Evolution of Tall Building Structures with Perimeter Diagonals for Sustainable Vertical Built Environments

Evolution of Tall Building Structures with Perimeter Diagonals for Sustainable Vertical Built Environments

Tall buildings are built with an abundant amount of materials, including structural materials, coming from our limited natural resources. Tall buildings that began from about 10-story tall office towers have evolved to over 150-story tall mixed-use megastructures. As a building becomes taller, structural material requirement to resist lateral wind loads becomes exponentially larger. Therefore, it is crucial to employ efficient structural systems and optimize their design, which will contribute to sustainable vertical built environments through preservation of resources. Tube type structures with large perimeter diagonals are among the most efficient structural systems for tall buildings. Developments of braced tube, braced megatube, diagrid structures, and their optimal design strategies are reviewed. Superframed conjoined towers, produced by interconnecting multiple clustered braced tubes, are presented as a new design direction to achieve not only structural but also architectural and social sustainable design goals.