DEENBANDHU CHHOTU RAM UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MURTHAL (SONEPAT)

Department of Architecture

Faculty of Architecture, Urban & Town Planning

Assignment No. 2

TALL BUILDING DESIGN-XI

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

Naman Mehta |17001006045 AR. Sumit

Q.1 Discuss the phenomenon of emergence of modern-day skyscrapers and the
factors contributing to it.
Around Mid-19th century many western nations proved to be industrial power house. One of those
nations was the United States of America
Industrial growth started in the US since early 1800s and continued steadily upto and through Civil
War. (1861 – ‘65) Industries were still small and dependent mostly on hand labour. Hence, production
capacity was limited. Businesses lacked capital needed for expansion. After the Civil War the
situation changed dramatically. Machines replaced manual work giving a huge push to production
capacity.

01.1 The Development of Steam Engine

The development of the steam engine transformed this need, allowing businesses to locate their
factories near urban centres. These factories encouraged more and more people to move to urban
areas where jobs were plentiful, but hourly wages were often low and the work was routine and
grindingly monotonous.
As the country grew, certain elements led some towns to morph into large urban centres, while others
did not. The following innovations proved critical in shaping urbanization at the turn of the century:
electric lighting, communication improvements, intracity transportation, elevators and the rise of
skyscrapers.

01.2 Urban population growth

Explosion in urban population growth did not occur until the mid-nineteenth century. At this time, the
attractions of city life, and in particular, employment opportunities, grew exponentially due to rapid
changes in industrialization. Before the mid-1800s, factories, such as the early textile mills, had to be
located near rivers and seaports, both for the transport of goods and the necessary water power.
Production became dependent upon seasonal water flow, with cold, icy winters all but stopping river
transportation entirely.

01.3 Highrise Development

Production became dependent upon seasonal water flow, with cold, icy winters all but stopping river
transportation entirely. Investors and bankers pumped in large amount of capital to business leaders to
expand their business. Industrial growth made major impact on American life. Record number of
people moved to cities and the cities grew in leaps and bounds.
While the work was dangerous and difficult, many Americans were willing to leave behind the
declining prospects of pre-industrial agriculture in the hope of better wages in industrial labour.
Problems ranging from famine to religious persecution led a new wave of immigrants to arrive from
central, eastern, and southern Europe, many of whom settled and found work near the cities where
they first arrived.
Immigrants sought solace and comfort among others who shared the same language and customs, and
the nation’s cities became an invaluable economic and cultural resource. Congestion, pollution, crime,
and disease were prevalent problems in all urban centers; city planners and inhabitants alike sought
new solutions to the problems caused by rapid urban growth. Living conditions for most working-
class urban dwellers were atrocious. They lived in crowded tenement houses and cramped apartments
with terrible ventilation and substandard plumbing and sanitation.
In 1870, around 25% Americans lived in the urban areas. In 1916, it grew to 50%. Some of these
industrialists amassed huge wealth. Number of millionaires grew from 20 in 1850 to 3000 in 1900.
The under-privileged toiled 60 hours per week. As the population grew so did the competition for
jobs. Supply of labour force outstripped the demand, which led to unemployment. Depressions slowed
down the economy to mere standstill in 1873, 1884, 1894 & 1907.

01.4 Emergence of the Skyscraper

Significant economic growth after the Civil War and increasingly intensive use of urban land
encouraged the development of taller buildings beginning in the 1870. Chicago initially led the way
in skyscraper design, with many constructed in the centre of the financial district during the late 1880s
and early 1890s. Chicago initially led the way in skyscraper design, with many constructed in the
centre of the financial district during the late 1880s and early 1890s.
Chicago became the other major site in the development of early skyscrapers. In contrast to New
York, Chicago emerged as a major metropolis only in the mid-19th century, growing from a village of
around fifty inhabitants in 1830, to a city of 30,000 in 1850 and nearly 300,000 by 1870.
Chicago became the railroad hub for the American West and the primary trading city for the emerging
territories, famous for its commercial culture. Chicago, after great fire, was rebuilt on large plots of
land in a new grid network, and followed new city ordinances that prohibited construction in wood.
Traditional buildings supported their internal floors through their walls, but the taller the building, the
thicker the walls had to become, particularly at the base: buildings of any substantial height rapidly
saw their lower floors eaten up by brick or masonry.
Metal frames for taller buildings, exposed them to the potentially devastating effects of wind pressure.
As a consequence, protective wind bracing had to be introduced, enabled by the work of Augustin-
Jean Fresnel who produced equations for calculating the loads and moments on larger buildings
01.4 The Problem of Height
French engineers had made advances in Fire Proofing in the early 19th century, but major
breakthroughs only came with the work of architect Peter Wight in the 1860s. Ground water was a
problem because increased height meant deeper foundation. The deeper the foundations needed to be,
the greater the challenge. Special water-tight boxes called caissons were invented to deal with this
problem in England in 1830, and adopted in the US during the 1850s and 1860s.

Elevators using hoist ropes, however, could only function effectively in low-rise buildings and this
limitation encouraged the introduction of the hydraulic elevator in 1870, even though early models
contained dangerous design flaws. By 1876 these problems had been resolved, providing a solution
for servicing the early skyscrapers. Now, about ventilation: in the 1850s, a system using low-pressure
steam and steam-operated fans came up. These were adopted in the construction of the later
skyscrapers. Many US buildings were lit by gas but this carried safety risks and was difficult to install
in taller buildings. As an alternative, electric lights were installed from 1878 onwards, powered by
basement generators. Improvements in iron piping permitted running hot and cold water and
sanitation facilities to be installed throughout taller buildings for the first time.

Significant economic growth after the Civil War and increasingly intensive use of urban land
encouraged the development of taller buildings beginning in the 1870s. Chicago initially led the way
in skyscraper design, with many constructed in the center of the financial district during the late 1880s
and early 1890s. Sometimes termed the products of the Chicago school of architecture, these
skyscrapers attempted to balance aesthetic concerns with practical commercial design, producing
large, square palazzo-styled buildings hosting shops and restaurants on the ground level and
containing rentable offices on the upper floors.
Tall buildings fit in well where business and organizational structures are geared to large-quantity
operations; where building materials are plentiful; and where there is an adequate force of skilled
labour. The economic viability of building tall is ultimately a matter of location and local conditions.
It can be the lowest-cost solution in a developed country in a location with other high-rises where the
needed infrastructure and urban services are in place. The impact of tall buildings on property values
varies. In some places, because of newly generated traffic and crowding, property values in nearby
neighbourhoods may diminish.
01.5 Pruitt-Igoe Event
The demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis in 1972 has been ingrained in the minds
of a generation of planners and architects. The demolition occurred in response to strong residential
dissatisfaction and high levels of criminal activity. To many people, tall buildings became
synonymous with cheaply built, poorly maintained, blocks of apartments or offices detached from the
ground plane which did not meet the needs of their users.
Most high-rise apartments are located near the centre of the city, which may provide a better commute
to work. High-rise apartment complexes have more rooms available, allowing for more variety and
leasing options. Families where the life style includes intensive use of private open spaces (walled
courtyard), public open areas around a tall building are not a satisfactory substitute and they lack the
sense of home ownership. Families of any economic class with small children and elders are
concerned about losing eye contact with them while at play and strolls. Occupant dissatisfaction
relating to noise levels, lack of accessibility to people with disabilities.

01.6 Density and Land use

Occupant dissatisfaction relating to noise levels, lack of accessibility to people with disabilities.

01.6 Economics
Can support the upward increase of the cost of urban land in cases where the land value is low, high
rises can contribute to higher cost per dwelling unit. Initial costs, maintenance costs and operation
costs are higher proving the high rises out of the economic rage. Also lower construction time for low
rise as compared to longer times for tall buildings result in high interest costs.

01.7 Transportation
If provision is not made in the master plan or existing development does not allow for expansion,
large amount of traffic generated by tall buildings can overtax public transportation systems and
create extensive automobile traffic.

01.8 Services
High domestic water consumption, Wastage of usable floor area in services like lifts etc. Wastage of
usable floor area in services like lifts etc.

01.8 Urban Environment

Tall buildings may become objects of visual pollution in urban environment. They may generate
uncomfortable winds at street level if not appropriately designed and can alter the city’s micro
climate. They may generate uncomfortable winds at street level if not appropriately designed and can
alter the city’s micro climate. They can be responsible for overshadowing of adjacent buildings.

01.9 Resource and Materials

Tall buildings consume a large amount of building materials, particularly steel & cement and
sometimes drain these resources away from the necessary development projects. Also higher
proportion of skilled labor is required which may have to be brought internationally creating higher
local unemployment.
1.10 Aesthetics
If proper care is not taken in façade design tall buildings can ruin the otherwise pleasing skyline or
crate visual barriers for urban residents. They can alter the character of a historic city or devalue a
neighbouring building area.

Q.2 Discuss with proper diagram Rigid Frame, Flat plate, Core system,
Shear wall system, Shear frame system.

02.1 There are many type of rigid frame structural system depending upon various
factors
01 Braced Frame structural system

• Braced frames are cantilevered vertical trusses resisting laterals loads primarily
diagonal members that together with the girders, form the “web” of the vertical truss,
with the columns acting as the “chords’’.
• Bracing members eliminate bending in beams and columns.

Rigid Frame structural system

• In rigid frame structure, beams and columns are constructed monolithically to

withstand moments imposed due to loads.
 • The lateral stiffness of a rigid frame depends on the bending stiffness of the columns,
girders and connections in-plane
• It is suitable for reinforced concrete buildings.
• It may be used in steel construction as well, but the connections will be costly.
• One of the advantages of rigid frames is the likelihood of planning and fitting of
windows due to open rectangular arrangement.
• Members of rigid frame system withstand bending moment, shear force, and axial
loads.
• 20 to 25 storey buildings can be constructed using rigid frame system.
• Advantages of rigid frame include ease of construction, labors can learn construction
skills easily, construct rapidly, and can be designed economically.
• Maximum beam span is 12.2m and larger span beams would suffer lateral deflection.
• A disadvantage is that the self-weight is resisted by the action from rigid frames.
• Finally, Burj Al Khalifa which is the tallest structure in the world is constructed using
rigid frame system.

02.2 Shear Wall system

• It is a continuous vertical wall constructed from reinforced concrete or masonry wall.

• Shear walls withstand both gravity and lateral loads, and it acts as narrow deep
cantilever beam.
• Commonly, constructed as a core of buildings
• It is highly suitable for bracing tall buildings either reinforced concrete or steel
structure. This because shear walls have substantial in plane stiffness and strength.
• Shear wall system is appropriate for hotel and residential buildings where the floor-by
floor repetitive planning allows the walls to be vertically continuous.
• It may serve as excellent acoustic and fire insulators between rooms and apartments.
• shear wall structural system can be economical up to 35 stories building structure.
• Shear walls need not to be symmetrical in plan, but symmetry is preferred in order to
avoid torsional effects.
02.3 Flat plate system

• This system consists of slabs (flat or plate) connected to columns (without the use of
beams).
• flat plate is a two-way reinforced concrete framing system utilizing a slab of uniform
thickness, the simplest of structural shapes.
• The flat slab is a two-way reinforced structural system that includes either drop panels
or column capitals at columns to resist heavier loads and thus permit longer spans.
• Lateral resistance depends on the flexural stiffness of the components and their
connections, with the slab corresponding to the girder of the rigid frame.
• Suitable for building up to 25 stories.
02.4 Core system
Rectangular box-shaped cores around stairs, elevators, and other shafts are one of the most regularly
used forms of shear walls, which also makes an efficient use of vertical enclosures that are required
around the cores.
This system works quite well for commercial buildings, where maximum flexibility in layout is
required, so that the open spaces can be divided by movable partitions. Other than the functional
advantages, the structural benefits of this system is that being spatial, the walls around the core are
capable of resisting all types of loads – vertical forces, shear forces, and bending moments in all
directions, as well as torsion - especially when adequate stiffness and strength are provided between
flanges of open sections (Taranath, 1988).
In other words, shear cores may be considered as members that resist lateral loads in a way similar to
massive beams cantilevering out of the foundation; thus the shear and bending stresses observed in a
core are analogous to those of a box girder.
Unlike conventional beams, the core has to carry 3 a significant amount of axial load (gravity load of
the structure), which induces compressive forces and as a result, the shear capacity of the structure is
increased and the structure may not need to be designed for tensile stresses, especially in case of
heavy concrete cores.

Figure 1 illustrates the response of a central core system to gravity and wind loads. The gravity loads
increase progressively from almost zero at the top to maximum at the base, while the moment
response due to lateral load is similar to that of a cantilever beam subjected to uniformly distributed
load with maximum moment at the fixed end. To be more specific, this response of a core to lateral
loading depends upon its shape, the degree of homogeneity and rigidity, amount of continuity
provided by the spandrels, and the direction of the load (Schueller, 1986).
There is no restriction regarding the shape and location of the core within the building form. To a
large extent, the shape of the core is regulated by the elevator and stair layout. Variations in layout 4
of shear walls could occur from a single rectangular box core to a complicated arrangement of
multiple shear walls.
The core can be located at the middle, at the perimeter, or even at the external part of the building,
leaving the arrangement to be either symmetrical or asymmetrical.
Unless the other vertical structural elements within the building consists of relatively closely spaced
columns and deep spandrel, it is more than likely that the stiffness of the core will overwhelm that of
other vertical elements; therefore it is justifiable to ignore the resistance of other vertical elements and
design the core system for the entire lateral load (Schueller, 1986).

*****