De Guzman, Kad

Dela Cruz, Paulyn

Cuevas, Trixie
MODERN STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS FOR
HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS
Architecture of high-rise A turnover for fast
buildings depends on development in
many factors, which greatly construction of high-rises
vary from initial concepts, occurred in the second half
functionality of designed of the 20th century; strong
spaces, its proportions to economy forced and
human perception and supported technological
urban context, and developments, and even
structural support and the new generation of
technological capabilities computers and software
to support desired concept. helped in the development
of more efficient structural
systems.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS OF TALL BUILDINGS

According to Mir M. Ali and Kyoung Sun Moon, Structural

systems of tall buildings can be divided into two broad categories:

EXTERIOR STRUCTURES
1. Tube
2. Diagrid
3. Space Truss Structures
4. Super frames
5. Exo-skeleton Interior

INTERIOR STRUCTURES
1. Rigid Frames
2. Shear Wall Hinged Frames
3. Shear Wall (or Shear Truss)
4. Outrigger Structures
 STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS OF TALL BUILDINGS
INTERIOR STRUCTURES
Structure was classified
as interior structure if the
MAJOR STRUCTURE
was placed at the inner
part of the building,
while
MINOR STRUCTURAL
ELEMENTS
were positioned at the
perimeter of the
Classification of the Structures of High–Rise Buildings
building. according to Mir M. Ali (interior structures)
 STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS OF TALL BUILDINGS
EXTERIOR STRUCTURES

Structure was classified as exterior structure if the MAJOR STRUCTURE

were positioned at the perimeter of the building, while MINOR STRUCTURAL
ELEMENTS was placed at the inner part of the building.
CLASSIFICATION OF STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
FOR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

Based on the modern structural concepts for high-rise buildings,

there are innovative structural systems that enabled design and
construction of high–rise structures as common thing and
inevitable part of new living style.

TUBE OUTRIGGER DIAGRID

 TUBE STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
• This system consists of exterior columns and beams that create
rigid frame, and interior part of the system which is simple frame
designed to support gravity loads.
• The building behaves like equivalent hollow tube.
• It is substantially economic and need half of material required for the
construction of ordinary framed buildings.
• It is used for the construction of buildings up to 60 storeys.
A. Framed Tube
B. Trussed Tube
C. Bundled Tube
D. Framed Tube-
in-tube
E. Trussed Tube-
in-tube
F. Framed tube
and hat/belt
trusses
Tube Structural System

a. FRAMED TUBE

• It was the first example of

tubular approach for
construction of tall buildings.
• The term is closely related
to, shear lag effect, which
means that within this type
of structure corner columns
experience the largest axial
forces, which are not
distributed linearly along the
direction perpendicular or
parallel to the wind.
• It can be designed both out
of, steel or concrete, with
efficiency up to 80-storeys.
• Introduced the Concrete
"Framed Tube" Structural
Concept
• 42-Storey Apartment
Building
• 407 Apartments including
one-, two-, and three-
bedroom units
• Exterior - Clad in travertine
marble and has anodized
aluminum window frames
with tinted glass

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Dewitt Chestnut Apartments, Chicago, Illinois

Tube Structural System

b. TRUSSED TUBE

• Braced tube, also called truss

tube.
• It was first used back in 1970 in
Chicago.
• Instead of closely arranged
columns, required structural
stiffness was achieved by
diagonal bracing.
• Larger spans between columns
that were provided by bracings,
created larger areas for the
openings glass areas increased
the interior quality and at the
same ratio, the glass areas
increases themselves.
• 100-storey skyscraper
• Structural expressionist style,
the skyscraper's distinctive X-
braced exterior shows that
the structure's skin is part of
its "tubular system".
• It helps the designers used to
achieve a record height.
• The tubular system keeps the
building upright during wind
and earthquake loads.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

John Hancock Centre, Chicago, Illinois

• It is designed primarily to resist wind and
earthquake forces. Members in a braced frame are
designed to work in tension and compression,
similar to a truss.

FUNCTION
• To resist lateral forces without sliding, overturning,
buckling, or collapsing using a system of diagonal
members.
• Simple tube but with comparatively fewer and
farther-spaced exterior columns.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Alcoa Building, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Tube Structural System

c. BUNDLED TUBE

• It gives variety of characteristic floor

plans in areas, with greater lower
storeys and those smaller at the
upper storeys.
• Efficiency is up to 110-storeys, with
possibility of steel or concrete as
main structural material.
• Made high–rise buildings structured
with this system a vertical play of the
various volumes, which differentiated
it from the cubic shaped towers.
• Concept and the overall design of
structure reduced the elements of the
lower storeys, slandering lower
structural elements.
• A construction principle and method wherein the building is
designed in such a way like a hollow tube in order to help
resist lateral loads.

FUNCTION
• The tube system concept is based on the idea that a building
can be designed to resist lateral loads by designing it as a
hollow cantilever perpendicular to the ground.
• This exterior framing is designed sufficiently strong to resist
all lateral loads on the building.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Sears Tower, Chicago

Tube Structural System

d. TUBE IN A TUBE

• One of the safest tubular

structures due to resistance to the
impact loads, besides its high
stiffness of structure in resisting
lateral and gravity loads is tube in
tube structure.

• It is usually composed of two

tubes, one larger at perimeter and
smaller inside perimeter of
building, however it may be
designed with more tubes within a
tube if it is required due to higher
safety and if such attempt and
concept shows as efficient.
• The exterior columns & beams are spaced so closely that
the façade has the appearance of a wall with perforated
window opening.
• The entire building acts as a hollow tube cantilevering out of
the ground.
• The interior core increases the stiffness of the building by
sharing the loads with the façade tube. Inner Tube (Core)
Outer Tube

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Millennium Tower, Tokyo, Japan

Tube Structural System

e. FRAMED TUBE WITH BELT TRUSSES

• The use of these system in high-rise buildings increase the stiffness

and makes the structural form efficient under lateral load.
• Exterior framing can consist of simple beam and column framing
without the need for rigid-frame-type connection, thus reducing the
overall cost.
• It is normally used as one of the structural system to effectively control
the excessive drift due to lateral load, so that, during small or medium
lateral load due to either wind or earthquake load, the risk of structural
and non-structural damage can be minimized.
• For high-rise buildings, particularly in seismic active zone or wind load
dominant, this system can be chosen as an appropriate structure.
• The outrigger and belt truss system is one of the
lateral load resisting system in which the external
columns are tied to the central core wall with very
stiff outriggers and belt truss at one or more levels.

FUNCTION
• The outrigger and belt truss system is commonly
used as one of the structural system to effectively
control the excessive drift due to lateral load.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Chifley Tower, Sydney, Australia

OUTRIGGER SYSTEM
• Outrigger structures are
generally a unity of the core,
outriggers, belt trusses and
mega columns.

• Shear cores are mostly

designed at the axial center of
the floor plan; however it is not
impossible for it to be located at
either one side of the building.

• It might be in a form of steel

trusses or concrete walls, and
depending on the design the
outriggers are approximately 1
to 2-storeys deep.
Outrigger System

• Outrigger are rigid

horizontal structures
designed to improve
building overturning
stiffness and strength by
connecting the core or
spine to closely spaced
outer columns
• It functions by tying
together two structural
systems (core system
and a perimeter
system), and render the
building to behave
nearly as composite
cantilever.
• It is practically used for
buildings up to 70
stories..
• Braced steel frames are
connected to the exterior
columns .
• The main characteristic of
HSBC Hong Kong
headquarters is its absence
of internal supporting
structure.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Centre, Hong Kong

• It has a structural system called mega-frame
system which has 8 massive columns in the
perimeter and core wall in the center.

FUNCTION
• Rigid frame structures provide more stability.
• This type of frame structures resists the
shear, moment and torsion more effectively
than any other type of frame structures.

Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China

 DIAGRID SYSTEM
• An exterior structural system
used in high–rise buildings,
which is even though entirely
exposed at the elevation, both
in architectural and structural
fields of science and art, defined
as extremely aesthetic.
• It is the evolution of braced tube
structures.
• There are no vertical columns in
the perimeter of a diagrid
building.
• Its structural efficiency also
helps in avoiding interior and
Conventional Diagrid
Building Building
corner columns which allows
significant flexibility with the
floor plan.
Diagrid Sytem

• Diagonal members of diagrid were also capable of carrying gravity

actions, and its triangulated configuration of diagonals could resist for
lateral actions.
• The structural system did not seek for shear rigidity cores, because
diagrid had high bending and shear rigidity at the perimeter’s diagonal.

DIAGRID
COMPONENTS
• Nodes
• Diagonal Members
• Ring Beams
• Tie Beams
• Core
• Floor Slab
Diagrid Sytem

• Commonly steel structures, • Lately diagrids are designed

with very complicated joints of and constructed out of
the diagonals, however they concrete, as main structural
are efficient in up to 100 material, which is far different
storeys buildings, and from steel diagrid, with more
represent regular geometry in irregular and organic shape,
diagrids. which lead to the new futuristic
architectural aesthetics.
• First modern application of diagrid structure.
• Consists of a central core and a perimeter “diagrid’.
• The aerodynamic form of the tower encourages wind to flow
around its face, minimizing wind loads on the structure and
cladding, and enables the use of a more efficient structure.
• Core is required to act only as a
load-bearing element and is free
from the diagonal bracing,
producing more flexible floor
plates.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

30 St. Mary Axe (Swiss Re Tower) , London

• Late modernist concept of Space, geometry and light
• It has Neutral diagonal grid
• It has no vertical columns around the perimeter, creating
corner views that are not possible in a typically framed
building.
• From its hollowed-out core rises a geodesic-like office
tower featuring triangular steel bracing from the 10th
floor up.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Hearst Headquarters Centre, New York

• Its exterior shading element is highly unusual in that it is
made from reinforced concrete; acts as an external
structural support building; and acts also as a shading
device.

O-14 Building, Dubai

• High–rise buildings are
inevitable part of
contemporary living style,
and at the same time
represent futuristic direction
of structural and architectural
development.
• High–rise structures
themselves deal with the
critical load combinations,
where at this specific case of
high–rise structures, lateral
loads (wind and seismic
actions) are crucial in
structural design.