements that support Suzhou Zhongnan Center, including the “Core-Outrigger-Megaframe” lateral system; the foundation system, which...
17 September 2014
Making Shanghai Tower the World’s Tallest Green Building
The Shanghai Tower represents a breakthrough for sustainable high-rise development in China. A technical overview of the building’s green infrastructure will be provided, along with...
17 September 2014
Introduction of Shanghai Tower’s Electromechanical Key Technologies
The 632-meter Shanghai Tower targets both Green 3-Star and LEED Gold certifications, requiring inventive solutions in the design of the building’s electromechanical systems. These systems...
17 September 2014
The Making of a Vertical Intelligent Community
Advanced technology is used in the design and construction of buildings, but it can also play an important role during building operations. Using the latest...
17 September 2014
Ping An IFC: Economical & Efficient Solutions
With the completion of the 500m+ Ping An Finance Center, our era presents the question of whether traditional structural systems and design approaches are still...
17 September 2014
Key Technologies for the Structure Construction in the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center
This presentation will introduce the key technologies used for the structural construction of the 660-metertall Ping An Finance Center: the deep foundation pit, large diameter...
17 September 2014
The Structural Health Monitoring System for Ping An Finance Center
The Ping An Finance Center contains breakthrough structural health monitoring systems that make the building an important test platform for: the verification of various damage...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Ping An Tower Room, Session 2 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Ping An Tower Room, Session 2 Questions & Answers session with speakers Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti, Yuqi Zhou, CSCEC1B, and Yinghou...
17 September 2014
Performance Based Design and Optimization for Supertall Buildings
Performance-based structural design often includes performance requirements for safety, health, serviceability, energy efficiency and environmental impact. Building performance is an indicator of how well a...
17 September 2014
Comparative Study of Zhongnan Center – Earthquakes and Wind
A comparative study was conducted for the structural design of Zhongnan Tower for seismic action and wind loading. The analysis parameters, design methodology and structural...
17 September 2014
Core Structural Design and Optimization for Super Tall Buildings
Due to its excellent lateral stiffness and space flexibility, the mega frame-core wall structure is widely applied in super tall buildings. The efficiency of the...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 2 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 2 Questions & Answers session with speakers Jiemin Ding, TJAD, Weiguo Chen, Zhongnan Group, and Guangjing Sha,...
17 September 2014
Application of Performance Based Fire Safety Design in Shanghai Tower
There are three general categories of fire safety design in tall buildings: fire prevention, fire suppression, and fire safety engineering. Based on the characteristics and...
17 September 2014
Shanghai Tower Panel Discussion
2014 Shanghai International Conference Shanghai Tower Panel Discussion session with speakers Bin Zhao, Shanghai Tower Construction and Development, Yadong Li, Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co.,...
17 September 2014
Project Management Outline and Difficulties of Ping An Finance Center
The project management requirements for supertall (300-meter) and megatall (600-meter) projects are vastly different – often requiring additional considerations in terms of construction costs, construction...
17 September 2014
Some Aspects of Construction Management in Ping An Finance Center
There are several valuable construction management experiences from the Ping An Finance Center that are worth sharing. This presentation will discuss several studies performed for...
17 September 2014
The Application and Management of BIM in Ping An Finance Center
BIM (Building Information Management) is an emerging technology that gives engineers a new way of expressing complex spatial representations in high-rise buildings. The Ping An...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Ping An Tower Room, S3 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Ping An Tower Room, S3 Questions & Answers session with speakers Wing Kan (Ken) Wong, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Construction...
17 September 2014
Belt Truss Stiffness Analysis and Optimization for Mega Structures
Belt trusses are one of the key structural members of tall structures. The performance of the belt truss depends greatly on its stiffness. This briefing...
17 September 2014
Multi-Constrained Outrigger Optimization for Super Tall Buildings
Recently, the outrigger system has been widely employed as an efficient structural lateral load resisting system in super tall buildings. The optimization of the outrigger...
17 September 2014
High Performance Design of Floor System for Super Tall Buildings
The floor system is an important part of tall building structures. It not only supports the vertical load, but also connects the lateral load resisting...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 3 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 3 Questions & Answers session with speakers Li Cao, Zhongnan Group, Moukui Xu, Zhongnan Group, and Xin...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Opening Plenary - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Opening Plenary Questions & Answers session with speakers Antony Wood, CTBUH Executive Director / IIT / Tongji University, Jianping Gu, Shanghai...
16 September 2014
Interview: Jon Galsworthy
Jon Galsworthy of RWDI is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2014 CTBUH Shanghai Conference at the Jin Mao Tower. Jon discusses the sustainability of...
16 September 2014
Interview: Dennis Poon
Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2014 CTBUH Shanghai Conference at the Jin Mao Tower. Dennis discusses the evolution...
16 September 2014
Interview: Cathy Yang
Cathy Yang of TAIPEI 101 interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2014 CTBUH Shanghai Conference at the Jin Mao Tower. Cathy discusses the future of...
16 September 2014
Taipei 101: Tall Building Operation Towards Sustainability
To take TAIPEI 101 TOWER as an example that will showcase the various aspects of managing a tall building, satisfying tenant requirements, stakeholders expectations, and...
16 September 2014
High-Rise Harmony – Legal Issues Unique to Tall Buildings
This article aims to discuss the construction of tall buildings in both emerging and established urban centers, highlighting aspects related to large urban centers and...
16 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Technical Workshop 01 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Technical Workshop 01 Questions & Answers session with speakers Matthew Clifford, JLL; Cathy Yang, Taipei Financial Center; Jason Haase, LMN Architects;...
16 September 2014
Stainless Steel Claddings for High-Rise Architecture
Especially during the last 20 years stainless steel has become an approved and much valued cladding material for sophisticated architecture. Starting with the first architectural...
16 September 2014
The Evolution of Building Evacuation Design in China
As a result of the events of September 11th and other natural and man-made disasters, building owners, designers and fire officials have become increasingly aware...
07 November 2013
Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal: Geotechnics for the World’s Tallest
Clyde Baker has performed geotechnical engineering for seven of the 16 tallest buildings in the world, and a major portion of the high-rise buildings built...
07 November 2013
Interview: Fazlur Khan Winner: Clyde Baker
Clyde N. Baker, Jr., Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal Winner, discusses his lifetime work as a geotechnical engineer including working on 7 of the...
14 August 2013
Does it make economic sense to continue to make buildings taller?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Richard Keating, Jacobs; Stefan Krummeck, TFP Farrells; David Scott, Laing O’Rourke; Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti; Vincent Tse, Parsons Brinckerhoff;...
12 June 2013
Interview: Kingdom Tower
Talal Al Maiman of Kingdom Real Estate is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2013 CTBUH London Conference at The Brewery, London. Talal talks about...
11 June 2013
From London to Chicago: The Willis Group and Tall Buildings
From the 1970’s seminal Willis Faber Dumas Ipswich building, through 51 Lime Street London (winner of the CTBUH 2008 Best Tall Building Europe award), to...
11 June 2013
Matching Occupier and Landlord Needs: Supply and Demand in Tall Buildings
As employee habits increasingly change and alternative workplace solutions become a reality, what do tenants want from their tall buildings and how is this affecting...
11 June 2013
Session 2: What Contributes Most to Sustainability in Tall Buildings?
The next generation of tall buildings will be judged on more than sheer height or aesthetic appearance. In the context of sustainability, they will also...
11 June 2013
Interview: Emerging Corporate Mobility
Carmine Bilardello of Willis Group is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2013 CTBUH London Conference at The Brewery, London. Carmine talks about emerging corporate...
15 May 2013
What Techniques Will Define Next Generation Tall Buildings?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Gianni Bardazzi, Maire Tecnimont; Peter Chipchase, Arup; Henry Cobb, Pei Cobb Freed; Helmut Jahn, Murphy/Jahn; Hafid Rakem, Ateliers Jean...
12 April 2013
What are the Predominant Motivations for Building Tall in the 21st Century?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Richard Keating, Jacobs; Stephan Krummeck, TFP Farrells; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; David Scott, Laing O’Rourke; Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti;...
13 February 2013
What is the Key to Making Modern Tall Buildings "Liveable"?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Aybars Asci, SOM; Peter Chipchase, Arup; Henry Cobb, Pei Cobb Freed; Christoph Ingenhoven, ingenhoven architects; Helmut Jahn, Murphy/Jahn; Peter...
18 October 2012
Fazlur Kahn Lifetime Achievement Medal: A Lifetime’s Engineering Collaboration
The partnership between Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti has provided the backbone for many of the most dramatic and innovative tall buildings around the world....
18 October 2012
CTBUH 11th Annual Awards Dinner
The 11th Annual Awards Ceremony & Dinner was held in Mies van der Rohe's iconic Crown Hall, on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Chicago....
18 October 2012
Interview: Fazlur Khan Winner: Charles Thornton & Richard Tomasetti
Founders of the structural engineering firm, Thornton Tomasetti, Charlie and Richard were jointly awarded the Fazlur R. Kahn Medal for not only their contributions to...
21 September 2012
Taipei 101: Striving to be a Sustainable Skyscraper
In 2009 Taipei 101 embarked on an ambitious environmental upgrade, aimed at achieving the LEED-EBOM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Existing Building Operation...
21 September 2012
Kingdom Tower: A New Icon for Saudi Arabia
This presentation provides an introduction to, and overview of, Kingdom Tower – expected to be the world’s tallest building, at over 1,000 meters, when completed...
21 September 2012
Interview: Elevator Innovation
James Fortune of Fortune Shepler Consulting is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. James discusses the...
21 September 2012
Interview: Public Space
Robert Pratt of Tishman Speyer is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Robert discusses the changing...
21 September 2012
Advanced Supertall Building Design in Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Climates
Climate adaptive design is a prerequisite for designing sustainable tall buildings. This presentation seeks to investigate currently available advanced design techniques and technologies by studying...
21 September 2012
The Signature Tower: Reaching High in the Sky of Indonesia
This presentation discusses the reasons behind the selection of the structural systems, as well as the use of advanced structural analyses and design methods, including...
21 September 2012
Mitsubishi Elevator Equipment in Shanghai Tower
Shanghai Tower will contain 106 elevator units upon completion. Several world-records will be broken by the system, including: (1) the fastest single deck elevator at...
21 September 2012
High-rise Construction Risk Control Technology and Management
Modern supertall buildings have become one of the most significant examples of iconic economic development and urbanization underway in mainland China as well as one...
21 September 2012
BIM Applications in the Shanghai Tower Construction
The construction of supertall mixed-use projects is a complex and integrated activity which has been a significant challenge to construction management due to its wide...
21 September 2012
Interview: Taipei 101
Cathy Yang of Taipei Financial Center Corporation is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Cathy talks...
20 September 2012
Interview: Biomimicry
Kenneth Drucker of HOK is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Kenneth discusses biomimicry and its...
20 September 2012
Interview: Greenland Group Suzhou Center
ZhaoHui Jia of Greenland Group is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. ZhaoHui Jia discusses several...
20 September 2012
Interview: Management of Tall Buildings
Tony Long of CBRE is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Tony talks about the management...
20 September 2012
Interview: China's Future Tallest
David Malott of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. David discusses...
20 September 2012
Ping An Finance Center: Pioneering China’s Tallest – Efficiencies of Form and Structures
Upon completion in 2015, the Ping An Finance Center will join an elite group of megatall buildings. This presentation discusses using the Ping An Finance...
20 September 2012
Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower: Seamlessly Integrating Structure and Architecture
On track to become the 7th tallest building in the world, Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower is a 125-story, 600+ meter megatall tower in China....
20 September 2012
Interview: Constructing the Shanghai Tower
Jun Xia of Gensler is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Jun discusses the design and...
19 September 2012
Shanghai Tower: Re-thinking the Vertical City
More important than Shanghai Tower’s shear height is the innovation it delivers - in its twisting, crystalline form; in the vertical zones of rich multi-functions;...
19 September 2012
From Jin Mao to Kingdom: Search for an Asian Supertall Vernacular
This presentation presents the evolution of Mr. Smith’s career as a designer of supertall buildings, from Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower, completed in 1999, to Kingdom...
19 September 2012
Plenary 1: Asia Tall Q & A
Plenary 1 panelists including Jianping Gu, President, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development and Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture take questions from delegates.
19 September 2012
The Parametric Design of Shanghai Tower’s Form and Façade
The realization of one of the most sustainable supertall towers in the world was only made possible by using innovative design ideas, integrated technology, and...
19 September 2012
Structural Design Challenges of Shanghai Tower
The team behind Shanghai Tower faced a number of unique structural challenges which required innovative solutions in the design and construction of the 632m-tall tower....
19 September 2012
Design of Flexible Hanging Curtain Wall Support Structures
Shanghai Tower’s unique inner and outer curtain wall system, which creates an inhabitable “double-skin” zone, made the technical aspects of the façade a challenging task....
19 September 2012
Key Technologies in the Structure of Shanghai Tower
The Shanghai Tower, at 121 floors and 632 meters, will be the tallest building in China when completed in 2015, and likely the second tallest...
19 September 2012
Track 2: Shanghai Tower in Detail Q & A
Panel consisting of: Jun Xia & Michael Peng, Gensler; Yi Zhu & Steve Zuo, Thornton Tomasetti; Jiemin Ding, Tongji Architectural Design Group; and Jian Gong,...
19 September 2012
Interview: Shanghai Tower
Jiemin Ding of Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co. is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Jiemin...
19 September 2012
Interview: Creating Spaces
Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai....
19 September 2012
Interview: Design of Shanghai Tower
Jian Ping Gu of Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co Ltd. is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin...
19 September 2012
Interview: Efficiency and Functionality in Building Systems
Mehdi Jalayerian of Environmental Systems Design is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Mehdi discusses the...
19 September 2012
Interview: Marketing of Tall Buildings
William Murray of Wordsearch is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. William discusses the marketing of...
19 September 2012
Interview: Kingdom Tower
Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai....
19 September 2012
Interview: Ping An Finance Center
Vincent Tse of Parsons Brinckerhoff is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Vincent talks about the...
19 September 2012
Development of Innovative Structures for Supertall and Unique Towers
As tall buildings grow to greater heights and strive to incorporate more unique forms, clarity in the development of the structural system at conceptual design...
19 September 2012
Advanced Structural Silicone Glazing
This presentation discussed an advanced engineering evaluation using nonlinear analysis to improve structural silicone glazing (SSG) design in high performance curtain wall systems. High wind...
19 September 2012
Spatially Suspending and Twisting Curtain Walls’ Design Essentials
Due to the multi-level flexible suspension system in the Shanghai Tower, as well as the project’s complex and twisting form, the requirements of the curtain...
19 September 2012
Selling Tall: The Branding and Marketing of Tall Buildings
Tall buildings are important brands – creating both value and recognition for the cities and countries that create them. We have a duty to ensure...
19 September 2012
Energy Harvesting and Motion Control of Tall Buildings Using Tuned Mass Dampers
In sharp contrast to traditional motion control devices, this session presents a unique method of converting vibration energy into electricity while concurrently providing structure response...
18 September 2012
Interview: Tall Construction in China
Timothy Johnson of NBBJ is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Timothy discusses the future of...
18 September 2012
Interview: Shanghai Tower and Ping An Finance Center
Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Dennis discusses two megatall...
03 November 2011
Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award: 40 Years of Designing the Supertall
As one of the world’s foremost experts on supertall buildings, Adrian has contributed greatly to the development of this highly specialized building type. Adrian will...
12 October 2011
Curtain Wall Design and Construction of Shanghai Tower
An introduction to the curtain wall of the landmark building in Shanghai named Shanghai Tower, including the building composition; design key points, application of BIM...
12 October 2011
Movements in The Worlds Tallest Double Skin Building
The Shanghai Tower: the world’s tallest double skin building creates a challenge that needs to accommodate an unprecedented amount of movement. This presentation will be...
12 October 2011
Design & Engineering Considerations for Cable-Supported Glass Structures
Mark Dannettel from Thornton Tomasetti presents on designing for cable-supported glass structures.
12 October 2011
Becoming the World's Tallest Green Building - TAIPEI 101 Case Study
This presentation shares how TAIPEI 101 obtain LEED-EBOM Platinum Certification 6 years after operation.
11 October 2011
A Super High Rise in Seoul
When completed, the Lotte Jamsil Super Tower, at 555-meter, will be the tallest building in Seoul. The mat foundation is completed, and the tower construction...
11 October 2011
Lotte World Tower: Vertical Meets Horizontal
After years of study by a series of architectural teams, the Lotte Supertower is being constructed in southern Seoul. The KPF design integrates the 555...
11 October 2011
Lotte World Tower
Lotte World Tower is a mixed-use building with 6 basement levels and 123 levels above ground. It includes Hotel, Office, Officetel and Retail function. The...
11 October 2011
Solar Reflectivity Studies
This presentation includes a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computer simulation that tracks specular solar reflection. Graphical display of light intensity patterns can guide designers to...
11 October 2011
Supertall Building in Korea
Lotte World Tower is expected as the first over-100-story building which will be completed near future, by 1015, in Korea. 123-story of 555-meter supertall building...
11 October 2011
Shanghai 2014: Vertical, Sustainable and Humane
Density, complexity and sustainability are intricately interconnected in developing Chinese cities. Current horizontal development is destructive and unsustainable. Tall buildings have a significant role to...
11 October 2011
The Challenges for Supertall Building Structural Design and Sustainability Issues
Upon completion in 2014, the Ping An Tower will be the tallest tower in China, and the centerpiece of the growing Shenzhen skyline located just...
10 October 2011
The Evolution of an Idea
In this talk, Adrian Smith traces the origin of the skyscraper from the early 20th-century tripedal designs to beyond the world's next tallest building.
10 October 2011
Tall Tales: Interrogating the typology of the Tall Building
The ongoing and ubiquitous project of modernism has acclimated humanity to the universality of the tall building as a type. Transformations and mutations of the...
10 October 2011
Outrigger System Design Guide from CTBUH Outrigger Working Group to be Released
As outrigger systems have been widely used in supertall building design since 1980's, CTBUH recognized a need for general design guidelines and formed the Outrigger...
05 February 2010
Taipei 101: Greening the World’s Tallest
Taipei 101 was completed as the world’s tallest building at the end of 2004, at 509 metres. Recently it announced plans for a complete environmental...
05 February 2010
Tall and Supertall Buildings: Structure and Skin Performance
There are many challenges and opportunities in designing the structure and skin of high performing tall buildings. Examples from different regions highlight responses to wind...
04 February 2010
The Re-making of Mumbai: Search for an Appropriate Skyscraper Response
In the early part of 2009, twelve students from the Illinois Institute of Technology, under the tutelage of Professor Antony Wood and working together with...
03 February 2010
Symbiosis: Supertalls and Future Cities
KPF has designed some of the most iconic tall buildings around the world, including the Shanghai World Financial Centre which won the CTBUH 2008 Best...
03 February 2010
Sustainable World Cities: Shanghai Looking Forward
While the world notes Shanghai’s prosperity, the city’s vision may provide a model for other global cities to follow. The Shanghai 2010 expo theme emphasizes...
23 October 2009
Chicago: 125 Years of Tall – Reflections
In the city where tall buildings began, this presentation highlights the historical trends, drivers and challenges behind tall buildings and sustainable urban development; what city...
23 October 2009
Interview: Retrofit of the Willis Tower
Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill of AS + GG Architecture are interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of...
22 October 2009
Chicago Spire: Technical Twisting and Turning
For the best part of a decade, Asia eclipsed the U.S. as the leader in the world’s tallest buildings. In the mid-2000s, however, a number...
22 October 2009
Shanghai Tower: Completing a Supertall Trio
Located in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in the heart of Shanghai’s Pudong neighborhood, Shanghai Tower rises to complete a trio of towers including...
22 October 2009
Session 1 - Chicago: City of Big Shoulders Q & A
The Session S1 speaker panel consisting of: Eric Trump & Andy Weiss, The Trump Organization, New York; William Testa, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of...
22 October 2009
Interview: Shanghai Tower
Arthur Gensler of Gensler Architects is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Arthur talks about...
22 October 2009
Interview: Chicago Spire
Richard Tomasetti of Thornton Tomasetti is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Richard talks about...
02 November 2008
Founder and First Chairman 'Lynn Beedle'
Biography about Lynn Beedle and the Council on Tall Buildings, narrated by his son David and shown during the first annual awards dinner. For his...
05 March 2008
A Statement in Steel: The New York Times Building
Kyle E. Krall, Thornton Tomasetti presented some of the challenges driven by aesthetic, erection, and fabrication considerations of the exterior steel of the New Yotk...
04 March 2008
Peer Review in the Foundation Design of the World's Tallest Buildings
Clyde Baker and Tony Keifer, AECOM, highlighted the advantages of having a peer reviewer involved in the foundation design from the start of the project...
03 March 2008
Tall Buildings: Sustainable Design Opportunities
Akbar Tamboli from Thornton Tomasetti, focused on the incorporation of sustainable structural designs at the CTBUH 8th World Congress. The three major tall buildings he...
25 October 2006
Progressive Collapse: Report on Council Working Group Activities
Bob Smilowitz, Weidlinger and Craig Gibbons, Arup present the Report of the Council Working Group Activities on 'Progressive Collapse' at the opening session of the...
24 May 2022
Stockholm Central Station: A Steel-Timber Transit-Oriented Development
A unique response to solving a complex master planning and over decking project, steel and timber are used in a hybrid fashion to provide ultimate...
23 May 2022
Santander Bank, London: Raising Head Heights and Lowering Embodied Carbon
A system of steel columns and beams with shear studs, overlaid with CLT routed with grooves for composite action and a concrete topping slab cast...
28 April 2020
Agile AEC
The pandemic crisis of COVID-19 has catalyzed a shockwave of action throughout the AEC industry like never before. The CTBUH Chicago Chapter presents a virtual...
17 September 2018
Five Minutes with: Aine Brazil
Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman, Thornton Tomasetti, sat down with CTBUH to discuss her 40-plus year career creating internationally acclaimed high-rises across the world.
31 May 2018
A Milestone in Supertall Construction
Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) is an extraordinary project, which responds to the challenges of constructing in dense urban environments. PAFC advanced nearly every dimension...
31 May 2018
The Axis Mundi of the Pearl River Delta Megacity
The Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) is a transit-integrated, 600-meter-tall building that occupies a major node in the increasingly connected megacity of Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou....
31 May 2018
Vertical Village as National Symbol
Joining the ranks of the world’s top ten tallest buildings, the 123-story Lotte World Tower rises to 555 meters and offers one of the world’s...
30 May 2018
Shaping Skylines Through Engineering Innovation
Aine M. Brazil is a leading structural engineer who has been instrumental in shaping the skylines of cities across the globe. In her 40-plus year...
30 May 2018
Interview: Aine Brazil
Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman of Thornton Tomasetti, is interviewed by Chris Bentley regarding her structural work after recieving the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Award during...
28 March 2018
Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: Naturalizing the Vertical Realm
Thursday, February 1, 2018. Chicago, United States of America. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) held...
30 October 2017
Quay Quarter Tower: Humanizing the High-Rise
Quay Quarter Tower (QQT) will create a stunning new building on the Sydney skyline that sets new benchmarks in office tower design globally and creates...
30 October 2017
Rethinking CTBUH's Height Criteria in the Context of Tall Timber
Recent developments in the design and construction of progressively taller buildings using engineered timber as a structural material raise important questions about the language that...
21 August 2017
Flyover of The Finance Centre in Taguig City, Philippines
An aerial view of The Finance Centre in Taguig City, Philippines, while the building was topped out in 2017.
16 March 2017
Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: How High Can We Go?
Thursday, March 16, 2017. Chicago, United States of America. Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the first lecture of the series Building Tall...
16 March 2017
How High Can We Go? (Highlight)
Thursday, March 16, 2017. Chicago, United States of America. Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the first event in the Building Tall lecture...
03 November 2016
Building on Unprecedented Performance: TAIPEI 101
Perhaps what is most notable about the TAIPEI 101 performance upgrade is not its complexity, but rather that the tower was already relatively efficient. All...
03 November 2016
A Vernacular Megatall: Shanghai Tower
As the tallest building in China upon completion, Shanghai Tower has had an immediate and profound impact on the country’s perceptions of how a skyscraper...
03 November 2016
Interview: TAIPEI 101
Joseph Chou and Freda Tsai, Taipei Financial Center Corporation, are interviewed by Chris Bentley regarding TAIPEI 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, the recipient of the 2016...
03 November 2016
Interview: Shanghai Tower
Jianping Gu, General Manager, Shanghai Tower C&D, & Grant Uhlir, Managing Director, Gensler, are interviewed by Chris Bentley regarding Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, the 2016 CTBUH...
19 October 2016
From San Diego to Guangzhou: The Story of Marketing Tall Buildings
One of the keys to attracting buyers and tenants for a contemporary tall building is a succinct marketing strategy and a robust understanding of how...
18 October 2016
Saudi Arabia, Jeddah City and Jeddah Tower
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious project to construct the world’s tallest building, Jeddah Tower. Surrounding the kilometer-plus building will be...
18 October 2016
Jeddah Mall: The Connection Between Jeddah Tower and the Urban Environment
The Jeddah Economic City Mall and Exhibition Center is a multi-functional installation that rises up to the challenge of making the city walkable around the...
18 October 2016
Lighting the Next Tallest Building in the World, the Jeddah Tower
Following experience around the world with tall buildings and monuments, Pierre Marcout has sought to transmit his passion for highlighting monuments for new constructors and...
18 October 2016
Urban Development and Tall Buildings in Shenzhen
Tuesday October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Chongguang Xu of Shenzhen Municipal Government, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 7b: Shenzhen Bay Development. This presentation...
18 October 2016
One Shenzhen Bay – Breakthroughs and Innovations in a Premier Urban Complex
Today’s super high-rise buildings not only present the height of buildings, but also play more important roles of integrating into the development of cities, coexisting...
18 October 2016
A World-Class City Calls for World-Class Architecture (One Shenzhen Bay)
Tuesday October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Marianne Kwok of Kohn Pedersen Fox, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 7b: Shenzhen Bay Development. Research and...
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Jon Pickard
Jon Pickard of Pickard Chilton is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Jon discusses the local economic impacts of tall buildings.
18 October 2016
Shenzhen Bay Development Q&A
Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Kui Zhuang, CCDI Group; Chongguang Xu, Shenzhen Municipal Government; Hang Xu, Parkland Real Estate Development Co, Ltd, Maianne Kwok,...
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Mounib Hammoud
Mounib Hammoud of Jeddah Economic Company is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Mounib discusses the Jeddah Economic City development centered...
18 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference Jeddah City & Jeddah Tower Q&A
Tuesday October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Julian Chen, Henning Larsen Architects; Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company; Denis Valode, Valode & Pistre Architects; Piere Marcout, Prisme...
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Andrew Nicholson
Andrew Nicholson of CBRE is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Andrew discusses the building management of the Shanghai Tower.
18 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Hashimah Hashim
Hashimah Hashim of KLCC Property Holdings Berhad is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Hashimah discusses the master planning and development...
18 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference - Panel,"Tall Buildings and Context: How High Can We Go and Why Should We?"
Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Ron Klemencic, Magnusson Klemencic Associates; Karl Almstead, Turner Construction Company; Andrew Nicholson, CBRE; Jon Pickard, Pickard Chilton; Ian Smith,...
17 October 2016
Intelligent Advances in Ping An Tower
This presentation discussed client requirements on both functional and aesthetic aspects for four mega-scale gates on the Ping An Financial Centre (PAFC) north tower. The...
17 October 2016
X Information Modeling: Data-Driven Decision Making in the Design of Tall Buildings
This presentation outlined X-Information Modeling or XIM, a method of data-driven decision-making for the design of tall buildings. Developed over its application on more than...
17 October 2016
Panel Discussion: Shenzhen Re-centralization – Post Evaluation and Revitalization Strategy: Futian District
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Zhizhe Yu of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; Yixin Chen of Shenzhen Urban Planning Bureau; Weiwen Huang of Shenzhen Public...
17 October 2016
Mega Size Mixed-Use Projects: Redefining Vertical Urbanism
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 4c: Structural & Geotechnic Engineering. As the...
17 October 2016
Mixed Use Tall Buildings – The Challenges and Benefits of Vertical Urbanization
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Samuel So, JLL, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 3c: Building Operation. China is the global epicenter of...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Freda Tsai
Freda Tsai of Taipei Financial Center Corporation is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Freda discusses the retrofit and management strategy...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Hang Xu
Hang Xu of Parkland Real Estate Development Company is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Hang discusses the design process of...
17 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference - Session 3c: Building Operation Q&A
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Tim Neal, Arcadis; Samuel So, JLL; Joseph Chou, Taipei Financial Center Corporation; Zhao Ming Wang, CCDI answer questions at...
17 October 2016
The State of the Art (Technologies) Q&A
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. David Malott, Kohn Pedersen Fox; Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Fing An Financial Centre; Karl-Ott Schoellkopf, Thyssenkrupp, answer questions at...
17 October 2016
Panel Discussion: Future Cities: What are the Biggest Threats and Opportunities?
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. A panel discussing the challenges of growing urban populations throughout the globe.
17 October 2016
Structural & Geotechnic Engineering Q&A
Monday, October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. William O'Donnell, DeSimone Consulting Engineers; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; SawTeen Seen, Leslie E. Robertson Associates, answer questions at the...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Jianping Gu
Jianping Gu of Shanghai Tower Construction & Development is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Jianping discusses the economics of constructing...
17 October 2016
CTBUH 2016 China Conference - Joseph Chu, " TAIPEI 101’s Upgrade Recertification to LEED O+M v4"
Monday October 17, 2016. Shenzhen, China. Joseph Chu, Taipei Financial Center Corporation, presents at the 2016 China Conference Session 3c: Building Operation. The sheer size...
17 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Claude Bojer Godefroy
Claude Bojer Godefroy of Henning Larsen Architects is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Claude discusses the design process for interior...
16 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Karl Fender
Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis Architects is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Karl discusses the design concept for Merdeka PNB118...
16 October 2016
CTBUH Video Interview – Abrar Sheriff
Abrar Sheriff of Turner International is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. Abrar discusses the planning and construction process for supertall...
27 October 2015
Ping An: Insurance and Tall Buildings
The Ping An Finance Center is located at the commercial center of the Futian District in Shenzhen, on the southwest intersection of Fuhua Road and...
27 October 2015
Kingdom Tower/Kingdom City: History in the Making
Jeddah Economic Company's mission to envision, to design, to build, and to manage – in short, to master plan in the fullest sense – an...
27 October 2015
Interview: Mounib Hammoud
Mounib Hammoud of Jeddah Economic Company is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. Mounib...
27 October 2015
Interview: Faudziah Ibrahim
Faudziah Ibrahim of KLCC is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. Faudziah discusses Vision...
27 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Plenary 2 - Q&A
H.E. Abdulrahman Al-Shaikh, MOMRA; Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company; Irvine Sellar, Sellar Property Group; and Sorapoj Techakraisri, PACE Development, answer questions at the end of...
26 October 2015
Petronas Towers and KLCC: Urban Catalyst
This presentation examines the role of skyscrapers in a well-planned mixed commercial development that is not driven by speculative short-term investment goals in revamping the...
26 October 2015
Challenges and Opportunities for Structural Design of the 123-Story Jamsil Lotte World Tower
The Jamsil Lotte World Tower, a high-rise component of the 2nd Lotte World Amusement Complex, is being constructed at Jamsil, Seoul, Korea. This 123-story building...
26 October 2015
Adopting a Program Management Approach to Maximize the Benefit of ‘Vertical Cities’
Tall buildings are bigger, better, faster and more prevalent than ever. The race among the world's cities to build the tallest, ultimate record-busting skyscraper on...
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Supertall towers, when done correctly, are the catalyst for the city or district around them. They give an area an identity. They increase the local...
26 October 2015
Designing a Non-coplanar Exoskeleton Supertall Tower that Transforms the Skyline of Chengdu
The city of Chengdu is quickly becoming the center for high-rise development in southwest China. The focal point of this new vertical landscape will be...
26 October 2015
Elevator Designs for the Kingdom Tower
When it is completed in 2019, the 167-story mixed-use Kingdom Tower will become the new World's Tallest Tower. It will contain multiple, stacked mixed-use population...
26 October 2015
From Supertall to Megatall: Analysis and Design of the Kingdom Tower Piled Raft
As part of the booming development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Langan international was hired to assist in all phases of soil investigation and...
26 October 2015
Interview: James von Klemperer
James von Klemperer of KPF is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York. James discusses...
26 October 2015
Developing Tall in the New York Context
Gary Barnett, Extell Development Corporation; Ric Clark, Brookfield Properties; Joseph Moinian, Moinian Group; and Larry Silverstein, Silverstein Properties, discuss development in New York City and...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 1b - Q&A
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Keith Brooks, ARCADIS Architects; George Leventis, Langan; and Alan Poeppel, Langan, answer questions at the end of...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 2a - Q&A
Jong-Ho Kim, Chang Minwoo Structural Consultants; William Howell, Turner International; and Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti, answer questions at the end of 2015 New York Conference...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 2b - Q&A
Santeri Suoranta, KONE; James Fortune, Fortune Shepler Consulting; and David Pilzer, Israel Ministry of Finance, answer questions at the end of 2015 New York Conference...
10 June 2015
Ping An Finance Center
The Shenzhen Ping An Financial Centre Construction and Development Co. Ltd. examines Ping An Finance Center and it's construction progress.
06 November 2014
Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award: Wind Engineering the World’s Tallest
Peter Irwin, one of the founding partners of Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI), has led wind engineering on many of the world’s tallest...
18 September 2014
Urban Density and the Porous High Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City
September 18, 2014. Shanghai, China. James von Klemperer from Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC presents at the 2014 Shanghai Conference closing plenary on "Urban Density...
18 September 2014
Construction Technology and Management Innovation in Shanghai Tower
The extreme height and unusual shape of the Shanghai Tower are factors that require additional considerations in terms of construction feasibility. By performing extensive data...
18 September 2014
Design of CWSS of Shanghai Tower Based on Buildability
Due to the varying distance from the exterior curtain wall to the main structural system of the Shanghai Tower, the building’s curtain wall support structure...
18 September 2014
Innovation Management in the Supervision Process of Shanghai Tower
This briefing outlines the creative management methods that were used by supervision personnel during the construction of Shanghai Tower. Specifically, this discussion will target key...
18 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Shanghai Tower Room, S4 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Shanghai Tower Room, S4 Questions & Answers session with speakers Duanxue Shi, Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd., Zhijun He, Tongji Architectural...
18 September 2014
High-Performance Sustainable Ultra High-Rise: Case Study of Ping An Finance Center
The Ping An Finance Center that has adopted a low energy, high-performance sustainable building model. With a focus on effective elevator systems, an efficient façade,...
18 September 2014
Engineering Contractor Management
Designing and planning for the construction of the Ping An Finance Center required a number of innovative engineering solutions regarding vertical shipping, labor allocation, large...
18 September 2014
Power, Elevators & Customer Oriented Sustainability Strategies: PAFC
This presentation outlines the engineering design solutions that were used for the Ping An Finance Center in order to provide a reliable power supply, expedient...
18 September 2014
Structural Design Challenges of Zhongnan Center
This presentation will give an overview of the following solutions used to address the structural challenges of the Zhongnan Center: a foundation to support the...
18 September 2014
Foundation Pit Support Design and Environment Protection Measure of Suzhou Zhongnan Center
The Suzhou Zhongnan Center excavation site is very large, very deep, and has complex surrounding environmental conditions. Hydrogeological conditions and other unfavorable factors have brought...
18 September 2014
Analysis of Pile Foundations and Loading Test of Suzhou Zhongnan Center
The Zhongnan Center is located on soft soil deposits in Suzhou, China and is currently under construction. This presentation describes the pile design and the...
18 September 2014
Unique Aspects of Shanghai Tower
In order to construct an unprecedented building like the Shanghai Tower, creative structural solutions are required in order to distribute loads evenly and optimize the...
18 September 2014
Several Points about the Practical Application of BIM Technology in Projects
The 632-meter Shanghai Tower began construction in 2008 and is expected to begin operation in 2015. Throughout the growth of this building, building information management...
18 September 2014
A Review of the Shanghai Tower Structural Performance Monitoring Project
The Shanghai Tower features performance monitoring systems that help dynamically observe risks, quality levels, and structural states under extreme weather conditions – both during construction...
18 September 2014
Zhongnan Center Elevator System and Elevator Evacuation Design
Because super high-rise buildings are a very recent phenomenon, there are no specific building codes written for them. For any building over 50 stories, direct...
18 September 2014
The MEP Design Challenges of a Mega Tall Building in China – the Suzhou Zhongnan Center
Design challenges from MEP perspective for the Zhongnan Center arise from the need for a safe, reliable, high tech, green, sustainable, user-friendly building. The devised...
18 September 2014
Design for Sustainability in Super High Rise Buildings
Over recent years, green building technology has developed at a rapid pace. The key objective of this presentation is to explore the way towards sustainable...
18 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 5 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 5 Questions & Answers session with speakers Xiaomei Lee & Frederick Liu, Gensler, Kam Chuen (Vincent) Tse...
17 September 2014
Shanghai Tower: Building a Green, Vertical City in the Heart of Shanghai
The Shanghai Tower establishes a new paradigm for tall buildings and vertical urbanism. This presentation provides an overview of the strong role that innovation and...
17 September 2014
Ping An Finance Center: The Development and Construction of a Megatall
The extraordinary megatall tower adopts extraordinary shape-optimization techniques and requires unprecedented levels of coordination to achieve its unique form.
17 September 2014
Suzhou Zhongnan Center: Rising Above Engineering Challenges
Suzhou is only 30 minutes by train from Shanghai, but has a rich history and identity all its own, soon to be augmented by the...
17 September 2014
Design Challenges of the 3 Tallest Buildings in North/ East/ South China
This presentation describes the MEP and VTS design challenges of the tallest buildings in three major cities in China; namely, Beijing, Suzhou and Guangzhou. The...
17 September 2014
The ROI of User Experience
Although there has been much research on the performance of double skin façades, there are still arguments that challenge their costs-effectiveness. Using the Shanghai Tower...
17 September 2014
Moving Towards Sustainable Vertical Urbanism
To ensure the delivery of a comfortable and harmonious commercial atmosphere, special attention was paid to building management practices in the Shanghai Tower. This presentation...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Shanghai Tower Room, Session 1 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Shanghai Tower Room, Session 1 Questions & Answers session with speakers Jiang Wu, Tongji University, Benedict Tranel & Xiaomei Lee, Gensler...
17 September 2014
Brief on the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Project Development
Targeted for completion in 2016, the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center is a project that represents a significant triumph for the Ping An Group, who...
17 September 2014
Designing China’s Tallest: DNA of the Ping An Finance Center
Rather than attempting to radically redefine how contemporary skyscrapers are designed, KPF architects prefer to adopt an approach of continuous refinement; drawing from successful high-rise...
17 September 2014
Cost Planning and Control of Tall Buildings: The Case of Ping An Finance Center
For tall buildings to be financially viable, effective cost planning and control of construction costs is essential in determining project feasibility. As demonstrated in the...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Ping An Tower Room, Session 1 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Ping An Tower Room, Session 1 Questions & Answers session with speakers Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center...
17 September 2014
Introduction of the Suzhou Zhongnan Center Project
Learn about the iterative process taken to arrive at the branding for Suzhou Zhongnan Center by way of a wide array of prior Interbrand projects,...
17 September 2014
Architectural Design for Vertical Inhabiting – The Suzhou Zhongnan Center
Aspiring to be the tallest tower in China, the Suzhou Zhongnan Center was designed with a balance of aesthetics and cutting-edge technology – striving to...
17 September 2014
Designing a Supertall for the Venice of China
In this presentation, attendees will learn about the unique structural elements that support Suzhou Zhongnan Center, including the “Core-Outrigger-Megaframe” lateral system; the foundation system, which...
17 September 2014
Making Shanghai Tower the World’s Tallest Green Building
The Shanghai Tower represents a breakthrough for sustainable high-rise development in China. A technical overview of the building’s green infrastructure will be provided, along with...
17 September 2014
Introduction of Shanghai Tower’s Electromechanical Key Technologies
The 632-meter Shanghai Tower targets both Green 3-Star and LEED Gold certifications, requiring inventive solutions in the design of the building’s electromechanical systems. These systems...
17 September 2014
The Making of a Vertical Intelligent Community
Advanced technology is used in the design and construction of buildings, but it can also play an important role during building operations. Using the latest...
17 September 2014
Ping An IFC: Economical & Efficient Solutions
With the completion of the 500m+ Ping An Finance Center, our era presents the question of whether traditional structural systems and design approaches are still...
17 September 2014
Key Technologies for the Structure Construction in the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center
This presentation will introduce the key technologies used for the structural construction of the 660-metertall Ping An Finance Center: the deep foundation pit, large diameter...
17 September 2014
The Structural Health Monitoring System for Ping An Finance Center
The Ping An Finance Center contains breakthrough structural health monitoring systems that make the building an important test platform for: the verification of various damage...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Ping An Tower Room, Session 2 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Ping An Tower Room, Session 2 Questions & Answers session with speakers Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti, Yuqi Zhou, CSCEC1B, and Yinghou...
17 September 2014
Performance Based Design and Optimization for Supertall Buildings
Performance-based structural design often includes performance requirements for safety, health, serviceability, energy efficiency and environmental impact. Building performance is an indicator of how well a...
17 September 2014
Comparative Study of Zhongnan Center – Earthquakes and Wind
A comparative study was conducted for the structural design of Zhongnan Tower for seismic action and wind loading. The analysis parameters, design methodology and structural...
17 September 2014
Core Structural Design and Optimization for Super Tall Buildings
Due to its excellent lateral stiffness and space flexibility, the mega frame-core wall structure is widely applied in super tall buildings. The efficiency of the...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 2 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 2 Questions & Answers session with speakers Jiemin Ding, TJAD, Weiguo Chen, Zhongnan Group, and Guangjing Sha,...
17 September 2014
Application of Performance Based Fire Safety Design in Shanghai Tower
There are three general categories of fire safety design in tall buildings: fire prevention, fire suppression, and fire safety engineering. Based on the characteristics and...
17 September 2014
Shanghai Tower Panel Discussion
2014 Shanghai International Conference Shanghai Tower Panel Discussion session with speakers Bin Zhao, Shanghai Tower Construction and Development, Yadong Li, Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co.,...
17 September 2014
Project Management Outline and Difficulties of Ping An Finance Center
The project management requirements for supertall (300-meter) and megatall (600-meter) projects are vastly different – often requiring additional considerations in terms of construction costs, construction...
17 September 2014
Some Aspects of Construction Management in Ping An Finance Center
There are several valuable construction management experiences from the Ping An Finance Center that are worth sharing. This presentation will discuss several studies performed for...
17 September 2014
The Application and Management of BIM in Ping An Finance Center
BIM (Building Information Management) is an emerging technology that gives engineers a new way of expressing complex spatial representations in high-rise buildings. The Ping An...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Ping An Tower Room, S3 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Ping An Tower Room, S3 Questions & Answers session with speakers Wing Kan (Ken) Wong, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Construction...
17 September 2014
Belt Truss Stiffness Analysis and Optimization for Mega Structures
Belt trusses are one of the key structural members of tall structures. The performance of the belt truss depends greatly on its stiffness. This briefing...
17 September 2014
Multi-Constrained Outrigger Optimization for Super Tall Buildings
Recently, the outrigger system has been widely employed as an efficient structural lateral load resisting system in super tall buildings. The optimization of the outrigger...
17 September 2014
High Performance Design of Floor System for Super Tall Buildings
The floor system is an important part of tall building structures. It not only supports the vertical load, but also connects the lateral load resisting...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 3 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Zhongnan Tower Room, Session 3 Questions & Answers session with speakers Li Cao, Zhongnan Group, Moukui Xu, Zhongnan Group, and Xin...
17 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Opening Plenary - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Opening Plenary Questions & Answers session with speakers Antony Wood, CTBUH Executive Director / IIT / Tongji University, Jianping Gu, Shanghai...
16 September 2014
Interview: Jon Galsworthy
Jon Galsworthy of RWDI is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2014 CTBUH Shanghai Conference at the Jin Mao Tower. Jon discusses the sustainability of...
16 September 2014
Interview: Dennis Poon
Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2014 CTBUH Shanghai Conference at the Jin Mao Tower. Dennis discusses the evolution...
16 September 2014
Interview: Cathy Yang
Cathy Yang of TAIPEI 101 interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2014 CTBUH Shanghai Conference at the Jin Mao Tower. Cathy discusses the future of...
16 September 2014
Taipei 101: Tall Building Operation Towards Sustainability
To take TAIPEI 101 TOWER as an example that will showcase the various aspects of managing a tall building, satisfying tenant requirements, stakeholders expectations, and...
16 September 2014
High-Rise Harmony – Legal Issues Unique to Tall Buildings
This article aims to discuss the construction of tall buildings in both emerging and established urban centers, highlighting aspects related to large urban centers and...
16 September 2014
2014 Shanghai International Conference - Technical Workshop 01 - Q & A
2014 Shanghai International Conference Technical Workshop 01 Questions & Answers session with speakers Matthew Clifford, JLL; Cathy Yang, Taipei Financial Center; Jason Haase, LMN Architects;...
16 September 2014
Stainless Steel Claddings for High-Rise Architecture
Especially during the last 20 years stainless steel has become an approved and much valued cladding material for sophisticated architecture. Starting with the first architectural...
16 September 2014
The Evolution of Building Evacuation Design in China
As a result of the events of September 11th and other natural and man-made disasters, building owners, designers and fire officials have become increasingly aware...
07 November 2013
Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal: Geotechnics for the World’s Tallest
Clyde Baker has performed geotechnical engineering for seven of the 16 tallest buildings in the world, and a major portion of the high-rise buildings built...
07 November 2013
Interview: Fazlur Khan Winner: Clyde Baker
Clyde N. Baker, Jr., Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal Winner, discusses his lifetime work as a geotechnical engineer including working on 7 of the...
14 August 2013
Does it make economic sense to continue to make buildings taller?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Richard Keating, Jacobs; Stefan Krummeck, TFP Farrells; David Scott, Laing O’Rourke; Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti; Vincent Tse, Parsons Brinckerhoff;...
12 June 2013
Interview: Kingdom Tower
Talal Al Maiman of Kingdom Real Estate is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2013 CTBUH London Conference at The Brewery, London. Talal talks about...
11 June 2013
From London to Chicago: The Willis Group and Tall Buildings
From the 1970’s seminal Willis Faber Dumas Ipswich building, through 51 Lime Street London (winner of the CTBUH 2008 Best Tall Building Europe award), to...
11 June 2013
Matching Occupier and Landlord Needs: Supply and Demand in Tall Buildings
As employee habits increasingly change and alternative workplace solutions become a reality, what do tenants want from their tall buildings and how is this affecting...
11 June 2013
Session 2: What Contributes Most to Sustainability in Tall Buildings?
The next generation of tall buildings will be judged on more than sheer height or aesthetic appearance. In the context of sustainability, they will also...
11 June 2013
Interview: Emerging Corporate Mobility
Carmine Bilardello of Willis Group is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2013 CTBUH London Conference at The Brewery, London. Carmine talks about emerging corporate...
15 May 2013
What Techniques Will Define Next Generation Tall Buildings?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Gianni Bardazzi, Maire Tecnimont; Peter Chipchase, Arup; Henry Cobb, Pei Cobb Freed; Helmut Jahn, Murphy/Jahn; Hafid Rakem, Ateliers Jean...
12 April 2013
What are the Predominant Motivations for Building Tall in the 21st Century?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Richard Keating, Jacobs; Stephan Krummeck, TFP Farrells; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; David Scott, Laing O’Rourke; Richard Tomasetti, Thornton Tomasetti;...
13 February 2013
What is the Key to Making Modern Tall Buildings "Liveable"?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Aybars Asci, SOM; Peter Chipchase, Arup; Henry Cobb, Pei Cobb Freed; Christoph Ingenhoven, ingenhoven architects; Helmut Jahn, Murphy/Jahn; Peter...
18 October 2012
Fazlur Kahn Lifetime Achievement Medal: A Lifetime’s Engineering Collaboration
The partnership between Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti has provided the backbone for many of the most dramatic and innovative tall buildings around the world....
18 October 2012
CTBUH 11th Annual Awards Dinner
The 11th Annual Awards Ceremony & Dinner was held in Mies van der Rohe's iconic Crown Hall, on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Chicago....
18 October 2012
Interview: Fazlur Khan Winner: Charles Thornton & Richard Tomasetti
Founders of the structural engineering firm, Thornton Tomasetti, Charlie and Richard were jointly awarded the Fazlur R. Kahn Medal for not only their contributions to...
21 September 2012
Taipei 101: Striving to be a Sustainable Skyscraper
In 2009 Taipei 101 embarked on an ambitious environmental upgrade, aimed at achieving the LEED-EBOM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Existing Building Operation...
21 September 2012
Kingdom Tower: A New Icon for Saudi Arabia
This presentation provides an introduction to, and overview of, Kingdom Tower – expected to be the world’s tallest building, at over 1,000 meters, when completed...
21 September 2012
Interview: Elevator Innovation
James Fortune of Fortune Shepler Consulting is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. James discusses the...
21 September 2012
Interview: Public Space
Robert Pratt of Tishman Speyer is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Robert discusses the changing...
21 September 2012
Advanced Supertall Building Design in Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Climates
Climate adaptive design is a prerequisite for designing sustainable tall buildings. This presentation seeks to investigate currently available advanced design techniques and technologies by studying...
21 September 2012
The Signature Tower: Reaching High in the Sky of Indonesia
This presentation discusses the reasons behind the selection of the structural systems, as well as the use of advanced structural analyses and design methods, including...
21 September 2012
Mitsubishi Elevator Equipment in Shanghai Tower
Shanghai Tower will contain 106 elevator units upon completion. Several world-records will be broken by the system, including: (1) the fastest single deck elevator at...
21 September 2012
High-rise Construction Risk Control Technology and Management
Modern supertall buildings have become one of the most significant examples of iconic economic development and urbanization underway in mainland China as well as one...
21 September 2012
BIM Applications in the Shanghai Tower Construction
The construction of supertall mixed-use projects is a complex and integrated activity which has been a significant challenge to construction management due to its wide...
21 September 2012
Interview: Taipei 101
Cathy Yang of Taipei Financial Center Corporation is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Cathy talks...
20 September 2012
Interview: Biomimicry
Kenneth Drucker of HOK is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Kenneth discusses biomimicry and its...
20 September 2012
Interview: Greenland Group Suzhou Center
ZhaoHui Jia of Greenland Group is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. ZhaoHui Jia discusses several...
20 September 2012
Interview: Management of Tall Buildings
Tony Long of CBRE is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Tony talks about the management...
20 September 2012
Interview: China's Future Tallest
David Malott of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. David discusses...
20 September 2012
Ping An Finance Center: Pioneering China’s Tallest – Efficiencies of Form and Structures
Upon completion in 2015, the Ping An Finance Center will join an elite group of megatall buildings. This presentation discusses using the Ping An Finance...
20 September 2012
Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower: Seamlessly Integrating Structure and Architecture
On track to become the 7th tallest building in the world, Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower is a 125-story, 600+ meter megatall tower in China....
20 September 2012
Interview: Constructing the Shanghai Tower
Jun Xia of Gensler is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Jun discusses the design and...
19 September 2012
Shanghai Tower: Re-thinking the Vertical City
More important than Shanghai Tower’s shear height is the innovation it delivers - in its twisting, crystalline form; in the vertical zones of rich multi-functions;...
19 September 2012
From Jin Mao to Kingdom: Search for an Asian Supertall Vernacular
This presentation presents the evolution of Mr. Smith’s career as a designer of supertall buildings, from Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower, completed in 1999, to Kingdom...
19 September 2012
Plenary 1: Asia Tall Q & A
Plenary 1 panelists including Jianping Gu, President, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development and Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture take questions from delegates.
19 September 2012
The Parametric Design of Shanghai Tower’s Form and Façade
The realization of one of the most sustainable supertall towers in the world was only made possible by using innovative design ideas, integrated technology, and...
19 September 2012
Structural Design Challenges of Shanghai Tower
The team behind Shanghai Tower faced a number of unique structural challenges which required innovative solutions in the design and construction of the 632m-tall tower....
19 September 2012
Design of Flexible Hanging Curtain Wall Support Structures
Shanghai Tower’s unique inner and outer curtain wall system, which creates an inhabitable “double-skin” zone, made the technical aspects of the façade a challenging task....
19 September 2012
Key Technologies in the Structure of Shanghai Tower
The Shanghai Tower, at 121 floors and 632 meters, will be the tallest building in China when completed in 2015, and likely the second tallest...
19 September 2012
Track 2: Shanghai Tower in Detail Q & A
Panel consisting of: Jun Xia & Michael Peng, Gensler; Yi Zhu & Steve Zuo, Thornton Tomasetti; Jiemin Ding, Tongji Architectural Design Group; and Jian Gong,...
19 September 2012
Interview: Shanghai Tower
Jiemin Ding of Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co. is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Jiemin...
19 September 2012
Interview: Creating Spaces
Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai....
19 September 2012
Interview: Design of Shanghai Tower
Jian Ping Gu of Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co Ltd. is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin...
19 September 2012
Interview: Efficiency and Functionality in Building Systems
Mehdi Jalayerian of Environmental Systems Design is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Mehdi discusses the...
19 September 2012
Interview: Marketing of Tall Buildings
William Murray of Wordsearch is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. William discusses the marketing of...
19 September 2012
Interview: Kingdom Tower
Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai....
19 September 2012
Interview: Ping An Finance Center
Vincent Tse of Parsons Brinckerhoff is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Vincent talks about the...
19 September 2012
Development of Innovative Structures for Supertall and Unique Towers
As tall buildings grow to greater heights and strive to incorporate more unique forms, clarity in the development of the structural system at conceptual design...
19 September 2012
Advanced Structural Silicone Glazing
This presentation discussed an advanced engineering evaluation using nonlinear analysis to improve structural silicone glazing (SSG) design in high performance curtain wall systems. High wind...
19 September 2012
Spatially Suspending and Twisting Curtain Walls’ Design Essentials
Due to the multi-level flexible suspension system in the Shanghai Tower, as well as the project’s complex and twisting form, the requirements of the curtain...
19 September 2012
Selling Tall: The Branding and Marketing of Tall Buildings
Tall buildings are important brands – creating both value and recognition for the cities and countries that create them. We have a duty to ensure...
19 September 2012
Energy Harvesting and Motion Control of Tall Buildings Using Tuned Mass Dampers
In sharp contrast to traditional motion control devices, this session presents a unique method of converting vibration energy into electricity while concurrently providing structure response...
18 September 2012
Interview: Tall Construction in China
Timothy Johnson of NBBJ is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Timothy discusses the future of...
18 September 2012
Interview: Shanghai Tower and Ping An Finance Center
Dennis Poon of Thornton Tomasetti is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Dennis discusses two megatall...
03 November 2011
Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award: 40 Years of Designing the Supertall
As one of the world’s foremost experts on supertall buildings, Adrian has contributed greatly to the development of this highly specialized building type. Adrian will...
12 October 2011
Curtain Wall Design and Construction of Shanghai Tower
An introduction to the curtain wall of the landmark building in Shanghai named Shanghai Tower, including the building composition; design key points, application of BIM...
12 October 2011
Movements in The Worlds Tallest Double Skin Building
The Shanghai Tower: the world’s tallest double skin building creates a challenge that needs to accommodate an unprecedented amount of movement. This presentation will be...
12 October 2011
Design & Engineering Considerations for Cable-Supported Glass Structures
Mark Dannettel from Thornton Tomasetti presents on designing for cable-supported glass structures.
12 October 2011
Becoming the World's Tallest Green Building - TAIPEI 101 Case Study
This presentation shares how TAIPEI 101 obtain LEED-EBOM Platinum Certification 6 years after operation.
11 October 2011
A Super High Rise in Seoul
When completed, the Lotte Jamsil Super Tower, at 555-meter, will be the tallest building in Seoul. The mat foundation is completed, and the tower construction...
11 October 2011
Lotte World Tower: Vertical Meets Horizontal
After years of study by a series of architectural teams, the Lotte Supertower is being constructed in southern Seoul. The KPF design integrates the 555...
11 October 2011
Lotte World Tower
Lotte World Tower is a mixed-use building with 6 basement levels and 123 levels above ground. It includes Hotel, Office, Officetel and Retail function. The...
11 October 2011
Solar Reflectivity Studies
This presentation includes a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computer simulation that tracks specular solar reflection. Graphical display of light intensity patterns can guide designers to...
11 October 2011
Supertall Building in Korea
Lotte World Tower is expected as the first over-100-story building which will be completed near future, by 1015, in Korea. 123-story of 555-meter supertall building...
11 October 2011
Shanghai 2014: Vertical, Sustainable and Humane
Density, complexity and sustainability are intricately interconnected in developing Chinese cities. Current horizontal development is destructive and unsustainable. Tall buildings have a significant role to...
11 October 2011
The Challenges for Supertall Building Structural Design and Sustainability Issues
Upon completion in 2014, the Ping An Tower will be the tallest tower in China, and the centerpiece of the growing Shenzhen skyline located just...
10 October 2011
The Evolution of an Idea
In this talk, Adrian Smith traces the origin of the skyscraper from the early 20th-century tripedal designs to beyond the world's next tallest building.
10 October 2011
Tall Tales: Interrogating the typology of the Tall Building
The ongoing and ubiquitous project of modernism has acclimated humanity to the universality of the tall building as a type. Transformations and mutations of the...
10 October 2011
Outrigger System Design Guide from CTBUH Outrigger Working Group to be Released
As outrigger systems have been widely used in supertall building design since 1980's, CTBUH recognized a need for general design guidelines and formed the Outrigger...
05 February 2010
Taipei 101: Greening the World’s Tallest
Taipei 101 was completed as the world’s tallest building at the end of 2004, at 509 metres. Recently it announced plans for a complete environmental...
05 February 2010
Tall and Supertall Buildings: Structure and Skin Performance
There are many challenges and opportunities in designing the structure and skin of high performing tall buildings. Examples from different regions highlight responses to wind...
04 February 2010
The Re-making of Mumbai: Search for an Appropriate Skyscraper Response
In the early part of 2009, twelve students from the Illinois Institute of Technology, under the tutelage of Professor Antony Wood and working together with...
03 February 2010
Symbiosis: Supertalls and Future Cities
KPF has designed some of the most iconic tall buildings around the world, including the Shanghai World Financial Centre which won the CTBUH 2008 Best...
03 February 2010
Sustainable World Cities: Shanghai Looking Forward
While the world notes Shanghai’s prosperity, the city’s vision may provide a model for other global cities to follow. The Shanghai 2010 expo theme emphasizes...
23 October 2009
Chicago: 125 Years of Tall – Reflections
In the city where tall buildings began, this presentation highlights the historical trends, drivers and challenges behind tall buildings and sustainable urban development; what city...
23 October 2009
Interview: Retrofit of the Willis Tower
Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill of AS + GG Architecture are interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of...
22 October 2009
Chicago Spire: Technical Twisting and Turning
For the best part of a decade, Asia eclipsed the U.S. as the leader in the world’s tallest buildings. In the mid-2000s, however, a number...
22 October 2009
Shanghai Tower: Completing a Supertall Trio
Located in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in the heart of Shanghai’s Pudong neighborhood, Shanghai Tower rises to complete a trio of towers including...
22 October 2009
Session 1 - Chicago: City of Big Shoulders Q & A
The Session S1 speaker panel consisting of: Eric Trump & Andy Weiss, The Trump Organization, New York; William Testa, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of...
22 October 2009
Interview: Shanghai Tower
Arthur Gensler of Gensler Architects is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Arthur talks about...
22 October 2009
Interview: Chicago Spire
Richard Tomasetti of Thornton Tomasetti is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Richard talks about...
02 November 2008
Founder and First Chairman 'Lynn Beedle'
Biography about Lynn Beedle and the Council on Tall Buildings, narrated by his son David and shown during the first annual awards dinner. For his...
05 March 2008
A Statement in Steel: The New York Times Building
Kyle E. Krall, Thornton Tomasetti presented some of the challenges driven by aesthetic, erection, and fabrication considerations of the exterior steel of the New Yotk...
04 March 2008
Peer Review in the Foundation Design of the World's Tallest Buildings
Clyde Baker and Tony Keifer, AECOM, highlighted the advantages of having a peer reviewer involved in the foundation design from the start of the project...
03 March 2008
Tall Buildings: Sustainable Design Opportunities
Akbar Tamboli from Thornton Tomasetti, focused on the incorporation of sustainable structural designs at the CTBUH 8th World Congress. The three major tall buildings he...
25 October 2006
Progressive Collapse: Report on Council Working Group Activities
Bob Smilowitz, Weidlinger and Craig Gibbons, Arup present the Report of the Council Working Group Activities on 'Progressive Collapse' at the opening session of the...
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Research
22 December 2023
Remembering Charles H. Thornton, 2012 Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Charles Thornton & Richard Tomasetti
This edition of Talking Tall is an interview from the CTBUH archives. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat would like to remember Charles...
05 July 2023
We All Love to Get High: Optimizing Observation Deck Design
Terri Meyer Boake
Height is aspirational, and having the best view from that height has become a driver in contemporary tall building design. Likewise, observation decks are a...
16 May 2023
The Economics of Record-Breaking Height
Jason Barr & Peter A. Weismantle
This paper reviews the development history of record-breaking skyscrapers to better understand their economics. Given how tall they are, the supposed reason for their construction...
22 August 2022
Structural Design of Iconic Tower, Egypt: Culmination of a Concrete Optimization Process
Tarek Hassan, Yehia El-Ezaby & Charles Malek, rector Dar Al Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners)
This paper presents an overview of a process of optimizing concrete mixture for tall buildings, culminating in the design of the Iconic Tower, the key...
22 August 2022
The World’s Highest Pools: A Deep Dive
S. Isaac Work & Shawn Ursini, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
Tall building design has diversified and adapted to accommodate increased demand for distinctive amenities at a range of heights. Swimming pools are a classic feature...
25 June 2020
Curtain Wall Façades on the New Generation of Supertall Buildings Present and Future Directions
Sae Hwang Oh, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Beginning in the late 19th century, construction of skyscrapers spread throughout Chicago, New York City, and then the world as demand of space in buildings...
20 March 2020
Tall + Urban Innovation 2020: Dominant Trends
CTBUH Research
Providing a global overview of tall building development, design and construction, the CTBUH Awards Program and related Tall + Urban Innovation Conference annually survey projects,...
20 March 2020
Interactive Study on The Tallest 20 in 2020: Then and Now
CTBUH Research
This research paper undertakes a review of the 2012 report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, “Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the...
30 January 2020
Tall Building Predictions for 2020
CTBUH Research
The combined brains of the CTBUH editorial and database staff boldly predict what might happen across the global skyscraper industry in 2020. Check out our...
28 December 2019
Tall Buildings of the Future as Seen From the Present
SawTeen See, Robert Bird Group Pty Ltd
Aerodynamic damping through the use of vertical long slots reduces the dynamic component of the wind loads on the building. Seminal examples include the three-legged...
12 December 2019
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2019
CTBUH Research
The year 2019 was remarkable for the tall building industry, with 26 supertall buildings (300 meters or taller) completed, the most in any year. This...
28 October 2019
Bringing an Icon into the Future: Willis Tower
Stephen Katz, Gensler
Few buildings are as iconic as Willis Tower. Generations of Chicagoans have a collective memory of this building playing a role in their entire lives....
28 October 2019
Aesthetics of Chinese Tall Buildings
Richard Lee, C.Y. Lee & Partners Architects/ Planners
While Western aesthetics dominate the world at this time, the rise of the East has led China to reexamine its Eurocentric view towards aesthetics. China...
28 October 2019
World’s Biggest (Tall) Buildings
Carol Willis, The Skyscraper Museum
In both professional circles and in the public eye, the subject of the World’s Tallest Building (WTB) has held the spotlight for more than a...
28 October 2019
Fifty Years of Fire Safety In Supertall Buildings
Peter Weismantle, AS+GG; James Antell, Telgian Engineering & Consulting
As international design teams participated in the development of high-rise structures around the world, many of the concepts of fire-safe design first introduced in the...
28 October 2019
The Future of Sustainable Cities and How Tall Building Urbanism has Evolved
James Parakh, City of Toronto Planning Division
In the past 50 years, tall buildings and their relationship to streets and open spaces has evolved through various scales and typologies. As place-makers, how...
11 October 2019
Tall Buildings in Numbers: 50 Years of Tall Building Evolution
CTBUH Research
The default image of the skyscraper for the past 50 years in the public imagination has likely been the extruded, rectilinear corporate “box,” derived from...
29 July 2019
Highest Special-Purpose Spaces
Since humans first began constructing tall buildings, history has been cluttered with claims of all manner of “highest” records. In this study, we examine those...
25 April 2019
Tall Buildings in Numbers: World's Tallest Offset-Core Buildings
CTBUH Research
There has long been an interest in separating the service cores of tall buildings from the main programmed areas – to create more column-free, easily-configured...
25 April 2019
Best Tall Buildings 2019: Dominant Trends
CTBUH
This year, CTBUH has vastly expanded its Awards program to consider the Best Tall Building category through several classes of height, rather than geographic regions,...
14 March 2019
Conjoined Tower Structures for Mile-High Tall Buildings
Kyoung Sun Moon, Yale University
Tall buildings are one of the most viable solutions to deal with the global phenomenon of rapid population increase and urbanization. While tall buildings are...
31 January 2019
Interactive Study on Tall Buildings in Numbers: 2018 Year in Review
CTBUH Research
In 2018, 143 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed. This is a slight decrease from 2017’s record-breaking total of 147, and it...
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12 December 2018
Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2018
CTBUH Research
The astronomical growth in tall building construction observed over the past decade continued in 2018, though the total number of completed buildings of 200 meters’...
20 October 2018
The Middle East: 30+ Years of Building Tall
CTBUH Research
The Middle East region is hosting its first CTBUH International Conference since 2008. In that year, there were 119 completed buildings of 150 meters or...
01 September 2018
Significant Progress in Construction Equipment of Super High-Rise Building
Kun Zhang & Hui Wang & Kaiqiang Wang & Jian Cui & Bo Chen and Di Li, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd
The construction of rapid developing super high-rise buildings constantly faces great challenges and the innovation of construction equipment is a focus of these challenges. In...
01 September 2018
Design and Applications of Buckling-Restrained Braces
Atsushi Watanabe, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineer
Buckling-Restrained Braces (BRBs) have been widely applied to tall buildings in seismic areas in the world. In this paper the author summarizes representative types of...
01 September 2018
Developments of Structural Systems Toward Mile-High Towers
Kyoung Sun Moon, Yale University School of Architecture
Tall buildings which began from about 40 m tall office towers in the late 19th century have evolved into mixed-use megatall towers over 800 m....
01 September 2018
Review of Buckling-Restrained Brace Design and Application to Tall Buildings
Toru Takeuchi & Akira Wada, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) are widely used as highly ductile seismic devices, with the first building using BRBs completed in 1989 in Tokyo, and thousands more...
30 July 2018
World’s Tallest Buildings with Dampers
CTBUH Research
As tall buildings continue to be built in seismically-active and cyclone-prone areas, the need to augment the structures of these buildings with dynamic modification devices...
28 July 2018
Engineering a Better Future
Aine Brazil, Thornton Tomasetti
Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman, Thornton Tomasetti, is the recipient of the 2018 CTBUH Fazlur R. Khan Medal. Through a 40-plus-year career, she has been responsible...
27 April 2018
Technical Considerations for Akhmat Tower
Alejandro Stochetti, Sara Beardsley & Marc Cerone, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; John Peronto, Thornton Tomasetti
The 435-meter Akhmat Tower in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia, will be shaped to refer to the Nakh tower, a traditional watchtower typology in the region. A...
01 March 2018
Challenges in the Architectural Technical Design of the New Generation of Supertall Buildings
Peter A. Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
The design of a supertall building poses many challenges to the architect and engineer. Using Jeddah Tower as a case study; this paper intends to...
01 March 2018
The Mixed-Use Supertall and the Hybridization of Program
Forth Bagley, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates
Increasingly, mixed-use, multi-program complexes are emerging as the standard development model around the world. As their prominence grows, these projects are becoming increasingly complex. Program...
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05 February 2018
2017: Skyscraper History’s Tallest, Highest- Volume, and Most Geographically Diverse Year
This 2017 Tall Building Year in Review / Tall Buildings in Numbers data analysis report shows that more buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater...
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05 February 2018
Lotte World Tower: Seoul’s First Supertall
James von Klemperer, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
The Lotte World Tower became the world’s fifth-tallest building upon completion in 2017, and is currently the only supertall building (300 meters or higher) in...
01 December 2017
The Ultra-Modern FKI Tower
John Peronto, Thornton Tomasetti
A modern and highly-sustainable addition to the skyline of Seoul, South Korea has been completed; the Federation of Korean Industries Headquarters (FKI). The signature saw-toothed...
01 December 2017
Designing High Performance MEP Systems for Supertall Buildings: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities
Craig Burton, Interface Engineering, Inc.
The design and construction of supertall buildings has grown dramatically in recent years. This area of practice has traditionally fallen within the purview of a...
01 September 2017
Structural Performance of 800 MPa High-Strength Steel Members
Cheol-Ho Lee, Seoul National University
The use of high-strength steels in construction of highrise and mega building structures can bring about many technological advantages from fabrication to erection. However, key...
01 September 2017
Preliminary Design of Structural Health Monitoring for High-Rise Buildings
Hyun-hee Ryu, Jong-soo Kim, Eun-gyu Choi & Sang-hoon Lee, CS Structural Engineering
The purpose of structural health monitoring is to evaluate structural behavior due to various external loads through installation of appropriate measurement. Accordingly, a guideline for...
08 August 2017
Frontiers in High-Rise Outrigger Design
Hi sun Choi & Leonard M. Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; SawTeen See, Leslie E. Robertson Associates; Rupa Garai, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
In 2012, CTBUH published the first Outrigger Design for High-Rise Buildings Technical Guide. In 2016, the CTBUH Outrigger Working Group felt it would be beneficial...
08 August 2017
Ten Significant Tall Buildings, and the Significant Women Behind Them
Leading Women in Tall Buildings
Recently, there has been a growing and overdue recognition in the architecture discipline that women are under-represented, not just in terms of leadership positions held,...
20 April 2017
River Beech Tower: A Tall Timber Experiment
Jeff Sanner & Todd Snapp, Perkins+Will; Alejandro Fernandez, Thornton Tomasetti; et al.
The Chicago River Beech Tower is a collaborative research effort with the goal of identifying challenges and opportunities associated with designing increasingly tall mass timber...
01 March 2017
Vertical Shortening Considerations in the 1 km Tall Jeddah Tower
John Peronto, Robert Sinn & Matthew Huizinga, Thornton Tomasetti
Jeddah Tower will be the first man-made structure to reach a kilometer in height upon its completion in 2019. From conception, it was clear that...
01 March 2017
Foundation Differential Settlement Included Time-dependent Elevation Control for Supertall Structures
Xin Zhao, Tongji University; Shehong Liu, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Due to the time-dependent properties of materials, structures, and loads, accurate time-dependent effects analysis and precise construction controls are very significant for rational analysis and...
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10 January 2017
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2016
Jason Gabel, Annan Shehadi, Shawn Ursini & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
CTBUH has determined that 128 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed around the world in 2016 – setting a new record for...
17 October 2016
Saudi Arabia, Jeddah City and Jeddah Tower
Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious project to construct the world’s tallest building, Jeddah Tower. Surrounding the kilometer-plus building will be...
17 October 2016
Mixed Use Tall Buildings – The Challenges and Benefits of Vertical Urbanization
Samuel So, Colin Dowall & Michael George, JLL
China is the global epicenter of mankind’s mass urbanization and the exploding growth of global cities. China is the unrivaled leader in the development of...
17 October 2016
Mega Size Mixed-Use Projects: Redefining Vertical Urbanism
Dennis Poon & Larry B. Giannechini, Thornton Tomasetti
As the draw to urban centers increases drastically with financial growth and global influence, emerging markets seek to develop salient markers of success and hope....
17 October 2016
The Way for a Super Complex to Make a City More Convenient and Beautiful
Hang Xu, Parkland Real Estate Development; Marianne Kwok, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Today’s super high-rise buildings not only present the height of buildings, but also play more important roles of integrating into the development of cities, coexisting...
17 October 2016
Humanizing the Giants
Swinal Samant, National University of Singapore
The rise in sustainable skyscrapers and large-scale mixed-use buildings has seen the proliferation of atria and sky-courts worldwide due to their ability to simultaneously contribute...
17 October 2016
Designing a Bamboo Shaped Suptertall Tower in Hefei
Guoyong Fu, Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu & Zheng Gui Ma, Thornton Tomasetti
The Evergrande International Financial Center, located in Binhu New Area CBD in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, consists of one iconic108-story, 518m tall tower, one single...
17 October 2016
Structural Challenges with the SOCAR Tower in Baku, a New Megacity in the Caspian Region
Hi Sun Choi & Onur Ihtiyar, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.; Young Kyoon Jeong & Hyungsup Sim, Heerim Architects & Planners
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has been rapidly transforming into a hub of high-rise buildings and cultural centers in the Caspian region. Baku’s population now...
17 October 2016
The Façade Lighting of Ping An Finance Center
Yuanhuan Meng, Panli Deng, Yongqiang Chao & Linbo Wang, Beijing Fortune Lighting System Engineering Co., Ltd.
Our Company, as the general contractor of the façade lighting engineering for this project, created a series of optimization designs in the process of implementation...
17 October 2016
Intelligent Advances in Ping An Tower
Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development
This paper presents client requirements on both functional and aesthetic aspects for four mega-scale gates on the Ping An Financial Centre (PAFC) north tower. The...
17 October 2016
Coupling of Urban-Value & Mega High-Rise: Ping An Finance Center
Fang Xie & Xia Ai, CCDI Group
If the city is seen as a giant business, what is driving its market value? The height of the building is clearly one of the...
17 October 2016
A Perspective on TAIPEI 101’s Decision to Upgrade Recertification to LEED O+M v4
Freda Tsai & Joseph Chou, Taipei Financial Center Corporation
The sheer size and complexity of a building like TAIPEI 101, along with the international nature of the project and newness of LEED v4, can...
17 October 2016
Cities to Megacities: Perspectives
CTBUH 2016 Conference Speakers
The CTBUH 2016 International Conference is being held in the three cities of the Pearl River Delta, the world’s largest “megacity,” projected to have 120...
01 September 2016
Key Technologies for Super Tall Building Construction: Lotte World Tower
Gyu Dong Kim & Joo Ho Lee, Lotte Engineering and Construction
This paper addresses the key technologies for supertall building construction based on the Lotte World Tower project in Korea. First, the mega-mat foundation construction technologies...
01 March 2016
Wilshire Grand: Outrigger Designs and Details for a Highly Seismic Site
Leonard M. Joseph, C. Kerem Gulec, and Justin M. Schwaiger, Thornton Tomasetti
The 335 m tall Wilshire Grand Center tower under construction in Los Angeles illustrates many key outrigger issues. The tower has a long, narrow floor...
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19 January 2016
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2015
Jason Gabel, Marty Carver & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
CTBUH has determined that 106 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed around the world in 2015 – setting a new record for...
01 December 2015
Numerical Simulation of Temperature Gradients for the Mass Concrete Foundation Slab of Shanghai Tower
Jian Gong & Xiaoping Wu, Shanghai Construction Group; Weijiu Cui & Yong Yuan, Tongji University
Crack control remains a primary concern for mass concrete structures, where the majority of cracking is caused by temperature changes during the hydration process. One-time...
26 October 2015
Kingdom Tower / Kingdom City: History in the Making
Mounib Hammoud, CEO, Jeddah Economic Company
Jeddah Economic Company has embarked on a mission to construct Kingdom Tower, which will be the tallest building in the world upon completion. The kilometer-plus...
26 October 2015
Case Study: Kingdom Tower, Jeddah
Peter Weismantle & Alejandro Stochetti, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
During the spring of 2009, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) began working on a prototype of a mile-high tower. With an eye to...
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Adrian Smith & Peter Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
AS+GG’s Director of Supertall Technology interviews AS+GG Partner Adrian Smith about the impact that supertall buildings have on a city’s identity, economy, ecological impact, and...
26 October 2015
Adopting a Program Management Approach to Maximize the Benefit of “Vertical Cities”
Keith Brooks, Julio Maggi, Derek Roy & Bryony Day, ARCADIS
Tall building construction can benefit from a programmatic approach. By looking at the overall development as a whole program of works, identifying the deliverables required...
26 October 2015
From Supertall to Megatall: Analysis and Design of the Kingdom Tower Piled Raft
George Leventis, Alan Poeppel & Konstantinos Syngros, Langan International LLC
As part of the booming development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Langan international was hired to assist in all phases of soil investigation and...
26 October 2015
Elevator Designs for the Kingdom Tower
James Fortune, Fortune Shepler Saling Inc. Elevator Consulting
When it is completed in 2018, the mixed-use Kingdom Tower will become the new World’s Tallest Tower. It will contain multiple, stacked mixed-use population zones,...
26 October 2015
Carbon-Fiber Hoisting Technology
Santeri Suoranta & Jeff Montgomery, KONE
The ability to build ever higher has always pushed available technologies to their limits, including elevator technology. Traditional elevators utilizing steel ropes are limited by...
26 October 2015
Shanghai Tower: Building a Green, Vertical City in the Heart of Shanghai
Jianping Gu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
The Shanghai Tower establishes a new paradigm for tall buildings and vertical urbanism. Innovation and new technology play a strong role in the superlative aesthetic,...
26 October 2015
Designing a Non-coplanar Exoskeleton Supertall Tower that Transforms the Skyline of Chengdu
Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu, Paul Fu & Jianhai Liang, Thornton Tomasetti
The city of Chengdu is quickly becoming the center for high-rise development in southwest China. The focal point of this new vertical landscape will be...
26 October 2015
Ping An: Insurance and Tall Buildings
Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development; Stephen Yuan, Ping An Casualty & Property Insurance Company of China, Ltd.
The Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen will become one of the most significant tall buildings in China and the world when completed in 2016....
26 October 2015
Context, Climate, Culture – Investigating Place in Tall Building Design
Robert Goodwin, Perkins + Will
Should a tower in Moscow look like one in Dubai? Once one entered a city and marveled at the unique magic of its architecture –...
26 October 2015
The Vertical Master Plan
Temoor Ahmad & Neven Sidor, Grimshaw Architects; Steve Watts, Alinea Consulting; Adam Miller, Thornton Tomasetti
With over half of the world’s population now living in an urban environment, major world cities (especially) will always grow in population over time. To...
26 October 2015
Challenges and Opportunities for the Structural Design of the 123-Story Jamsil Lotte World Tower
Jong-Ho Kim, Yeonki Jung & Jidong Kim, Chang Minwoo Structural
The Jamsil Lotte World Tower, a high-rise component of the 2nd Lotte World Amusement Complex, is being constructed at Jamsil, Seoul, Korea. This 123-story building...
26 October 2015
New Developments on Stainless Steel Façades with Regard to Reflectance, Corrosion and Aesthetics
Joern Teipel, Outokumpu
Stainless steel is a key material in modern skyscraper architecture, exploiting the material’s sustainability, functionality and aesthetics. After an outline on some general features of...
22 October 2015
New York: The Ultimate Skyscraper Laboratory
CTBUH Research
A timeline of skyscraper completions in New York uncannily resembles the boom and bust cycles of the United States in the 20th and early 21st...
22 October 2015
Manhattan’s Last Frontier Becomes a Mini-City
Marianne Kwok, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Hudson Yards is a mixed-use development built over rail yards on the west side of New York’s Manhattan Island. As the largest real estate project...
22 October 2015
Gaining Momentum at Hudson Yards
Jay Cross, Hudson Yards
Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development ever undertaken in the United States. The site, built over a working rail yard, will eventually...
01 September 2015
The New Structural Design Process of Supertall Buildings in China
Bao Lianjin, Chen Jianxing, Qian Peng, et al., ECADI
By the end of 2014, the number of completed and under-construction supertall buildings above 250 meters in China reached 90 and 129, respectively. China has...
24 August 2015
World’s Highest Observation Decks
CTBUH Research
Perhaps no element of a tall building is more closely related to the pure pleasure of standing high in the sky and taking in the...
01 June 2015
Urban Density and the Porous High-Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City
James von Klemperer, Kohn Pedersen Fox
As the skyscraper matures as a building type, its role in actively connecting to, and reinforcing, major threads of urban fabric becomes increasingly more important....
01 March 2015
Structural Health Monitoring of Shanghai Tower Considering Time-dependent Effects
Qilin Zhang, Bin Yang, Tao Liu & Han Li, Tongji University; and Jia Lv, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co.
This paper presents the structural health monitoring (SHM) of Shanghai Tower. In order to provide useful information for safety evaluation and regular maintenance under construction...
31 December 2014
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Daniel Safarik, Antony Wood, Marty Carver & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
An All-Time Record 97 Buildings of 200 Meters or Higher Completed in 2014 and 2014 showed further shifts towards Asia, and also surprising developments in...
01 December 2014
A Methodological Shift in Building Design through Development of Collaborative Design Platforms
Jonatan Schumacher and Matthew Naugle, Thornton Tomasetti
This paper introduces two platforms created by the development team at CORE studio, Thornton Tomasetti's global innovation studio. Collaborative platforms change the way that parties...
06 November 2014
The Competition for the Tallest Skyscraper - Implications for Global Ethics and Economics
Christopher Michaelson, University of St. Thomas
An iconic skyscraper has aesthetic significance that may have meaning for other aspects of human experience – serving, for example, as an expression of cultural...
16 September 2014
Curtain-Wall System Design
Zhijun He, Jiemin Ding & Jiupeng Li, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
A unique flexible suspended curtain wall support structure (CWSS) was ultimately developed to suit the exterior curtain wall system of Shanghai Tower. Because of the...
16 September 2014
The Making of a Vertical Intelligent Community Through Information Systems
Qi Hu, Jiankun Information and Technology Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Tower is devoted to creating a vertical intelligent community. From the detailed demands of the stakeholders, the owner’s team clarified the direction of intelligent...
16 September 2014
The Construction Supervision Process
Yadong Li, Haochuan Lang, Jing Sun & Xiangdong Xu, Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
This chapter summarizes innovative management methods in the construction supervision process of Shanghai Tower, outlining the implementation process and application results. It includes key steps...
16 September 2014
Introduction of MEP Technologies
Zhenghong Liu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
This chapter explains that, in addition to Shanghai Tower’s peculiar height and unique architectural style, the project also targets a Green 3-Star and a LEED...
16 September 2014
Application of Performance-Based Fire Safety Design
Youdi Shen, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
It is well known that fire problems in super high-rise buildings are common issues throughout the world. Fire technology covers fire prevention, fire suppression, and...
16 September 2014
The Payoff for Investing in the Human Experience
Benedict Tranel & Xiaomei Lee, Gensler
In this chapter, Shanghai Tower is introduced along side The Tower at PNC Plaza, to posit that economic propositions for double-façade design solutions must go...
16 September 2014
A Review of the Structural Performance Monitoring Project
Song Weining, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Through a comprehensive discussion of the systematic application of structural performance monitoring in construction, operation and maintenance of the Shanghai Tower, the author illustrates that...
16 September 2014
The Parametric Design of Shanghai Tower’s Form and Façade
Jun Xia & Michael Peng, Gensler
The Shanghai Tower was only made possible by using innovative design ideas, integrated technology, and advanced tools. This paper is centered around the project as...
16 September 2014
Design for Vertical Habitation
Jun Xia, Elizabeth Michalska, Wendy Wong & Raymon Chen, Gensler
This chapter describes the main principles behind the architectural design of the building. Its architectural expression and functional organization achieve not only iconic landmark status,...
16 September 2014
Designing a Megatall for Lateral Stability and Settlement
Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu, Guoyong (Paul) Fu & Zhenggui Ma, Thornton Tomasetti
As a megatall building, Suzhou Zhongnan Center will need an efficient lateral system to withstand high wind and seismic loads. A unique “Core-Outrigger-Megaframe” lateral system...
16 September 2014
Practical Application of BIM Technology
Bin Zhao, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Using Shanghai Tower as an example, this chapter introduces the effective applications of BIM technology in project design and construction along with the positive results...
16 September 2014
Unique Structural Design Aspects
Yi Zhu, Dennis Poon, Qing (Steve) Zuo & Paul Fu, Thornton Tomasetti Inc.
This chapter discusses the unique structural solutions for the 632m tall Shanghai Tower. An innovative “Core-Outrigger-Mega Frame” lateral system is adopted to meet China’s conservative...
16 September 2014
Performance Based Design and Optimization
Jiemin Ding, Xin Zhao, Kun Ding & Fang Xu, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Performance-based structural design often includes performance requirements for safety (structural safety, fire safety, earth quake resistance and so on), health, serviceability, energy efficiency and environmental...
16 September 2014
Designing a High-Performance Sustainable Megatall
Sai Yau (Vincent) Cheng, Chun Kuen (Jimmy) Tong & Wai Ho Leung, Arup
This chapter summarizes the characteristics of high-rise development and related considerations on building energy during design. The chapter introduces the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center...
16 September 2014
Comparative Study of Zhongnan Center Under Earthquake and Wind
Weiguo Chen & Guangjing Sha, Zhongnan Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Xin Zhao, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
A comparative study of seismic action and wind loading was conducted for the structural design of the Suzhou Zhongnan Center. The analysis parameters, design methodology...
16 September 2014
A Balancing Act for the Curtain-Wall Design
Joe Theodore Khoury, ALT Limited
This chapter provides a general overview of designing the curtain wall system of a high-rise structure. The past years have borne witness to the transformation...
16 September 2014
Cost Planning and Control
Kenneth Kwan, Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd.
This chapter looks at the major cost drivers of tall buildings such as the overall design planning, foundation and substructure, structure, façade, architectural works, interior...
16 September 2014
Core Structural Design and Optimization
Guangjing Sha, Zhongnan Construction Group Co.; Xin Zhao & Fang Xu, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., Ltd.; Tao Shi, Department of Civil Engineering, Tongji University
Due to its excellent lateral stiffness and space flexibility, the megaframe-core wall structure is widely applied in supertall buildings. The efficiency of the central service...
16 September 2014
Power, Elevator and Customer-Oriented Sustainability Strategies
Tony Lau, J. Roger Preston Limited
Being a world-class skyscraper with international corporate tenants, reliable power supply, expedient elevatoring service and customer-oriented sustainability pose formidable challenges on a building like PAFC....
16 September 2014
Belt Truss Stiffness Analysis and Optimization
Li Cao & Guangjing Sha, Zhongnan Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Xin Zhao & Kun Ding, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Megastructures have come into widespread use in supertall buildings in recent decades, due to their high efficiency in satisfying diversified building performance requirements. Belt trusses...
16 September 2014
The Structural Health Monitoring System
Qiusheng Li & Yinghou He, City University of Hong Kong; Wang Hui & Kailin Ju, Hunan University
A sophisticated and comprehensive structural health monitoring (SHM) system was designed to monitor the Ping An Finance Center (PAFC)’s continuous static and dynamic response to...
16 September 2014
Multi-Constrained Outrigger Optimization
Moukui Xu & Muyuan Yang, Zhongnan Construction Group Co., Ltd.; XinZhao, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.; Xiang Jiang, Department of Civil Engineering, Tongji University
The outrigger system has been widely employed as an innovative and efficient structural lateral-load resisting system in supertall buildings in recent decades. The optimization of...
16 September 2014
Designing China’s Tallest: DNA of the Ping An Finance Center
David Malott, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
The Ping An Finance Center is the next generation of the prototypical Asian skyscraper: megatall, hyper-dense, and highly connected. Encoded in the design of PAFC...
16 September 2014
High-Performance Floor System Design
Xin Zhao, Kun Ding, Fang Xu & Rong He, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
The floor system is important part of a supertall building structure. It not only supports the vertical load, but also connects the lateral-load resisting system...
16 September 2014
Economical & Efficient Structural Solutions
Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu, Steve Pacitto & Steve Zuo, Thornton Tomasetti Inc.
With the completion of the Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) in 2016, one of the tallest towers in China and the world will be unveiled....
16 September 2014
Structural Design Challenges
Yi Zhu, Dennis Poon, Paul Fu & Zhenggui Ma, Thornton Tomasetti
Built on soft soils, Suzhou Zhongnan Center relies on concrete bored piles with post-grouting to support the massive tower. An efficient lateral system, namely the...
16 September 2014
Stainless-Steel Cladding
Dr. Jörn Teipel & Gert Weiss, Outokumpu EMEA GmbH
Especially during the last 20 years, stainless steel has become an approved and much-valued cladding material for sophisticated architecture. This chapter introduces the embossed stainless...
16 September 2014
Advantages of Early Design Consultant and Contractor Coordination
The Ping An Finance Center required a tremendous effort to coordinate design/engineering and construction trades. This began very early in the design process and will...
16 September 2014
Project Management Outline and Challenges
Wing Kan (Ken) Wong, Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang & Qi Ming (Andy) Liang, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Design requirements between skyscrapers of 600 meters and 300 meters high are different, including construction costs, construction speed, construction technology, quality control and assurance, and...
16 September 2014
Design and Environmental Protection Measures During Excavation
Qiping Weng, R.B. Liu, Weidong Wang & Z.H. Wu, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
The total foundation pit area of the Suzhou Zhongnan Center is 26,260 square meters and is divided into two areas: one area consists of five...
16 September 2014
The Application and Management of BIM
Fang Xie & Jiang Qian, CCDI Group
BIM is increasingly being used in the architecture and engineering industries. Its three-dimensional representation, digital information management, as well as the platform model-sharing mode, brings...
16 September 2014
Key Aspects of Construction Management
Tak Hung Yung, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
In general, construction management embraces topics such as programs, progress, quality control, and construction methods, all of which somehow correlate to each other. During the...
16 September 2014
Analysis of Pile Foundations and Load Tests
Jiangbin Wu, Weidong Wang, Yuting Huang, Xiangjun Wang & Shubo Nie, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
This chapter describes the pile design and the static loading tests of the megatall Suzhou Zhongnan Center tower and its deep basement. Large-diameter and super-long...
16 September 2014
Engineering Contractor Management
Jian Zhong & Zhengkai Huang, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Second Installation Company
Megatall high-rise projects face difficulties that require innovative solutions in terms of material coordination, allocation of labor resources, large massing, complex multi-system engineering, noise control,...
16 September 2014
Key Construction Technologies
Yuqi Zhou, Ruohui Sun, Gang Xue & Qiang Zuo, China Construction First Division Group Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
This chapter introduces the key technologies for the structural construction of the Ping An Finance Center from six perspectives regarding the deep foundation pit, large...
16 September 2014
Elevator Systems and Elevator Evacuation Design
Xiaomei Lee, Frederick Liu & Liming Zhou, Gensler; Steve Edgett, Edgett Williams Consulting Group, Inc.
Because supertall and megatall buildings are a very recent phenomenon, there are no specific building codes written for them. For any building over 50 stories,...
16 September 2014
MEP Design Challenges
Kam Chuen (Vincent) Tse, Lung Wai (Herbert) Lam, Ho-Yin (Vincent) Leung & Yong Mao, Parsons Brinckerhoff
The Suzhou Zhongnan Center is a megatall building of a mixed-used nature, including international Grade-A offices, a seven-star hotel, an observation deck, deluxe apartments, small-office...
16 September 2014
Sustainability Strategy
Li Jun Cao, Environmental Market Solutions, Inc.; Hai Tao Li, Zhongnan Group
This chapter explores methodologies and approaches for achieving sustainable design for megatall buildings, through the review of various sustainable design elements that will be implemented...
16 September 2014
Closing the Gap between Fantasy and Reality: Pushing Current Technologies Into the Future
Terri Meyer Boake, University of Waterloo
The tall building is a discrete architectural type. The causal aspects of its evolution can assist in determining which aspects will be of the most...
16 September 2014
High-Rise Harmony – Legal Issues Unique to Tall Buildings
Victor Madeira Filho, MVA Advogados; Arthur D. Wellington, Thornton Tomasetti
This article aims to discuss the construction of tall buildings in both emerging and established urban centers, highlighting aspects related to large urban centers and...
16 September 2014
Shanghai Tower: Building a Green, Vertical City in the Heart of Shanghai
Jianping Gu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
The Shanghai Tower establishes a new paradigm for tall buildings and vertical urbanism. This paper provides an overview of the strong role that innovation and...
16 September 2014
Urban Density and the Porous High-Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City
James von Klemperer, Kohn Pedersen Fox
As the skyscraper matures as a building type, its role in actively connecting to, and reinforcing, major threads of urban fabric becomes increasingly more important....
16 September 2014
The Evolution of Building Evacuation Design in China
Fang Li, James Antell & Martin Reiss, RJA Group
As a result of the events of September 11th and other natural and man-made disasters, building owners, designers and fire officials have become increasingly aware...
16 September 2014
Two-In-One Tower: An Expansion in Typology and Technology in Hanoi
Matthias Olt, Callison; Hi Sun Choi, Thornton Tomasetti
Standing 267m tall, Lotte Center Hanoi is Vietnam’s second tallest tower and set to open this summer. Innovative high-rise design solutions were incorporated that respond...
16 September 2014
Suzhou Zhongnan Center: Rising Above Engineering Challenges
Dong Shen, Zhongnan Group
Suzhou is only 30 minutes by train from Shanghai, but has a rich history and identity all its own, soon to be augmented by the...
16 September 2014
Ping An Finance Center: The Development and Construction of a Megatall
Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Shenzhen Ping An Financial Center Construction & Development
The extraordinary megatall tower adopts extraordinary shape-optimization techniques and requires unprecedented levels of coordination to achieve its unique form.
16 September 2014
Design Challenges of the 3 Tallest Buildings in North/ East/ South China
Kam Chuen (Vincent) Tse, Lung Wai (Herbert) Lam, Sheung Lai (Eddie) Leung & Leung Wing (Daniel) Ho, Parsons Brinckerhoff
This paper describes the MEP and VTS design challenges of the tallest buildings in three major cities in China; namely, Beijing, Suzhou and Guangzhou. The...
16 September 2014
Taipei 101: Tall Building Operation Towards Sustainability
Cathy Yang, Taipei Financial Center Corporation
To take TAIPEI 101 TOWER as an example that will showcase the various aspects of managing a tall building, satisfying tenant requirements, stakeholders expectations, and...
16 September 2014
Property Management: Moving Towards Sustainable Vertical Urbanism
Xiaobo Chen, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd
As the highest tower in Shanghai, and at the forefront of a new generation of supertall towers nationwide, Shanghai Tower will anchor the city’s Lujiazui...
16 September 2014
Construction Technology and Management Innovation
Zhenfeng Gao & Duanxue Shi, Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd.
This project adopts a double glass curtain wall system. A vertical atrium is formed between internal and external curtain walls which cause the external curtain...
16 September 2014
Making the World’s Greenest Tall Building
Jihong Han & Hongwu Fan, Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences
Shanghai Tower is poised to become the world’s tallest green building after receiving the Chinese 3-star green building design label and the U.S. LEED-CS Gold...
14 September 2014
Towards Sustainable Vertical Urbanism
Daniel Safarik, CTBUH
The survival of humanity on this planet relies on a radical repositioning of our cities. In the face of unprecedented global population growth, urbanization, pollution...
01 September 2014
Innovative High Efficient Construction Technologies in Super High Rise Steel Structure Buildings
Lixian Dai & Biao Liao, China Construction Steel Structure Corporation
The super high rise building construction is characterized by a large quantity of engineering works and structural components, high demanding of construction technology and complex...
01 March 2014
Overview of Seismic Loads and Application of Local Code Provisions for Tall Buildings in Baku, Azerbaijan
Hi Sun Choi, Onur Ihtiyar & Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; James Sze, Arup
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has seen a boom in construction in recent years. The old Baku city has been rapidly transforming into a new...
28 January 2014
Debating Tall: Antennas vs. Spires
Larry Silverstein, Siliverstein Properties Inc.; Dario Trabucco, IUAV University of Venice
The CTBUH’s Height Committee ratified the architectural height of One World Trade Center last November, touching off massive media coverage and opening up complicated mixed...
01 August 2013
Imagining the Tall Building of the Future
Josef Hargrave & Ralph Wilson, Arup
Predicting the future is an impossible task. One will never get it absolutely right. However, that does not make it a pointless exercise. Instead, such...
01 June 2013
The Past, Present and Future of the European Skyscraper
CTBUH Research
There are currently 109 skyscrapers over 150 meters in Europe. This number is set to jump to 161 by the end of 2015, meaning that...
01 April 2013
Case Study: Kingdom Tower, Jeddah
Peter Weismantle & Alejandro Stochetti, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will be the tall building to go where no building has gone before – beyond 1,000 meters. For the...
01 March 2013
Debating Tall: The Pros and Cons of Reaching for the Sky
This issue’s cover story on Kingdom Tower details the latest quest for the industry to reach new heights. However taller doesn’t always lead to better....
01 March 2013
Shaking Table Model Test of Shanghai Tower
Xilin Lu, Yuanjun Mao, Wensheng Lu & Liping Kang, Tongji University
Shaking table test is an important and useful method to help structural engineers get better knowledge about the seismic performance of the buildings with complex...
23 September 2012
The Tallest 15 Cities in China
CTBUH Research
With over 1.3 billion citizens and a rapidly urbanizing population, China is developing tall buildings more than any other country globally. Currently it has 239...
21 September 2012
Development of Innovative Structures for Supertall and Unique Towers
John Viise, Yantong Zhao & Robert Halvorson, Halvorson and Partners
As tall buildings grow to greater heights and strive to incorporate more unique forms, clarity in the development of the structural system at conceptual design...
21 September 2012
Kingdom Tower: A New Icon for Saudi Arabia
Talal Al Maiman, Kingdom Real Estate
Kingdom Tower - expected to be the world’s tallest building, at over 1,000 meters, when completed in 2017 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is outlined in...
21 September 2012
Shanghai Tower: Re-Thinking the Vertical City
Jian Ping Gu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development
The construction of the Shanghai Tower breaks through conventional design methods and explores the possibilities of future supertall architectural approaches. These approaches bring the project...
19 September 2012
The Signature Tower: Reaching High in the Sky of Indonesia
Sugeng Wijanto, Gistama Intisemesta; Tiyok Prasetyoadi, PDW Architects; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; Wayan Sengara, Institut Teknologi Bandung-Indonesia
This presentation discusses the reasons behind the selection of the structural systems, as well as the use of advanced structural analyses and design methods, including...
19 September 2012
20 Years of High-Rise Fire Safety: From Jin Mao to Kingdom Tower
James H. Antell, RJA; Peter A. Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
This paper will discuss the evolution of fire safety concepts in the recent generation of high rise buildings starting with “early” 1990’s designs in China...
19 September 2012
Supertall Building Pile-Raft Foundation Designs on Soft Soil
Chao Si & Wenhui Jiang, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd; Yong Cui & Jianlong He, Tongji University
The design improvements and optimizations of super high-rise building pile-raft foundations on soft soil have been made as below: considerations of the impact in the...
19 September 2012
BIM Applications in the Shanghai Tower Construction
Qing Ge, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development
The construction of supertall mixed-use projects is a complex and integrated activity which has been a big challenge to construction management due to its wide...
19 September 2012
Mitsubishi Elevator Equipment in Shanghai Tower
Ikuo Nakazawa, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Inazawa Works
Shanghai Tower has a height of more than 600 meters above the ground and consists of five zones of skirt building zone, office zone, hotel...
19 September 2012
Advanced Supertall Building Design in Hot-Summer and Cold- Winter Climates
Jianqiang Li, ISA Architecture
Climate adaptive design is a prerequisite for designing sustainable tall buildings. With rapid globalization and urbanization, different kinds of techniques and technologies developed abroad are...
19 September 2012
Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower: Seamlessly Integrating Structure and Architecture
Guoyong Fu, Dennis Poon & Mark Dannettel, Thornton Tomasetti; Juan Betancur, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower is a 125-story, 600+ meter mega-tower in China. The tower structural system has been developed to harmonize with the architecture...
19 September 2012
Ping An Finance Center: Pioneering China’s Tallest – Efficiencies of Form and Structures
David Malott & Zhizhe Yu, KPF; Dennis Poon & Torsten Gottlebe, Thornton Tomasetti
Upon completion in 2015, the Ping An Finance Center - set to become the second tallest structure in the world and the tallest in China...
19 September 2012
Shanghai Tower’s Versatile Energy Management System
Zhongli Chen & Lei Shi, ISA Architecture
This paper will discuss the idea of controlling and managing the central air conditioning system of skyscrapers during the entire building life cycle. Taking the...
19 September 2012
Wuhan Center – A Sustainable Design Exploration for Skyscrapers
Weiping Xu & Xiaoqiong Ma, ECADI Co.,Ltd.
Embodying the “sail” concept, Wuhan Centre will be mixed-use, with urban retail spaces at the base, a unique mix of office, residential, and hotel with...
19 September 2012
Spatially Suspending and Twisting Curtain walls' Design Essential
Bao Li Gao Meng Gen, Shuguo Zhao, Yongjun Li & Hang Liu, Shenyang Yuanda Aluminium Industry Engineering Co.,Ltd.
The Shanghai Tower exterior curtain wall has a complex twisting form with a multi-level flexible suspended support system. The curtain wall design is unique and...
19 September 2012
Key Technologioes in the Structure of Shanghai Tower
Jian Gong, Shanghai Construction Group Co. Ltd; Hong Zhou, Shanghai No.1 Construction Co. Ltd
As the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower is a high-rise building with complicated structures which are...
19 September 2012
Design of Flexible Hanging Curtain Wall Support Structures
Jiemin Ding, Jiupeng Li, Zhijun He & Yin Hu, Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tongji
The 126-story, 632-meter tall Shanghai Tower is sited in Shanghai’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, with a structural height of 580 meters. It will be...
19 September 2012
Structural Design Challenges of Shanghai Tower
Yi Zhu, Dennis Poon, Steve Zuo & Guoyong Fu, Thornton Tomasetti
This paper discusses the structural challenges and solutions of the 632m tall Shanghai Tower. A unique “Core-Outrigger-Mega Frame” lateral system is used to meet China...
19 September 2012
The Parametric Design of Shanghai Tower's Form and Façade
Jun Xia & Michael Peng, Gensler
The most sustainable super-tall tower in the world was only made possible by using innovative design ideas, integrated technology, and advanced tools. This paper is...
19 September 2012
From Jin Mao to Kingdom: Search for an Asian Supertall Vernacular
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
The paper traces the evolution of Mr. Smith’s career as a designer of supertall buildings, the Jin Mao Tower (1999) to Kingdom Tower, to be...
19 September 2012
High-Rise Construction Risk Control Technology and Management
Yadong Li, Yu Huang, Haochuan Lang & Wenxin Zhai, Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd
According to the characteristics of the Shanghai Tower, this paper will study construction risks in the construction process by means of WBS and RBS methods...
01 September 2012
Outrigger System Design Considerations
Hi Sun Choi and Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti
Outrigger systems have been widely used in supertall buildings constructed since the 1980’s, eclipsing previously favored tubular frame systems. However, outriggers are not listed as...
01 September 2012
Shaking Table Test and Seismic Performance Evaluation of Shanghai Tower
Tian Chunyu, Xiao Congzhen, Zhang Hong, & Cao Jinzhe, China Academy of Building Research
Shanghai Tower is a super high-rise building of 632 m height with ‘mega frame-core- outrigger truss’ structure system. Due to the complexity and irregularity of...
01 March 2012
Anything Goes?
Dennis Poon and Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti
When Cole Porter wrote the song “Anything Goes” in 1934, he did not include skyscraper examples. The recently completed Chrysler and Empire State buildings followed...
27 January 2012
Debating Tall: A Supertall Future in the US?
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Paul Beitler, Beitler Real Estate Services LLC
In 1990, only 11 buildings in the world could be counted as a “supertall” (defined as a building over 300 meters tall), and all but...
18 January 2012
The Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the Era of the Megatall
Nathaniel Hollister & Antony Wood, CTBUH
Within this decade we will likely witness not only the world’s first kilometer-tall building, but also the completion of a significant number of buildings over...
01 November 2011
South Korea: Past, Present and Future
CTBUH Research
As of the year 2000, there were only 9 buildings 150 meters or taller in all of South Korea. Just twelve years later, there are...
10 October 2011
Elasto-Plastic Time-History Analysis of the Shanghai Tower Under Rare Earthquakes
Hao Qin, Xianzhong Zhao, Yiyi Chen & Ben Wang, Tongji University
The Shanghai Tower, designed to be 124 stories of 636m height and currently under construction, will be the tallest building in China. The structure of...
01 August 2011
Revitalizing Lower Manhattan: World Trade Center in Context
Jan Klerks, CTBUH
Almost 10 years after the destruction of the Twin Towers, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site is in full swing. One World Trade...
01 August 2011
Rethinking Evacuation: Rethinking Cities
Antony Wood, CTBUH
The terrorist attacks and consequential collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001 resulted in, arguably, the largest single retrospective analysis of...
13 April 2011
Tall and Urban: An Analysis of Global Population and Tall Buildings
CTBUH Research
Tall buildings are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate. This study demonstrates the relationship between population and tall buildings across those countries and...
06 November 2010
Greening Supertalls
Harace Lin, Taipei Financial Center Corp.
The world’s tallest buildings have always been more about expression rather than necessity or a solution to any problem. Being the visible landmarks that they...
01 August 2010
International Applications of Elevators for Fire Service Access and Occupant Egress in Fires
Richard W. Bukowski, RJA
Despite the absence of technical standards, tall buildings worldwide are incorporating elevators for occupant evacuation to achieve significant reductions in total evacuation times. Requirements include...
01 August 2010
The High-rise as a Retirement Community
Bridget Lesniak & Robert Neper, Perkins + Will; Donald Hamlin, Thornton Tomasetti
As cities are becoming denser, the functions of high-rises are expanding. In addition, the central business district is no longer the exclusive region of the...
17 April 2010
Case Study: Shanghai Tower
Jun Xia, Gensler; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; Douglas C. Mass, Cosentini Associates
As the third tower in the trio of supertall buildings at the heart of Shanghai’s new Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, Shanghai Tower embodies a...
01 February 2010
Structural Design of Reinforced Concrete Tall Buildings
Ali Sherif S. Rizk, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants
During the last 12 years the Structural Engineering Department at Dar Al-Handasah has designed 45 mixed-use tall buildings in different Arab countries. The designed towers...
12 June 2008
The Tallest Buildings in the World: Past, Present & Future
CTBUH Research
Over time, the average height of the 100 tallest buildings in the world has been steadily increasing. However, by 2010, this average height will have...
03 March 2008
A Statement in Steel: The New York Times Building
Thomas Z. Scarangello, Kyle E. Krall & Jeffrey A. Callow, Thornton Tomasetti
This paper will outline some of these challenges, focusing on those driven by aesthetic, erection, and fabrication considerations of the exterior steel used on the...
03 March 2008
The Role of Peer Review in the Foundation Design of the World’s Tallest Buildings
Clyde N. Baker, Jr., Tony A. Kiefer, Steven W. Nicoson & Khaldoun Fahoum, STS Consultants, Ltd.
This paper presents the authors’ views based on experiences on the role of peer review in the cost effective foundation design of very tall buildings....
03 March 2008
Tall Buildings: Sustainable Design Opportunities
Akbar Tamboli, Leonard Joseph, Umakant Vadnere & Xiao Xu, Thornton-Tomasetti Group
This paper describes three major tall buildings focusing on their incorporation of sustainable structural designs.
17 May 2007
Alternative Forms of Tall Building Evacuation
Antony Wood, CTBUH Executive Director
The terrorist attacks on, and consequential collapse of, the World Trade Centre towers on September 11th 2001 has resulted in, arguably, the largest single retrospective...
16 October 2005
Manhattan’s Mixed Construction Skyscrapers with Tuned Liquid and Mass
Akbar Tamboli, Thornton-Tomasetti Group
This paper presents important details, layout, design considerations, commissioning, operation guidelines and benefits of the Tuned Liquid Column Dampers (TLCDs), water-filled custom-shaped tanks, used at...
16 October 2005
Multihazard Design of Tall Buildings
Gregory C. Freeman, Joong C. Lee & Mohammed M. Ettouney, Weidlinger Associates
This paper presents several applications of multihazard considerations for tall buildings. Three realistic examples are given. The first example explores the interaction of building resiliencies...
10 October 2004
Structural Design of the Tallest Concrete Tower in Korea, the # Star City
Hi Sun Choi & Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; Jongho Kim, Chang & Minwoo Structural Consultant; Seongsoo Kim, Seong-Jin Structural Group
Residential high-rise buildings, such as apartments and condominiums, were introduced to provide multiple residential spaces in urban and suburban areas for their economic advantage and...
10 October 2004
Probabilistic Prediction and Field Measurement of Column Shortening for 41-storey Residential Building
Hwa-Cheol Song & Yun-Sung Jang, Korea Maritime University; Young-Kyu Ju, University of Texas at Austin; Dae-Young Kim, Daewoo Insitute of Construction Technology
Long-term axial shortening of the vertical elements of tall buildings results in differential movements between two vertical elements and may lead to the additional moments...
10 October 2004
Application of High Performance Concrete in Petronas Twin Tower, KLCC
Jae-Ho Kim & Seung-Hoon Lee, Samsung Corporation
This paper will focus on the development of high performance concrete for the highest building in the world, which required careful planning and choice of...
10 October 2004
Structural Design of Taipei 101, the World's Tallest Building
Dennis C. K. Poon & Leonard M. Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; Shaw-Song Shieh & Ching-Chang Chang, Evergreen Consulting Engineering
This paper examines the structural design of the Taipei 101 tower, 101 stories and 508 m above grade, was the newest World’s Tallest Building at...
10 October 2004
The Dongbu Securities Headquarters Building
Joong C. Lee & Gregory Freeman, Weidlinger Associates
The Dongbu Securities Headquarters Building in Daichi-Dong, Seoul is a dynamic interplay of interlocked, canted forms that fold into each other in a response to...
10 October 2004
Living Tall Buildings
Gary C. Hart, Chukwuma G. Ekwueme, Stephanie A. King & Anurag Jain, Weidlinger Associates
This paper introduces a new approach to the structural design of buildings. The approach involves in-depth and sophisticated structural engineering analyses that provide reliable estimates...
20 October 2003
Review of Evacuation Procedures for Petronas Twin Towers
Arlida Ariff, KLCC Projeks
This paper describes the emergency response plans (ERP) and evacuation procedures of the Petronas Twin Towers in the case of minor and major events. A...
20 October 2003
Life Safety System Design for the Petronas Twin Towers
Lawrence S. Ng, Cesar Pelli & Associates
One of the early design meetings of the Petronas Twin Towers was held in New York on the date of the first explosion at the...
01 May 2003
Protective Design: Saving Lives Through Structural Engineering
Tod Rittenhouse & Robert Smilowitz, Weidlinger Associates Consulting Engineers
In recent years the engineering community has had to consider new design criteria, the terrorist explosive threat. Whether developing new or renovation projects, protective design...
01 May 2001
Integrating Architecture and Structural Form in Tall Steel Building Design
Aysin Sev, Mimar Sinan University
This paper places the integration of structural and architectural design in an historical perspective and discusses the current approaches to the integration of structural and...
26 February 2001
The Tallest Concrete Building in Shanghai, China – Plaza 66
Richard L. Tomasetti, Dennis Poon & Ling-en Hsaio, Thornton Tomasetti
Plaza 66 is the latest addition to the skyline of Shanghai, China; with a height of 281.5 meters, it’s the tallest concrete building in the...
26 February 2001
Kidney Stones and The Structural Design of Tall Buildings
Gary C. Hart, Weidlinger Associates
Structural Engineers are professionals in this “high tech” age just like doctors. They work for clients that really have no technical training or experience to...
22 December 2023
Remembering Charles H. Thornton, 2012 Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Charles Thornton & Richard Tomasetti
This edition of Talking Tall is an interview from the CTBUH archives. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat would like to remember Charles...
05 July 2023
We All Love to Get High: Optimizing Observation Deck Design
Terri Meyer Boake
Height is aspirational, and having the best view from that height has become a driver in contemporary tall building design. Likewise, observation decks are a...
16 May 2023
The Economics of Record-Breaking Height
Jason Barr & Peter A. Weismantle
This paper reviews the development history of record-breaking skyscrapers to better understand their economics. Given how tall they are, the supposed reason for their construction...
22 August 2022
Structural Design of Iconic Tower, Egypt: Culmination of a Concrete Optimization Process
Tarek Hassan, Yehia El-Ezaby & Charles Malek, rector Dar Al Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners)
This paper presents an overview of a process of optimizing concrete mixture for tall buildings, culminating in the design of the Iconic Tower, the key...
22 August 2022
The World’s Highest Pools: A Deep Dive
S. Isaac Work & Shawn Ursini, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
Tall building design has diversified and adapted to accommodate increased demand for distinctive amenities at a range of heights. Swimming pools are a classic feature...
25 June 2020
Curtain Wall Façades on the New Generation of Supertall Buildings Present and Future Directions
Sae Hwang Oh, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Beginning in the late 19th century, construction of skyscrapers spread throughout Chicago, New York City, and then the world as demand of space in buildings...
20 March 2020
Tall + Urban Innovation 2020: Dominant Trends
CTBUH Research
Providing a global overview of tall building development, design and construction, the CTBUH Awards Program and related Tall + Urban Innovation Conference annually survey projects,...
20 March 2020
Interactive Study on The Tallest 20 in 2020: Then and Now
CTBUH Research
This research paper undertakes a review of the 2012 report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, “Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the...
30 January 2020
Tall Building Predictions for 2020
CTBUH Research
The combined brains of the CTBUH editorial and database staff boldly predict what might happen across the global skyscraper industry in 2020. Check out our...
28 December 2019
Tall Buildings of the Future as Seen From the Present
SawTeen See, Robert Bird Group Pty Ltd
Aerodynamic damping through the use of vertical long slots reduces the dynamic component of the wind loads on the building. Seminal examples include the three-legged...
12 December 2019
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2019
CTBUH Research
The year 2019 was remarkable for the tall building industry, with 26 supertall buildings (300 meters or taller) completed, the most in any year. This...
28 October 2019
Bringing an Icon into the Future: Willis Tower
Stephen Katz, Gensler
Few buildings are as iconic as Willis Tower. Generations of Chicagoans have a collective memory of this building playing a role in their entire lives....
28 October 2019
Aesthetics of Chinese Tall Buildings
Richard Lee, C.Y. Lee & Partners Architects/ Planners
While Western aesthetics dominate the world at this time, the rise of the East has led China to reexamine its Eurocentric view towards aesthetics. China...
28 October 2019
World’s Biggest (Tall) Buildings
Carol Willis, The Skyscraper Museum
In both professional circles and in the public eye, the subject of the World’s Tallest Building (WTB) has held the spotlight for more than a...
28 October 2019
Fifty Years of Fire Safety In Supertall Buildings
Peter Weismantle, AS+GG; James Antell, Telgian Engineering & Consulting
As international design teams participated in the development of high-rise structures around the world, many of the concepts of fire-safe design first introduced in the...
28 October 2019
The Future of Sustainable Cities and How Tall Building Urbanism has Evolved
James Parakh, City of Toronto Planning Division
In the past 50 years, tall buildings and their relationship to streets and open spaces has evolved through various scales and typologies. As place-makers, how...
11 October 2019
Tall Buildings in Numbers: 50 Years of Tall Building Evolution
CTBUH Research
The default image of the skyscraper for the past 50 years in the public imagination has likely been the extruded, rectilinear corporate “box,” derived from...
29 July 2019
Highest Special-Purpose Spaces
Since humans first began constructing tall buildings, history has been cluttered with claims of all manner of “highest” records. In this study, we examine those...
25 April 2019
Tall Buildings in Numbers: World's Tallest Offset-Core Buildings
CTBUH Research
There has long been an interest in separating the service cores of tall buildings from the main programmed areas – to create more column-free, easily-configured...
25 April 2019
Best Tall Buildings 2019: Dominant Trends
CTBUH
This year, CTBUH has vastly expanded its Awards program to consider the Best Tall Building category through several classes of height, rather than geographic regions,...
14 March 2019
Conjoined Tower Structures for Mile-High Tall Buildings
Kyoung Sun Moon, Yale University
Tall buildings are one of the most viable solutions to deal with the global phenomenon of rapid population increase and urbanization. While tall buildings are...
31 January 2019
Interactive Study on Tall Buildings in Numbers: 2018 Year in Review
CTBUH Research
In 2018, 143 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed. This is a slight decrease from 2017’s record-breaking total of 147, and it...
12 December 2018
Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2018
CTBUH Research
The astronomical growth in tall building construction observed over the past decade continued in 2018, though the total number of completed buildings of 200 meters’...
20 October 2018
The Middle East: 30+ Years of Building Tall
CTBUH Research
The Middle East region is hosting its first CTBUH International Conference since 2008. In that year, there were 119 completed buildings of 150 meters or...
01 September 2018
Significant Progress in Construction Equipment of Super High-Rise Building
Kun Zhang & Hui Wang & Kaiqiang Wang & Jian Cui & Bo Chen and Di Li, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd
The construction of rapid developing super high-rise buildings constantly faces great challenges and the innovation of construction equipment is a focus of these challenges. In...
01 September 2018
Design and Applications of Buckling-Restrained Braces
Atsushi Watanabe, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineer
Buckling-Restrained Braces (BRBs) have been widely applied to tall buildings in seismic areas in the world. In this paper the author summarizes representative types of...
01 September 2018
Developments of Structural Systems Toward Mile-High Towers
Kyoung Sun Moon, Yale University School of Architecture
Tall buildings which began from about 40 m tall office towers in the late 19th century have evolved into mixed-use megatall towers over 800 m....
01 September 2018
Review of Buckling-Restrained Brace Design and Application to Tall Buildings
Toru Takeuchi & Akira Wada, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) are widely used as highly ductile seismic devices, with the first building using BRBs completed in 1989 in Tokyo, and thousands more...
30 July 2018
World’s Tallest Buildings with Dampers
CTBUH Research
As tall buildings continue to be built in seismically-active and cyclone-prone areas, the need to augment the structures of these buildings with dynamic modification devices...
28 July 2018
Engineering a Better Future
Aine Brazil, Thornton Tomasetti
Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman, Thornton Tomasetti, is the recipient of the 2018 CTBUH Fazlur R. Khan Medal. Through a 40-plus-year career, she has been responsible...
27 April 2018
Technical Considerations for Akhmat Tower
Alejandro Stochetti, Sara Beardsley & Marc Cerone, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; John Peronto, Thornton Tomasetti
The 435-meter Akhmat Tower in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia, will be shaped to refer to the Nakh tower, a traditional watchtower typology in the region. A...
01 March 2018
Challenges in the Architectural Technical Design of the New Generation of Supertall Buildings
Peter A. Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
The design of a supertall building poses many challenges to the architect and engineer. Using Jeddah Tower as a case study; this paper intends to...
01 March 2018
The Mixed-Use Supertall and the Hybridization of Program
Forth Bagley, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates
Increasingly, mixed-use, multi-program complexes are emerging as the standard development model around the world. As their prominence grows, these projects are becoming increasingly complex. Program...
05 February 2018
2017: Skyscraper History’s Tallest, Highest- Volume, and Most Geographically Diverse Year
This 2017 Tall Building Year in Review / Tall Buildings in Numbers data analysis report shows that more buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater...
05 February 2018
Lotte World Tower: Seoul’s First Supertall
James von Klemperer, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
The Lotte World Tower became the world’s fifth-tallest building upon completion in 2017, and is currently the only supertall building (300 meters or higher) in...
01 December 2017
The Ultra-Modern FKI Tower
John Peronto, Thornton Tomasetti
A modern and highly-sustainable addition to the skyline of Seoul, South Korea has been completed; the Federation of Korean Industries Headquarters (FKI). The signature saw-toothed...
01 December 2017
Designing High Performance MEP Systems for Supertall Buildings: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities
Craig Burton, Interface Engineering, Inc.
The design and construction of supertall buildings has grown dramatically in recent years. This area of practice has traditionally fallen within the purview of a...
01 September 2017
Structural Performance of 800 MPa High-Strength Steel Members
Cheol-Ho Lee, Seoul National University
The use of high-strength steels in construction of highrise and mega building structures can bring about many technological advantages from fabrication to erection. However, key...
01 September 2017
Preliminary Design of Structural Health Monitoring for High-Rise Buildings
Hyun-hee Ryu, Jong-soo Kim, Eun-gyu Choi & Sang-hoon Lee, CS Structural Engineering
The purpose of structural health monitoring is to evaluate structural behavior due to various external loads through installation of appropriate measurement. Accordingly, a guideline for...
08 August 2017
Frontiers in High-Rise Outrigger Design
Hi sun Choi & Leonard M. Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; SawTeen See, Leslie E. Robertson Associates; Rupa Garai, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
In 2012, CTBUH published the first Outrigger Design for High-Rise Buildings Technical Guide. In 2016, the CTBUH Outrigger Working Group felt it would be beneficial...
08 August 2017
Ten Significant Tall Buildings, and the Significant Women Behind Them
Leading Women in Tall Buildings
Recently, there has been a growing and overdue recognition in the architecture discipline that women are under-represented, not just in terms of leadership positions held,...
20 April 2017
River Beech Tower: A Tall Timber Experiment
Jeff Sanner & Todd Snapp, Perkins+Will; Alejandro Fernandez, Thornton Tomasetti; et al.
The Chicago River Beech Tower is a collaborative research effort with the goal of identifying challenges and opportunities associated with designing increasingly tall mass timber...
01 March 2017
Vertical Shortening Considerations in the 1 km Tall Jeddah Tower
John Peronto, Robert Sinn & Matthew Huizinga, Thornton Tomasetti
Jeddah Tower will be the first man-made structure to reach a kilometer in height upon its completion in 2019. From conception, it was clear that...
01 March 2017
Foundation Differential Settlement Included Time-dependent Elevation Control for Supertall Structures
Xin Zhao, Tongji University; Shehong Liu, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Due to the time-dependent properties of materials, structures, and loads, accurate time-dependent effects analysis and precise construction controls are very significant for rational analysis and...
10 January 2017
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2016
Jason Gabel, Annan Shehadi, Shawn Ursini & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
CTBUH has determined that 128 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed around the world in 2016 – setting a new record for...
17 October 2016
Saudi Arabia, Jeddah City and Jeddah Tower
Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious project to construct the world’s tallest building, Jeddah Tower. Surrounding the kilometer-plus building will be...
17 October 2016
Mixed Use Tall Buildings – The Challenges and Benefits of Vertical Urbanization
Samuel So, Colin Dowall & Michael George, JLL
China is the global epicenter of mankind’s mass urbanization and the exploding growth of global cities. China is the unrivaled leader in the development of...
17 October 2016
Mega Size Mixed-Use Projects: Redefining Vertical Urbanism
Dennis Poon & Larry B. Giannechini, Thornton Tomasetti
As the draw to urban centers increases drastically with financial growth and global influence, emerging markets seek to develop salient markers of success and hope....
17 October 2016
The Way for a Super Complex to Make a City More Convenient and Beautiful
Hang Xu, Parkland Real Estate Development; Marianne Kwok, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Today’s super high-rise buildings not only present the height of buildings, but also play more important roles of integrating into the development of cities, coexisting...
17 October 2016
Humanizing the Giants
Swinal Samant, National University of Singapore
The rise in sustainable skyscrapers and large-scale mixed-use buildings has seen the proliferation of atria and sky-courts worldwide due to their ability to simultaneously contribute...
17 October 2016
Designing a Bamboo Shaped Suptertall Tower in Hefei
Guoyong Fu, Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu & Zheng Gui Ma, Thornton Tomasetti
The Evergrande International Financial Center, located in Binhu New Area CBD in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, consists of one iconic108-story, 518m tall tower, one single...
17 October 2016
Structural Challenges with the SOCAR Tower in Baku, a New Megacity in the Caspian Region
Hi Sun Choi & Onur Ihtiyar, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.; Young Kyoon Jeong & Hyungsup Sim, Heerim Architects & Planners
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has been rapidly transforming into a hub of high-rise buildings and cultural centers in the Caspian region. Baku’s population now...
17 October 2016
The Façade Lighting of Ping An Finance Center
Yuanhuan Meng, Panli Deng, Yongqiang Chao & Linbo Wang, Beijing Fortune Lighting System Engineering Co., Ltd.
Our Company, as the general contractor of the façade lighting engineering for this project, created a series of optimization designs in the process of implementation...
17 October 2016
Intelligent Advances in Ping An Tower
Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development
This paper presents client requirements on both functional and aesthetic aspects for four mega-scale gates on the Ping An Financial Centre (PAFC) north tower. The...
17 October 2016
Coupling of Urban-Value & Mega High-Rise: Ping An Finance Center
Fang Xie & Xia Ai, CCDI Group
If the city is seen as a giant business, what is driving its market value? The height of the building is clearly one of the...
17 October 2016
A Perspective on TAIPEI 101’s Decision to Upgrade Recertification to LEED O+M v4
Freda Tsai & Joseph Chou, Taipei Financial Center Corporation
The sheer size and complexity of a building like TAIPEI 101, along with the international nature of the project and newness of LEED v4, can...
17 October 2016
Cities to Megacities: Perspectives
CTBUH 2016 Conference Speakers
The CTBUH 2016 International Conference is being held in the three cities of the Pearl River Delta, the world’s largest “megacity,” projected to have 120...
01 September 2016
Key Technologies for Super Tall Building Construction: Lotte World Tower
Gyu Dong Kim & Joo Ho Lee, Lotte Engineering and Construction
This paper addresses the key technologies for supertall building construction based on the Lotte World Tower project in Korea. First, the mega-mat foundation construction technologies...
01 March 2016
Wilshire Grand: Outrigger Designs and Details for a Highly Seismic Site
Leonard M. Joseph, C. Kerem Gulec, and Justin M. Schwaiger, Thornton Tomasetti
The 335 m tall Wilshire Grand Center tower under construction in Los Angeles illustrates many key outrigger issues. The tower has a long, narrow floor...
19 January 2016
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2015
Jason Gabel, Marty Carver & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
CTBUH has determined that 106 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed around the world in 2015 – setting a new record for...
01 December 2015
Numerical Simulation of Temperature Gradients for the Mass Concrete Foundation Slab of Shanghai Tower
Jian Gong & Xiaoping Wu, Shanghai Construction Group; Weijiu Cui & Yong Yuan, Tongji University
Crack control remains a primary concern for mass concrete structures, where the majority of cracking is caused by temperature changes during the hydration process. One-time...
26 October 2015
Kingdom Tower / Kingdom City: History in the Making
Mounib Hammoud, CEO, Jeddah Economic Company
Jeddah Economic Company has embarked on a mission to construct Kingdom Tower, which will be the tallest building in the world upon completion. The kilometer-plus...
26 October 2015
Case Study: Kingdom Tower, Jeddah
Peter Weismantle & Alejandro Stochetti, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
During the spring of 2009, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) began working on a prototype of a mile-high tower. With an eye to...
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Adrian Smith & Peter Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
AS+GG’s Director of Supertall Technology interviews AS+GG Partner Adrian Smith about the impact that supertall buildings have on a city’s identity, economy, ecological impact, and...
26 October 2015
Adopting a Program Management Approach to Maximize the Benefit of “Vertical Cities”
Keith Brooks, Julio Maggi, Derek Roy & Bryony Day, ARCADIS
Tall building construction can benefit from a programmatic approach. By looking at the overall development as a whole program of works, identifying the deliverables required...
26 October 2015
From Supertall to Megatall: Analysis and Design of the Kingdom Tower Piled Raft
George Leventis, Alan Poeppel & Konstantinos Syngros, Langan International LLC
As part of the booming development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Langan international was hired to assist in all phases of soil investigation and...
26 October 2015
Elevator Designs for the Kingdom Tower
James Fortune, Fortune Shepler Saling Inc. Elevator Consulting
When it is completed in 2018, the mixed-use Kingdom Tower will become the new World’s Tallest Tower. It will contain multiple, stacked mixed-use population zones,...
26 October 2015
Carbon-Fiber Hoisting Technology
Santeri Suoranta & Jeff Montgomery, KONE
The ability to build ever higher has always pushed available technologies to their limits, including elevator technology. Traditional elevators utilizing steel ropes are limited by...
26 October 2015
Shanghai Tower: Building a Green, Vertical City in the Heart of Shanghai
Jianping Gu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
The Shanghai Tower establishes a new paradigm for tall buildings and vertical urbanism. Innovation and new technology play a strong role in the superlative aesthetic,...
26 October 2015
Designing a Non-coplanar Exoskeleton Supertall Tower that Transforms the Skyline of Chengdu
Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu, Paul Fu & Jianhai Liang, Thornton Tomasetti
The city of Chengdu is quickly becoming the center for high-rise development in southwest China. The focal point of this new vertical landscape will be...
26 October 2015
Ping An: Insurance and Tall Buildings
Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development; Stephen Yuan, Ping An Casualty & Property Insurance Company of China, Ltd.
The Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen will become one of the most significant tall buildings in China and the world when completed in 2016....
26 October 2015
Context, Climate, Culture – Investigating Place in Tall Building Design
Robert Goodwin, Perkins + Will
Should a tower in Moscow look like one in Dubai? Once one entered a city and marveled at the unique magic of its architecture –...
26 October 2015
The Vertical Master Plan
Temoor Ahmad & Neven Sidor, Grimshaw Architects; Steve Watts, Alinea Consulting; Adam Miller, Thornton Tomasetti
With over half of the world’s population now living in an urban environment, major world cities (especially) will always grow in population over time. To...
26 October 2015
Challenges and Opportunities for the Structural Design of the 123-Story Jamsil Lotte World Tower
Jong-Ho Kim, Yeonki Jung & Jidong Kim, Chang Minwoo Structural
The Jamsil Lotte World Tower, a high-rise component of the 2nd Lotte World Amusement Complex, is being constructed at Jamsil, Seoul, Korea. This 123-story building...
26 October 2015
New Developments on Stainless Steel Façades with Regard to Reflectance, Corrosion and Aesthetics
Joern Teipel, Outokumpu
Stainless steel is a key material in modern skyscraper architecture, exploiting the material’s sustainability, functionality and aesthetics. After an outline on some general features of...
22 October 2015
New York: The Ultimate Skyscraper Laboratory
CTBUH Research
A timeline of skyscraper completions in New York uncannily resembles the boom and bust cycles of the United States in the 20th and early 21st...
22 October 2015
Manhattan’s Last Frontier Becomes a Mini-City
Marianne Kwok, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Hudson Yards is a mixed-use development built over rail yards on the west side of New York’s Manhattan Island. As the largest real estate project...
22 October 2015
Gaining Momentum at Hudson Yards
Jay Cross, Hudson Yards
Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development ever undertaken in the United States. The site, built over a working rail yard, will eventually...
01 September 2015
The New Structural Design Process of Supertall Buildings in China
Bao Lianjin, Chen Jianxing, Qian Peng, et al., ECADI
By the end of 2014, the number of completed and under-construction supertall buildings above 250 meters in China reached 90 and 129, respectively. China has...
24 August 2015
World’s Highest Observation Decks
CTBUH Research
Perhaps no element of a tall building is more closely related to the pure pleasure of standing high in the sky and taking in the...
01 June 2015
Urban Density and the Porous High-Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City
James von Klemperer, Kohn Pedersen Fox
As the skyscraper matures as a building type, its role in actively connecting to, and reinforcing, major threads of urban fabric becomes increasingly more important....
01 March 2015
Structural Health Monitoring of Shanghai Tower Considering Time-dependent Effects
Qilin Zhang, Bin Yang, Tao Liu & Han Li, Tongji University; and Jia Lv, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co.
This paper presents the structural health monitoring (SHM) of Shanghai Tower. In order to provide useful information for safety evaluation and regular maintenance under construction...
31 December 2014
Interactive Study on Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2014
Daniel Safarik, Antony Wood, Marty Carver & Marshall Gerometta, CTBUH
An All-Time Record 97 Buildings of 200 Meters or Higher Completed in 2014 and 2014 showed further shifts towards Asia, and also surprising developments in...
01 December 2014
A Methodological Shift in Building Design through Development of Collaborative Design Platforms
Jonatan Schumacher and Matthew Naugle, Thornton Tomasetti
This paper introduces two platforms created by the development team at CORE studio, Thornton Tomasetti's global innovation studio. Collaborative platforms change the way that parties...
06 November 2014
The Competition for the Tallest Skyscraper - Implications for Global Ethics and Economics
Christopher Michaelson, University of St. Thomas
An iconic skyscraper has aesthetic significance that may have meaning for other aspects of human experience – serving, for example, as an expression of cultural...
16 September 2014
Curtain-Wall System Design
Zhijun He, Jiemin Ding & Jiupeng Li, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
A unique flexible suspended curtain wall support structure (CWSS) was ultimately developed to suit the exterior curtain wall system of Shanghai Tower. Because of the...
16 September 2014
The Making of a Vertical Intelligent Community Through Information Systems
Qi Hu, Jiankun Information and Technology Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Tower is devoted to creating a vertical intelligent community. From the detailed demands of the stakeholders, the owner’s team clarified the direction of intelligent...
16 September 2014
The Construction Supervision Process
Yadong Li, Haochuan Lang, Jing Sun & Xiangdong Xu, Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
This chapter summarizes innovative management methods in the construction supervision process of Shanghai Tower, outlining the implementation process and application results. It includes key steps...
16 September 2014
Introduction of MEP Technologies
Zhenghong Liu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
This chapter explains that, in addition to Shanghai Tower’s peculiar height and unique architectural style, the project also targets a Green 3-Star and a LEED...
16 September 2014
Application of Performance-Based Fire Safety Design
Youdi Shen, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
It is well known that fire problems in super high-rise buildings are common issues throughout the world. Fire technology covers fire prevention, fire suppression, and...
16 September 2014
The Payoff for Investing in the Human Experience
Benedict Tranel & Xiaomei Lee, Gensler
In this chapter, Shanghai Tower is introduced along side The Tower at PNC Plaza, to posit that economic propositions for double-façade design solutions must go...
16 September 2014
A Review of the Structural Performance Monitoring Project
Song Weining, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Through a comprehensive discussion of the systematic application of structural performance monitoring in construction, operation and maintenance of the Shanghai Tower, the author illustrates that...
16 September 2014
The Parametric Design of Shanghai Tower’s Form and Façade
Jun Xia & Michael Peng, Gensler
The Shanghai Tower was only made possible by using innovative design ideas, integrated technology, and advanced tools. This paper is centered around the project as...
16 September 2014
Design for Vertical Habitation
Jun Xia, Elizabeth Michalska, Wendy Wong & Raymon Chen, Gensler
This chapter describes the main principles behind the architectural design of the building. Its architectural expression and functional organization achieve not only iconic landmark status,...
16 September 2014
Designing a Megatall for Lateral Stability and Settlement
Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu, Guoyong (Paul) Fu & Zhenggui Ma, Thornton Tomasetti
As a megatall building, Suzhou Zhongnan Center will need an efficient lateral system to withstand high wind and seismic loads. A unique “Core-Outrigger-Megaframe” lateral system...
16 September 2014
Practical Application of BIM Technology
Bin Zhao, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Using Shanghai Tower as an example, this chapter introduces the effective applications of BIM technology in project design and construction along with the positive results...
16 September 2014
Unique Structural Design Aspects
Yi Zhu, Dennis Poon, Qing (Steve) Zuo & Paul Fu, Thornton Tomasetti Inc.
This chapter discusses the unique structural solutions for the 632m tall Shanghai Tower. An innovative “Core-Outrigger-Mega Frame” lateral system is adopted to meet China’s conservative...
16 September 2014
Performance Based Design and Optimization
Jiemin Ding, Xin Zhao, Kun Ding & Fang Xu, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Performance-based structural design often includes performance requirements for safety (structural safety, fire safety, earth quake resistance and so on), health, serviceability, energy efficiency and environmental...
16 September 2014
Designing a High-Performance Sustainable Megatall
Sai Yau (Vincent) Cheng, Chun Kuen (Jimmy) Tong & Wai Ho Leung, Arup
This chapter summarizes the characteristics of high-rise development and related considerations on building energy during design. The chapter introduces the Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center...
16 September 2014
Comparative Study of Zhongnan Center Under Earthquake and Wind
Weiguo Chen & Guangjing Sha, Zhongnan Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Xin Zhao, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
A comparative study of seismic action and wind loading was conducted for the structural design of the Suzhou Zhongnan Center. The analysis parameters, design methodology...
16 September 2014
A Balancing Act for the Curtain-Wall Design
Joe Theodore Khoury, ALT Limited
This chapter provides a general overview of designing the curtain wall system of a high-rise structure. The past years have borne witness to the transformation...
16 September 2014
Cost Planning and Control
Kenneth Kwan, Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd.
This chapter looks at the major cost drivers of tall buildings such as the overall design planning, foundation and substructure, structure, façade, architectural works, interior...
16 September 2014
Core Structural Design and Optimization
Guangjing Sha, Zhongnan Construction Group Co.; Xin Zhao & Fang Xu, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., Ltd.; Tao Shi, Department of Civil Engineering, Tongji University
Due to its excellent lateral stiffness and space flexibility, the megaframe-core wall structure is widely applied in supertall buildings. The efficiency of the central service...
16 September 2014
Power, Elevator and Customer-Oriented Sustainability Strategies
Tony Lau, J. Roger Preston Limited
Being a world-class skyscraper with international corporate tenants, reliable power supply, expedient elevatoring service and customer-oriented sustainability pose formidable challenges on a building like PAFC....
16 September 2014
Belt Truss Stiffness Analysis and Optimization
Li Cao & Guangjing Sha, Zhongnan Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Xin Zhao & Kun Ding, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Megastructures have come into widespread use in supertall buildings in recent decades, due to their high efficiency in satisfying diversified building performance requirements. Belt trusses...
16 September 2014
The Structural Health Monitoring System
Qiusheng Li & Yinghou He, City University of Hong Kong; Wang Hui & Kailin Ju, Hunan University
A sophisticated and comprehensive structural health monitoring (SHM) system was designed to monitor the Ping An Finance Center (PAFC)’s continuous static and dynamic response to...
16 September 2014
Multi-Constrained Outrigger Optimization
Moukui Xu & Muyuan Yang, Zhongnan Construction Group Co., Ltd.; XinZhao, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.; Xiang Jiang, Department of Civil Engineering, Tongji University
The outrigger system has been widely employed as an innovative and efficient structural lateral-load resisting system in supertall buildings in recent decades. The optimization of...
16 September 2014
Designing China’s Tallest: DNA of the Ping An Finance Center
David Malott, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
The Ping An Finance Center is the next generation of the prototypical Asian skyscraper: megatall, hyper-dense, and highly connected. Encoded in the design of PAFC...
16 September 2014
High-Performance Floor System Design
Xin Zhao, Kun Ding, Fang Xu & Rong He, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
The floor system is important part of a supertall building structure. It not only supports the vertical load, but also connects the lateral-load resisting system...
16 September 2014
Economical & Efficient Structural Solutions
Dennis Poon, Yi Zhu, Steve Pacitto & Steve Zuo, Thornton Tomasetti Inc.
With the completion of the Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) in 2016, one of the tallest towers in China and the world will be unveiled....
16 September 2014
Structural Design Challenges
Yi Zhu, Dennis Poon, Paul Fu & Zhenggui Ma, Thornton Tomasetti
Built on soft soils, Suzhou Zhongnan Center relies on concrete bored piles with post-grouting to support the massive tower. An efficient lateral system, namely the...
16 September 2014
Stainless-Steel Cladding
Dr. Jörn Teipel & Gert Weiss, Outokumpu EMEA GmbH
Especially during the last 20 years, stainless steel has become an approved and much-valued cladding material for sophisticated architecture. This chapter introduces the embossed stainless...
16 September 2014
Advantages of Early Design Consultant and Contractor Coordination
The Ping An Finance Center required a tremendous effort to coordinate design/engineering and construction trades. This began very early in the design process and will...
16 September 2014
Project Management Outline and Challenges
Wing Kan (Ken) Wong, Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang & Qi Ming (Andy) Liang, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
Design requirements between skyscrapers of 600 meters and 300 meters high are different, including construction costs, construction speed, construction technology, quality control and assurance, and...
16 September 2014
Design and Environmental Protection Measures During Excavation
Qiping Weng, R.B. Liu, Weidong Wang & Z.H. Wu, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
The total foundation pit area of the Suzhou Zhongnan Center is 26,260 square meters and is divided into two areas: one area consists of five...
16 September 2014
The Application and Management of BIM
Fang Xie & Jiang Qian, CCDI Group
BIM is increasingly being used in the architecture and engineering industries. Its three-dimensional representation, digital information management, as well as the platform model-sharing mode, brings...
16 September 2014
Key Aspects of Construction Management
Tak Hung Yung, Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
In general, construction management embraces topics such as programs, progress, quality control, and construction methods, all of which somehow correlate to each other. During the...
16 September 2014
Analysis of Pile Foundations and Load Tests
Jiangbin Wu, Weidong Wang, Yuting Huang, Xiangjun Wang & Shubo Nie, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
This chapter describes the pile design and the static loading tests of the megatall Suzhou Zhongnan Center tower and its deep basement. Large-diameter and super-long...
16 September 2014
Engineering Contractor Management
Jian Zhong & Zhengkai Huang, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Second Installation Company
Megatall high-rise projects face difficulties that require innovative solutions in terms of material coordination, allocation of labor resources, large massing, complex multi-system engineering, noise control,...
16 September 2014
Key Construction Technologies
Yuqi Zhou, Ruohui Sun, Gang Xue & Qiang Zuo, China Construction First Division Group Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
This chapter introduces the key technologies for the structural construction of the Ping An Finance Center from six perspectives regarding the deep foundation pit, large...
16 September 2014
Elevator Systems and Elevator Evacuation Design
Xiaomei Lee, Frederick Liu & Liming Zhou, Gensler; Steve Edgett, Edgett Williams Consulting Group, Inc.
Because supertall and megatall buildings are a very recent phenomenon, there are no specific building codes written for them. For any building over 50 stories,...
16 September 2014
MEP Design Challenges
Kam Chuen (Vincent) Tse, Lung Wai (Herbert) Lam, Ho-Yin (Vincent) Leung & Yong Mao, Parsons Brinckerhoff
The Suzhou Zhongnan Center is a megatall building of a mixed-used nature, including international Grade-A offices, a seven-star hotel, an observation deck, deluxe apartments, small-office...
16 September 2014
Sustainability Strategy
Li Jun Cao, Environmental Market Solutions, Inc.; Hai Tao Li, Zhongnan Group
This chapter explores methodologies and approaches for achieving sustainable design for megatall buildings, through the review of various sustainable design elements that will be implemented...
16 September 2014
Closing the Gap between Fantasy and Reality: Pushing Current Technologies Into the Future
Terri Meyer Boake, University of Waterloo
The tall building is a discrete architectural type. The causal aspects of its evolution can assist in determining which aspects will be of the most...
16 September 2014
High-Rise Harmony – Legal Issues Unique to Tall Buildings
Victor Madeira Filho, MVA Advogados; Arthur D. Wellington, Thornton Tomasetti
This article aims to discuss the construction of tall buildings in both emerging and established urban centers, highlighting aspects related to large urban centers and...
16 September 2014
Shanghai Tower: Building a Green, Vertical City in the Heart of Shanghai
Jianping Gu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.
The Shanghai Tower establishes a new paradigm for tall buildings and vertical urbanism. This paper provides an overview of the strong role that innovation and...
16 September 2014
Urban Density and the Porous High-Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City
James von Klemperer, Kohn Pedersen Fox
As the skyscraper matures as a building type, its role in actively connecting to, and reinforcing, major threads of urban fabric becomes increasingly more important....
16 September 2014
The Evolution of Building Evacuation Design in China
Fang Li, James Antell & Martin Reiss, RJA Group
As a result of the events of September 11th and other natural and man-made disasters, building owners, designers and fire officials have become increasingly aware...
16 September 2014
Two-In-One Tower: An Expansion in Typology and Technology in Hanoi
Matthias Olt, Callison; Hi Sun Choi, Thornton Tomasetti
Standing 267m tall, Lotte Center Hanoi is Vietnam’s second tallest tower and set to open this summer. Innovative high-rise design solutions were incorporated that respond...
16 September 2014
Suzhou Zhongnan Center: Rising Above Engineering Challenges
Dong Shen, Zhongnan Group
Suzhou is only 30 minutes by train from Shanghai, but has a rich history and identity all its own, soon to be augmented by the...
16 September 2014
Ping An Finance Center: The Development and Construction of a Megatall
Wai Ming (Thomas) Tsang, Shenzhen Ping An Financial Center Construction & Development
The extraordinary megatall tower adopts extraordinary shape-optimization techniques and requires unprecedented levels of coordination to achieve its unique form.
16 September 2014
Design Challenges of the 3 Tallest Buildings in North/ East/ South China
Kam Chuen (Vincent) Tse, Lung Wai (Herbert) Lam, Sheung Lai (Eddie) Leung & Leung Wing (Daniel) Ho, Parsons Brinckerhoff
This paper describes the MEP and VTS design challenges of the tallest buildings in three major cities in China; namely, Beijing, Suzhou and Guangzhou. The...
16 September 2014
Taipei 101: Tall Building Operation Towards Sustainability
Cathy Yang, Taipei Financial Center Corporation
To take TAIPEI 101 TOWER as an example that will showcase the various aspects of managing a tall building, satisfying tenant requirements, stakeholders expectations, and...
16 September 2014
Property Management: Moving Towards Sustainable Vertical Urbanism
Xiaobo Chen, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd
As the highest tower in Shanghai, and at the forefront of a new generation of supertall towers nationwide, Shanghai Tower will anchor the city’s Lujiazui...
16 September 2014
Construction Technology and Management Innovation
Zhenfeng Gao & Duanxue Shi, Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd.
This project adopts a double glass curtain wall system. A vertical atrium is formed between internal and external curtain walls which cause the external curtain...
16 September 2014
Making the World’s Greenest Tall Building
Jihong Han & Hongwu Fan, Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences
Shanghai Tower is poised to become the world’s tallest green building after receiving the Chinese 3-star green building design label and the U.S. LEED-CS Gold...
14 September 2014
Towards Sustainable Vertical Urbanism
Daniel Safarik, CTBUH
The survival of humanity on this planet relies on a radical repositioning of our cities. In the face of unprecedented global population growth, urbanization, pollution...
01 September 2014
Innovative High Efficient Construction Technologies in Super High Rise Steel Structure Buildings
Lixian Dai & Biao Liao, China Construction Steel Structure Corporation
The super high rise building construction is characterized by a large quantity of engineering works and structural components, high demanding of construction technology and complex...
01 March 2014
Overview of Seismic Loads and Application of Local Code Provisions for Tall Buildings in Baku, Azerbaijan
Hi Sun Choi, Onur Ihtiyar & Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; James Sze, Arup
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has seen a boom in construction in recent years. The old Baku city has been rapidly transforming into a new...
28 January 2014
Debating Tall: Antennas vs. Spires
Larry Silverstein, Siliverstein Properties Inc.; Dario Trabucco, IUAV University of Venice
The CTBUH’s Height Committee ratified the architectural height of One World Trade Center last November, touching off massive media coverage and opening up complicated mixed...
01 August 2013
Imagining the Tall Building of the Future
Josef Hargrave & Ralph Wilson, Arup
Predicting the future is an impossible task. One will never get it absolutely right. However, that does not make it a pointless exercise. Instead, such...
01 June 2013
The Past, Present and Future of the European Skyscraper
CTBUH Research
There are currently 109 skyscrapers over 150 meters in Europe. This number is set to jump to 161 by the end of 2015, meaning that...
01 April 2013
Case Study: Kingdom Tower, Jeddah
Peter Weismantle & Alejandro Stochetti, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will be the tall building to go where no building has gone before – beyond 1,000 meters. For the...
01 March 2013
Debating Tall: The Pros and Cons of Reaching for the Sky
This issue’s cover story on Kingdom Tower details the latest quest for the industry to reach new heights. However taller doesn’t always lead to better....
01 March 2013
Shaking Table Model Test of Shanghai Tower
Xilin Lu, Yuanjun Mao, Wensheng Lu & Liping Kang, Tongji University
Shaking table test is an important and useful method to help structural engineers get better knowledge about the seismic performance of the buildings with complex...
23 September 2012
The Tallest 15 Cities in China
CTBUH Research
With over 1.3 billion citizens and a rapidly urbanizing population, China is developing tall buildings more than any other country globally. Currently it has 239...
21 September 2012
Development of Innovative Structures for Supertall and Unique Towers
John Viise, Yantong Zhao & Robert Halvorson, Halvorson and Partners
As tall buildings grow to greater heights and strive to incorporate more unique forms, clarity in the development of the structural system at conceptual design...
21 September 2012
Kingdom Tower: A New Icon for Saudi Arabia
Talal Al Maiman, Kingdom Real Estate
Kingdom Tower - expected to be the world’s tallest building, at over 1,000 meters, when completed in 2017 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is outlined in...
21 September 2012
Shanghai Tower: Re-Thinking the Vertical City
Jian Ping Gu, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development
The construction of the Shanghai Tower breaks through conventional design methods and explores the possibilities of future supertall architectural approaches. These approaches bring the project...
19 September 2012
The Signature Tower: Reaching High in the Sky of Indonesia
Sugeng Wijanto, Gistama Intisemesta; Tiyok Prasetyoadi, PDW Architects; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; Wayan Sengara, Institut Teknologi Bandung-Indonesia
This presentation discusses the reasons behind the selection of the structural systems, as well as the use of advanced structural analyses and design methods, including...
19 September 2012
20 Years of High-Rise Fire Safety: From Jin Mao to Kingdom Tower
James H. Antell, RJA; Peter A. Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
This paper will discuss the evolution of fire safety concepts in the recent generation of high rise buildings starting with “early” 1990’s designs in China...
19 September 2012
Supertall Building Pile-Raft Foundation Designs on Soft Soil
Chao Si & Wenhui Jiang, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd; Yong Cui & Jianlong He, Tongji University
The design improvements and optimizations of super high-rise building pile-raft foundations on soft soil have been made as below: considerations of the impact in the...
19 September 2012
BIM Applications in the Shanghai Tower Construction
Qing Ge, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development
The construction of supertall mixed-use projects is a complex and integrated activity which has been a big challenge to construction management due to its wide...
19 September 2012
Mitsubishi Elevator Equipment in Shanghai Tower
Ikuo Nakazawa, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Inazawa Works
Shanghai Tower has a height of more than 600 meters above the ground and consists of five zones of skirt building zone, office zone, hotel...
19 September 2012
Advanced Supertall Building Design in Hot-Summer and Cold- Winter Climates
Jianqiang Li, ISA Architecture
Climate adaptive design is a prerequisite for designing sustainable tall buildings. With rapid globalization and urbanization, different kinds of techniques and technologies developed abroad are...
19 September 2012
Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower: Seamlessly Integrating Structure and Architecture
Guoyong Fu, Dennis Poon & Mark Dannettel, Thornton Tomasetti; Juan Betancur, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Wuhan Greenland Center Main Tower is a 125-story, 600+ meter mega-tower in China. The tower structural system has been developed to harmonize with the architecture...
19 September 2012
Ping An Finance Center: Pioneering China’s Tallest – Efficiencies of Form and Structures
David Malott & Zhizhe Yu, KPF; Dennis Poon & Torsten Gottlebe, Thornton Tomasetti
Upon completion in 2015, the Ping An Finance Center - set to become the second tallest structure in the world and the tallest in China...
19 September 2012
Shanghai Tower’s Versatile Energy Management System
Zhongli Chen & Lei Shi, ISA Architecture
This paper will discuss the idea of controlling and managing the central air conditioning system of skyscrapers during the entire building life cycle. Taking the...
19 September 2012
Wuhan Center – A Sustainable Design Exploration for Skyscrapers
Weiping Xu & Xiaoqiong Ma, ECADI Co.,Ltd.
Embodying the “sail” concept, Wuhan Centre will be mixed-use, with urban retail spaces at the base, a unique mix of office, residential, and hotel with...
19 September 2012
Spatially Suspending and Twisting Curtain walls' Design Essential
Bao Li Gao Meng Gen, Shuguo Zhao, Yongjun Li & Hang Liu, Shenyang Yuanda Aluminium Industry Engineering Co.,Ltd.
The Shanghai Tower exterior curtain wall has a complex twisting form with a multi-level flexible suspended support system. The curtain wall design is unique and...
19 September 2012
Key Technologioes in the Structure of Shanghai Tower
Jian Gong, Shanghai Construction Group Co. Ltd; Hong Zhou, Shanghai No.1 Construction Co. Ltd
As the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower is a high-rise building with complicated structures which are...
19 September 2012
Design of Flexible Hanging Curtain Wall Support Structures
Jiemin Ding, Jiupeng Li, Zhijun He & Yin Hu, Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tongji
The 126-story, 632-meter tall Shanghai Tower is sited in Shanghai’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, with a structural height of 580 meters. It will be...
19 September 2012
Structural Design Challenges of Shanghai Tower
Yi Zhu, Dennis Poon, Steve Zuo & Guoyong Fu, Thornton Tomasetti
This paper discusses the structural challenges and solutions of the 632m tall Shanghai Tower. A unique “Core-Outrigger-Mega Frame” lateral system is used to meet China...
19 September 2012
The Parametric Design of Shanghai Tower's Form and Façade
Jun Xia & Michael Peng, Gensler
The most sustainable super-tall tower in the world was only made possible by using innovative design ideas, integrated technology, and advanced tools. This paper is...
19 September 2012
From Jin Mao to Kingdom: Search for an Asian Supertall Vernacular
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
The paper traces the evolution of Mr. Smith’s career as a designer of supertall buildings, the Jin Mao Tower (1999) to Kingdom Tower, to be...
19 September 2012
High-Rise Construction Risk Control Technology and Management
Yadong Li, Yu Huang, Haochuan Lang & Wenxin Zhai, Shanghai Jianke Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd
According to the characteristics of the Shanghai Tower, this paper will study construction risks in the construction process by means of WBS and RBS methods...
01 September 2012
Outrigger System Design Considerations
Hi Sun Choi and Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti
Outrigger systems have been widely used in supertall buildings constructed since the 1980’s, eclipsing previously favored tubular frame systems. However, outriggers are not listed as...
01 September 2012
Shaking Table Test and Seismic Performance Evaluation of Shanghai Tower
Tian Chunyu, Xiao Congzhen, Zhang Hong, & Cao Jinzhe, China Academy of Building Research
Shanghai Tower is a super high-rise building of 632 m height with ‘mega frame-core- outrigger truss’ structure system. Due to the complexity and irregularity of...
01 March 2012
Anything Goes?
Dennis Poon and Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti
When Cole Porter wrote the song “Anything Goes” in 1934, he did not include skyscraper examples. The recently completed Chrysler and Empire State buildings followed...
27 January 2012
Debating Tall: A Supertall Future in the US?
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Paul Beitler, Beitler Real Estate Services LLC
In 1990, only 11 buildings in the world could be counted as a “supertall” (defined as a building over 300 meters tall), and all but...
18 January 2012
The Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the Era of the Megatall
Nathaniel Hollister & Antony Wood, CTBUH
Within this decade we will likely witness not only the world’s first kilometer-tall building, but also the completion of a significant number of buildings over...
01 November 2011
South Korea: Past, Present and Future
CTBUH Research
As of the year 2000, there were only 9 buildings 150 meters or taller in all of South Korea. Just twelve years later, there are...
10 October 2011
Elasto-Plastic Time-History Analysis of the Shanghai Tower Under Rare Earthquakes
Hao Qin, Xianzhong Zhao, Yiyi Chen & Ben Wang, Tongji University
The Shanghai Tower, designed to be 124 stories of 636m height and currently under construction, will be the tallest building in China. The structure of...
01 August 2011
Revitalizing Lower Manhattan: World Trade Center in Context
Jan Klerks, CTBUH
Almost 10 years after the destruction of the Twin Towers, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site is in full swing. One World Trade...
01 August 2011
Rethinking Evacuation: Rethinking Cities
Antony Wood, CTBUH
The terrorist attacks and consequential collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001 resulted in, arguably, the largest single retrospective analysis of...
13 April 2011
Tall and Urban: An Analysis of Global Population and Tall Buildings
CTBUH Research
Tall buildings are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate. This study demonstrates the relationship between population and tall buildings across those countries and...
06 November 2010
Greening Supertalls
Harace Lin, Taipei Financial Center Corp.
The world’s tallest buildings have always been more about expression rather than necessity or a solution to any problem. Being the visible landmarks that they...
01 August 2010
International Applications of Elevators for Fire Service Access and Occupant Egress in Fires
Richard W. Bukowski, RJA
Despite the absence of technical standards, tall buildings worldwide are incorporating elevators for occupant evacuation to achieve significant reductions in total evacuation times. Requirements include...
01 August 2010
The High-rise as a Retirement Community
Bridget Lesniak & Robert Neper, Perkins + Will; Donald Hamlin, Thornton Tomasetti
As cities are becoming denser, the functions of high-rises are expanding. In addition, the central business district is no longer the exclusive region of the...
17 April 2010
Case Study: Shanghai Tower
Jun Xia, Gensler; Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; Douglas C. Mass, Cosentini Associates
As the third tower in the trio of supertall buildings at the heart of Shanghai’s new Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, Shanghai Tower embodies a...
01 February 2010
Structural Design of Reinforced Concrete Tall Buildings
Ali Sherif S. Rizk, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants
During the last 12 years the Structural Engineering Department at Dar Al-Handasah has designed 45 mixed-use tall buildings in different Arab countries. The designed towers...
12 June 2008
The Tallest Buildings in the World: Past, Present & Future
CTBUH Research
Over time, the average height of the 100 tallest buildings in the world has been steadily increasing. However, by 2010, this average height will have...
03 March 2008
A Statement in Steel: The New York Times Building
Thomas Z. Scarangello, Kyle E. Krall & Jeffrey A. Callow, Thornton Tomasetti
This paper will outline some of these challenges, focusing on those driven by aesthetic, erection, and fabrication considerations of the exterior steel used on the...
03 March 2008
The Role of Peer Review in the Foundation Design of the World’s Tallest Buildings
Clyde N. Baker, Jr., Tony A. Kiefer, Steven W. Nicoson & Khaldoun Fahoum, STS Consultants, Ltd.
This paper presents the authors’ views based on experiences on the role of peer review in the cost effective foundation design of very tall buildings....
03 March 2008
Tall Buildings: Sustainable Design Opportunities
Akbar Tamboli, Leonard Joseph, Umakant Vadnere & Xiao Xu, Thornton-Tomasetti Group
This paper describes three major tall buildings focusing on their incorporation of sustainable structural designs.
17 May 2007
Alternative Forms of Tall Building Evacuation
Antony Wood, CTBUH Executive Director
The terrorist attacks on, and consequential collapse of, the World Trade Centre towers on September 11th 2001 has resulted in, arguably, the largest single retrospective...
16 October 2005
Manhattan’s Mixed Construction Skyscrapers with Tuned Liquid and Mass
Akbar Tamboli, Thornton-Tomasetti Group
This paper presents important details, layout, design considerations, commissioning, operation guidelines and benefits of the Tuned Liquid Column Dampers (TLCDs), water-filled custom-shaped tanks, used at...
16 October 2005
Multihazard Design of Tall Buildings
Gregory C. Freeman, Joong C. Lee & Mohammed M. Ettouney, Weidlinger Associates
This paper presents several applications of multihazard considerations for tall buildings. Three realistic examples are given. The first example explores the interaction of building resiliencies...
10 October 2004
Structural Design of the Tallest Concrete Tower in Korea, the # Star City
Hi Sun Choi & Dennis Poon, Thornton Tomasetti; Jongho Kim, Chang & Minwoo Structural Consultant; Seongsoo Kim, Seong-Jin Structural Group
Residential high-rise buildings, such as apartments and condominiums, were introduced to provide multiple residential spaces in urban and suburban areas for their economic advantage and...
10 October 2004
Probabilistic Prediction and Field Measurement of Column Shortening for 41-storey Residential Building
Hwa-Cheol Song & Yun-Sung Jang, Korea Maritime University; Young-Kyu Ju, University of Texas at Austin; Dae-Young Kim, Daewoo Insitute of Construction Technology
Long-term axial shortening of the vertical elements of tall buildings results in differential movements between two vertical elements and may lead to the additional moments...
10 October 2004
Application of High Performance Concrete in Petronas Twin Tower, KLCC
Jae-Ho Kim & Seung-Hoon Lee, Samsung Corporation
This paper will focus on the development of high performance concrete for the highest building in the world, which required careful planning and choice of...
10 October 2004
Structural Design of Taipei 101, the World's Tallest Building
Dennis C. K. Poon & Leonard M. Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; Shaw-Song Shieh & Ching-Chang Chang, Evergreen Consulting Engineering
This paper examines the structural design of the Taipei 101 tower, 101 stories and 508 m above grade, was the newest World’s Tallest Building at...
10 October 2004
The Dongbu Securities Headquarters Building
Joong C. Lee & Gregory Freeman, Weidlinger Associates
The Dongbu Securities Headquarters Building in Daichi-Dong, Seoul is a dynamic interplay of interlocked, canted forms that fold into each other in a response to...
10 October 2004
Living Tall Buildings
Gary C. Hart, Chukwuma G. Ekwueme, Stephanie A. King & Anurag Jain, Weidlinger Associates
This paper introduces a new approach to the structural design of buildings. The approach involves in-depth and sophisticated structural engineering analyses that provide reliable estimates...
20 October 2003
Review of Evacuation Procedures for Petronas Twin Towers
Arlida Ariff, KLCC Projeks
This paper describes the emergency response plans (ERP) and evacuation procedures of the Petronas Twin Towers in the case of minor and major events. A...
20 October 2003
Life Safety System Design for the Petronas Twin Towers
Lawrence S. Ng, Cesar Pelli & Associates
One of the early design meetings of the Petronas Twin Towers was held in New York on the date of the first explosion at the...
01 May 2003
Protective Design: Saving Lives Through Structural Engineering
Tod Rittenhouse & Robert Smilowitz, Weidlinger Associates Consulting Engineers
In recent years the engineering community has had to consider new design criteria, the terrorist explosive threat. Whether developing new or renovation projects, protective design...
01 May 2001
Integrating Architecture and Structural Form in Tall Steel Building Design
Aysin Sev, Mimar Sinan University
This paper places the integration of structural and architectural design in an historical perspective and discusses the current approaches to the integration of structural and...
26 February 2001
The Tallest Concrete Building in Shanghai, China – Plaza 66
Richard L. Tomasetti, Dennis Poon & Ling-en Hsaio, Thornton Tomasetti
Plaza 66 is the latest addition to the skyline of Shanghai, China; with a height of 281.5 meters, it’s the tallest concrete building in the...
26 February 2001
Kidney Stones and The Structural Design of Tall Buildings
Gary C. Hart, Weidlinger Associates
Structural Engineers are professionals in this “high tech” age just like doctors. They work for clients that really have no technical training or experience to...
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Global News
26 September 2023
New Antenna Installed Atop Willis Tower
ABC7 Chicago successfully installed a brand new antenna on the Willis Tower on a Sunday morning. The process was captured by Chopper 7. A helicopter...
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15 September 2023
Firms Race to Finish the World’s Tallest Tower in Jeddah
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22 June 2022
Laboratory Company Opening Office in Chicago's Tallest Building
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23 April 2021
Skydeck at Chicago's Tallest Building Reopens Featuring a New Interactive Museum
EQ Office announced the exciting reopening of Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower to the public on 23 April, 2021 after completing an extensive redevelopment. The...
12 January 2021
New Art Installation Revealed at Chicago's Tallest Tower
EQ Office revealed Atmospheric wave wall, a new cultural landmark and the first public art installation in Chicago by globally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson. Prominently...
13 October 2020
Iconic Chicago Tower Bets on the Future of Co-Working
Reports of the demise of co-working during the pandemic are greatly exaggerated, if you ask the owner of Willis Tower. In a bet on the...
25 September 2020
New Partnership Brings Renewable Energy to Chicago Landmark Tower
Dynegy today announced that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with Chicago's iconic Willis Tower to provide 100% renewable electricity to the Tower. "Sustainability...
02 September 2020
Skydeck Reopens in New York City With New Health Measures
Edge, among the highest outdoor sky decks in the Western Hemisphere, announced that it reopened to the public on 2 September 2020 at Noon. The...
30 July 2020
CTBUH In The Media: The Future of Skyscrapers: A Mile High, Slimmer Than Ever and Made from Wood
History does not want for dizzying fantasies of tall buildings. From the Tower of Babel onwards, humanity has dreamed of ever-more wondrous skyscrapers, whether we...
09 March 2020
New York City’s Highest Outdoor Skydeck Set to Open
The opening of Edge, the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, offering 360-degree views of New York City’s iconic skyline will be celebrated...
09 August 2019
Taipei 101 Damper Experienced Record Movement Due to Earthquake
The tuned mass damper in the Taipei 101 skyscraper moved 15 centimeters due to an earthquake early Thursday, 8 August, according to the building management....
18 July 2019
Transformation of Chicago’s Willis Tower Begins with New Art-Filled Lobby
EQ Office, the US office portfolio company owned by Blackstone, has reopened Willis Tower’s Wacker Drive lobby, featuring a new, one-of-a-kind art installation created by...
15 April 2019
New Architects Brought in for Manchester’s St. Michael’s Tower
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has been brought in to deliver Hodder + Partners’ controversial Saint Michael’s tower in Manchester, with the local practice kept...
15 March 2019
New York City’s Hudson Yards’ Shops, Restaurants, Officially Open to The Public
At noon on March 15, 2019, New York’s newest neighborhood ceremonially opened for business. Hudson Yards‘ first public-facing attractions, the Shops & Restaurants and Thomas...
28 February 2019
Regulatory Hurdles Cleared for Seoul’s Next Tallest Building
The administrative procedures have been completed to erect what could be the new tallest building in Korea, after Hyundai Motor Group applied for the construction...
26 September 2023
New Antenna Installed Atop Willis Tower
ABC7 Chicago successfully installed a brand new antenna on the Willis Tower on a Sunday morning. The process was captured by Chopper 7. A helicopter...
15 September 2023
Firms Race to Finish the World’s Tallest Tower in Jeddah
The company responsible for constructing the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia has restarted work on the project and has compiled a list of contractors who...
22 June 2022
Laboratory Company Opening Office in Chicago's Tallest Building
Abbott Laboratories is opening a big new office at Willis Tower that could bring as many as 450 jobs downtown, a move meant to provide...
23 April 2021
Skydeck at Chicago's Tallest Building Reopens Featuring a New Interactive Museum
EQ Office announced the exciting reopening of Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower to the public on 23 April, 2021 after completing an extensive redevelopment. The...
12 January 2021
New Art Installation Revealed at Chicago's Tallest Tower
EQ Office revealed Atmospheric wave wall, a new cultural landmark and the first public art installation in Chicago by globally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson. Prominently...
13 October 2020
Iconic Chicago Tower Bets on the Future of Co-Working
Reports of the demise of co-working during the pandemic are greatly exaggerated, if you ask the owner of Willis Tower. In a bet on the...
25 September 2020
New Partnership Brings Renewable Energy to Chicago Landmark Tower
Dynegy today announced that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with Chicago's iconic Willis Tower to provide 100% renewable electricity to the Tower. "Sustainability...
02 September 2020
Skydeck Reopens in New York City With New Health Measures
Edge, among the highest outdoor sky decks in the Western Hemisphere, announced that it reopened to the public on 2 September 2020 at Noon. The...
30 July 2020
CTBUH In The Media: The Future of Skyscrapers: A Mile High, Slimmer Than Ever and Made from Wood
History does not want for dizzying fantasies of tall buildings. From the Tower of Babel onwards, humanity has dreamed of ever-more wondrous skyscrapers, whether we...
09 March 2020
New York City’s Highest Outdoor Skydeck Set to Open
The opening of Edge, the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, offering 360-degree views of New York City’s iconic skyline will be celebrated...
09 August 2019
Taipei 101 Damper Experienced Record Movement Due to Earthquake
The tuned mass damper in the Taipei 101 skyscraper moved 15 centimeters due to an earthquake early Thursday, 8 August, according to the building management....
18 July 2019
Transformation of Chicago’s Willis Tower Begins with New Art-Filled Lobby
EQ Office, the US office portfolio company owned by Blackstone, has reopened Willis Tower’s Wacker Drive lobby, featuring a new, one-of-a-kind art installation created by...
15 April 2019
New Architects Brought in for Manchester’s St. Michael’s Tower
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has been brought in to deliver Hodder + Partners’ controversial Saint Michael’s tower in Manchester, with the local practice kept...
15 March 2019
New York City’s Hudson Yards’ Shops, Restaurants, Officially Open to The Public
At noon on March 15, 2019, New York’s newest neighborhood ceremonially opened for business. Hudson Yards‘ first public-facing attractions, the Shops & Restaurants and Thomas...
28 February 2019
Regulatory Hurdles Cleared for Seoul’s Next Tallest Building
The administrative procedures have been completed to erect what could be the new tallest building in Korea, after Hyundai Motor Group applied for the construction...
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CTBUH Initiatives Involving Thornton Tomasetti
ETEM Façade Conference
16 November 2019
Supported by CTBUH, the ETEM Façade Conference is a global forum for the latest façade technologies designed for creative architecture.
CTBUH Chicago Tours Willis Tower Renovations
28 August 2019
CTBUH Chicago led an illuminating tour of the wholesale renovation of the base of Willis Tower, the largest such construction project to take place since the building’s completion
Tour 110 North Wacker with CTBUH Chicago (Sold Out)
25 July 2019
Join the Chicago Chapter of the CTBUH in exploring the design and construction of 110 North Wacker, an under-construction 57-story office tower.
CTBUH Hong Kong Chapter Inauguration
11 April 2019
In celebration of the establishment of the CTBUH Hong Kong Chapter, the Council is excited to announce the Chapter's inaugural event.
CTBUH New York Holiday Party
05 December 2018
The CTBUH New York Chatper kicked off the holiday season with a fun, spirited party and celebration of a successful year.
CTBUH Trustees Convene in Dubai
21 October 2018
The CTBUH Board of Trustees met for the second time in 2018, just prior to the 2018 Middle East Conference, to undertake high level discussions on the Council's future.
Record Numbers Convene at 2018 Leaders Meeting
20 October 2018
CTBUH Leaders convened on Day 1 of the 2018 Middle East Conference for updates on the year's developments and to plan for 2019.
Seismic Design Working Group Meets at 2018 Conference
20 October 2018
The CTBUH Performance-Based Seismic Design Working Group reconvened at the CTBUH 2018 Middle East Conference in Dubai to outline an approach for updating their 2017 technical guide.
CTBUH New York Chapter Hosts: Data-Smart Cities
20 September 2018
The CTBUH New York Chapter hosted a panel discussion on smart cities, the key systems that harvest data for planners, designers, policy makers and the general public.
Talking Tall: Engineering a Better Future
27 July 2018
In the 2018 CTBUH Journal Issue III, Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman, Thornton Tomasetti, talks about her career highlights in high-rises and the support for more women in engineering.
CTBUH Atlanta Hosts Tall Timber Panel Event
26 July 2018
CTBUH Atlanta recently held an evening of panel presentations that addressed some of the challenges and opportunities associated with designing mass timber structures.
CTBUH Leaders Meet at Annual Awards Event
01 June 2018
The first 2018 Leaders Meeting brought together CTBUH leaders from around the world to provide mid-year updates on the Council's major initiatives.
CTBUH Board of Trustees Travels to Hawaii
22–24 March 2018
The CTBUH Trustees from Chicago, New York, London, Mumbai, and Hong Kong gathered to attend the main annual Trustees meeting.
CTBUH Seismic Working Group Workshop Talks Industry Developments
29 October 2017
During the CTBUH 2017 Conference, the CTBUH Seismic Working Group Workshop welcomed a handful of industry experts to discuss the latest advances in performance-based seismic design.
Master's Thesis Challenge
28 August 2017
CTBUH is launching a new academic initiative, empowering Master's-level architecture students to research new possibilities in rope-less elevator technology.
CTBUH Rope-Less, Non-Vertical Elevators Team Holds Second Meeting
23 June 2017
The second meeting of the research team involved in “A Study on the Design Possibilities Enabled by Rope-Less, Non-Vertical Elevators” was held in Rottweil, Germany.
CTBUH Germany Hosts Symposium on Technical Innovation
22 June 2017
CTBUH Germany held a symposium to discuss the role of technical and technological innovation and its effect on the various disciplines within the construction industry.
CTBUH Joins Chicago Seminar on Mass Timber Buildings
08 June 2017
CTBUH joined a CCHRB seminar on "The Heavy Timber High Rise: Building Tall with Wood in the 21st Century," focused on new applications of wood as a structural material.
CTBUH Italy Co-Hosts the 7th Tall Buildings Conference in Milan
07 June 2017
CTBUH Italy co-hosted the seventh edition of the one-day International Tall Buildings Conference held in Milan, which focused on various challenges of tall buildings.
CTBUH Executive Director Honored as ENR Newsmaker in New York
13–14 April 2017
CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood was recognized by ENR as one of the "Top 25 Newsmakers of 2016," attending an event in New York to receive his honor.
CTBUH Certifies Lotte Tower as Fifth Tallest Building Worldwide
04 April 2017
CTBUH has recognized the completion of Lotte World Tower, now the fifth tallest building worldwide at 555 meters.
Ping An Finance Center Now Fourth Tallest Building in the World
27 March 2017
CTBUH has certified the completion of Ping An Finance Center. At 599 meters it is the tallest building in Shenzhen, second tallest in China, and fourth tallest worldwide.
Torre Paseo Colón 2 Signboard Ceremony
25 March 2017
CTBUH joined Torre Paseo Colón 2 officials in unveiling the commemorative signboard designating Torre Paseo Colón 2 as the tallest building in Costa Rica.
First CAF-CTBUH Lecture Series Draws Crowd, Rave Reviews
16 March 2017
The CTBUH, in conjunction with the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), held the first of the four-part “Building Tall” lecture series at the CAF lecture hall.
CTBUH Board of Trustees Set the Agenda for 2017
16 October 2016
The Board of Trustees held their second meeting of the year in conjunction with the 2016 Conference to discuss the Council’s plans for 2017.
CTBUH 2016 Conference Gold Sponsor
16–21 October 2016
Cities to Megacities: Shaping Dense Vertical Urbanism takes place progressively across three Chinese cities: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
Top Company Rankings: The World’s 100 Tallest Buildings
13 October 2016
The Council is pleased to announce the Top Company Rankings for numerous disciplines as derived from the list of projects appearing in 100 of the World’s Tallest Buildings.
Shanghai Tower Signboard Ceremony
13 May 2016
CTBUH joined Shanghai Tower officials in unveiling the commemorative signboard designating Shanghai Tower as the tallest building in China.
CTBUH Philadelphia: Creating Real Estate Out of Thin Air
03 May 2016
The CTBUH Philadelphia Committee hosted speakers at the Hayworth Showroom in Philadelphia to discover how the development at 30th Street Station can be made a reality.
CTBUH NYC YPC: Spring Social at BIG
07 April 2016
CTBUH New York Young Professional Committee held their annual Spring Social event at Bjarke Ingels Group's New York Office on April 7, 2016.
YPC: 2015 Achievements and Event Success
16 March 2016
CTBUH YPC held their first meeting of 2016 on March 16 at the offices of SOM to discuss the success of the past events and plans for future initiatives.
Educational Outreach Program
12 February 2016
CTBUH YPC kicked off their educational outreach initiative with a mentorship program at Pratt Institute, to teach students how to unlock synergistic potential in their designs.
Performance and Behavior of Tall Buildings for Wind Loads
13 January 2016
CTBUH YPC hosted an event on wind engineering and understanding its effects on tall buildings as well as to provide insight into the engineering efforts in design of shorter buildings.
Insights and Innovations - The First 3D Printed Office Building
16 December 2015
CTBUH Chicago held a presentation that introduced current research and advances in the field of 3D printed building design.
Decoding NYC High Rise Building Codes
15 December 2015
CTBUH YPC organized a presentation and panel discussion for Decoding NYC High Rise Building Codes to discuss some of the major enhancements to the 2014 NYC Codes
Computational Design Technology
19 November 2015
CTBUH YPC hosted a presentation and panel discussion focused on the current computational technology tools used today in architecture and how collaboration is enhanced in the profession
CTBUH 14th Annual Awards Executive Table Sponsor
12 November 2015
The CTBUH 14th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the daytime Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
Los Angeles Regional Tour
29–30 October 2015
CTBUH 2015 delegates toured Los Angeles buildings of many renown architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Richard Meier, and Rudolph Schindler.
CTBUH 2015 New York Conference Gold Sponsor
26–30 October 2015
After a post-recession hiatus in tall building construction in many countries lasting several years, numerous cities are again resurgent.
432 Park Avenue: Design and Engineering
15 October 2015
Presentations of the architectural and engineering design of 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.
VIA 57 West: Challenging Building Form and Urban Development
09 July 2015
At the Bank of America Tower in New York City, more than 200 professionals attended “VIA 57 West: Challenging Building Form and Urban Development in Manhattan.”
The 4th Biannual IACIE Conference for Structural Engineers
11 May 2015
CTBUH led a session at the 4th Conference for Structural and Bridge Engineering organized by IEACI at the Dan Panorama hotel.
YPC New York Presents Pioneering Megatall: Ping An Finance Center
15 April 2015
The inaugural CTBUH New York City Chapter event, held at the offices of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, showcased the rising Ping An Finance Center.
CTBUH Co-Hosts Iuav International Tall Buildings Conference
21 November 2014
The 5th Iuav International Conference on Tall Buildings was held in Venice, organized by Elena Giacomello and Dario Trabucco of CTBUH.
CTBUH 13th Annual Awards Executive Table Sponsor
06 November 2014
The CTBUH 13th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the daytime Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
CTBUH Representatives Accompany Saudi Visit to Qatar, UAE
14 October 2014
Henning Larsen Architects have been commissioned to design a sizable new headquarters building for a key Saudi organization and visited similar projects in Qatar and UAE.
Suzhou Regional Tour Report
20–21 September 2014
The tour started at Suzhou Zhongnan Center and continued to one of the two International Fortune Plaza towers, which had just had its topping-out ceremony the day prior.
Building Management and Operation Workshop, Shanghai 2014
16 September 2014
The workshop “Building Management and Operation” shed light on the critical period of a building’s life after the designs have been submitted and the ribbons have been cut.
CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference Silver Sponsor
16–19 September 2014
The survival of humanity relies on a radical repositioning of our cities to develop them beyond a collection of disparate icons, towards a vision of a Sustainable Vertical Urbanism.
CTBUH Brazil Launches Chapter in Joint Event
08 April 2014
With over 60 guests in attendance, the Brazil chapter held its inaugural event “Toward Sustainable Verticalism” at the Millennium Convention Center.
International Journal of High-Rise Buildings Vol. 3 No. 1
01 March 2014
The International Journal of High-Rise Buildings, Volume 3: Number 1 includes 8 papers focusing on pure research content and investigations in tall building design.
YPC Roundtable Discussion: Hackable Cities and Work in the City
27 February 2014
The Young Professionals Committee hosted a discussion which introduced the concept of "hacking" the built environment to create pragmatic, yet dynamic, augmentations to the city.
CTBUH 12th Annual Awards Executive Table Sponsor
07 November 2013
The CTBUH 12th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
CTBUH Leaders Tour Ping An Tower
18 October 2013
Executive Director Antony Wood and Trustee David Malott were treated to a high-octane tour of the under-construction Ping An Financial Center tower by its developer’s CEO.
Young Professionals Tour Medical Tower Under Construction
12 September 2013
The CTBUH’s Young Professionals Committee was treated to a tour of the under-construction Northwestern Medicine Outpatient Care Pavilion.
CTBUH 2013 London Conference Silver+ Sponsor
11–13 June 2013
In the midst of two decades of unprecedented tall building development globally, Europe has increasingly embraced the skyscraper, even in cities seen as “anti-tall.”
Activity at the CTBUH London Conference: Day One
11 June 2013
See the highlights from the first day of the CTBUH 2013 London Conference including the Opening Plenary and Conference Dinner.
Young Professionals Committee Hosts Shanghai Tower Presentation
22 May 2013
The designers of Shanghai Tower presented to a capacity crowd at the Chicago Architecture Foundation May 22, at an event hosted by the Young Professionals Committee.
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Leading Structural Firms Help the Council on LCA Research
13 February 2013
Twelve of the world’s best-known structural engineering firms helped the CTBUH Research Team to perform a fundamental part of its LCA research project.
Event Focuses on Combining Fire Safety and Sustainability
07–08 November 2012
The CTBUH participated in a symposium to address the complex issues of integrating fire safety design with sustainability.
CTBUH 11th Annual Awards VIP Table Sponsor
18 October 2012
The CTBUH 11th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
Shanghai Congress News Day Congress: Day One
19 September 2012
See the highlights from the first day of the CTBUH 2012 Shanghai Congress including the Opening Plenary and VIP Reception.
CTBUH 2012 Shanghai Conference Silver Sponsor
19–21 September 2012
That the 21st Century will be the age of the Asian Skyscraper seems indisputable. Already, the past two decades have witnessed a major shift in tall buildings from west to east.
International Journal of High-Rise Buildings Vol. 1 No. 3
01 September 2012
The International Journal of High-Rise Buildings, Volume 1: Number 3 includes 10 papers focusing on pure research content and investigations in tall building design.
International Journal of High-Rise Buildings Vol. 1 No. 1
01 March 2012
The International Journal of High-Rise Buildings, Volume 1: Number 1 includes 7 papers focusing on pure research content and investigations in tall building design.
CTBUH 10th Annual Awards VIP Table Sponsor
03 November 2011
The CTBUH 10th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
Three International Finance Center Tour Report
11 October 2011
Three International Finance Center was one of an incredible eight 250 meter-plus projects that are under construction in Seoul and the site for a technical tour.
CTBUH 2011 Seoul Conference Silver Sponsor
10–12 October 2011
This conference aimed to shed new light on the meaning and value of tall buildings in the rapidly growing city of Seoul, from the perspectives of green, safety, and humanity.
2011 CTBUH Leaders Meeting
09 October 2011
Tall building industry leaders from around the globe met at the seminal Dongbu Financial Center tower for the 2011 CTBUH Leaders Meeting.
CTBUH Makes New Leader Appointments
14 September 2011
The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members to the Board of Trustees, Dennis Poon and Steve Watts.
CTBUH 9th Annual Awards Executive Table Sponsor
21 October 2010
The CTBUH 9th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
CTBUH 2009 Chicago Conference Silver Sponsor
22–23 October 2009
Tall Buildings have enjoyed two decades of unprecedented development. That position is now under threat from the twin challenges of global climate change and a severe recession.
CTBUH 8th Annual Awards Executive Table Sponsor
22 October 2009
The CTBUH 8th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
CTBUH 7th Annual Awards Executive Table Sponsor
20 November 2008
The CTBUH 7th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
CTBUH 6th Annual Awards Table Sponsor
25 October 2007
The CTBUH 6th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held immediately after the afternoon Symposium in nearby S.R. Crown Hall.
CTBUH 5th Annual Awards Dinner Sponsor
26 October 2006
The CTBUH 5th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held in S. R. Crown Hall, located on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus.
CTBUH 4th Annual Awards Contributor
18 October 2005
The CTBUH 4th Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held in the Astor Ballroom of the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel.
CTBUH 3rd Annual Awards Dinner Table Sponsor
17 November 2004
The CTBUH 3rd Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held in S. R. Crown Hall, located on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus.
CTBUH 2nd Annual Awards Dinner Gold Sponsor
16 October 2003
The CTBUH 2nd Annual awards ceremony and dinner was held in S. R. Crown Hall, located on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus.
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