Over the decades, tall and supertall buildings have been somewhat of a testing ground in which significant modern architectural design advances have proven themselves. Tall buildings require significantly more initial design, planning, and programming and the successful coordination of architects, engineers, construction managers, owners, developers, and financial institutions.
Recently, Taipei 101, Burj Khalifa, Petronas Towers, Willis Towers, Shanghai Tower, and Kingdom Tower, just to name a few, have heralded a large number of technical developments and special design features that made these buildings possible. In order to pull off these projects, architects and engineers deal with structural analysis, lateral stability design, earthquake proofing, progressive collapse and fire prevention, blast and vibration events, non-linear geometric issues, and buckling, to name a few.
New tall and supertall buildings have cutting edge HVAC systems, sustainable elements, and new geotechnical, foundation, and wind engineering elements. While not tall or supertall buildings, such projects as the Millennium Bridge, the Millau Viaduct, and the Forth Bridge illustrate ways in which new software tools and modeling systems have been used to solve specific design challenges.
Three of the most influential tall building designers include Argentinian Cesar Pelli, Helmut Jahn, and I.M. Pei. Today’s architects have certain advantages in that a wide range of advanced technologies for designing and constructing iconic new buildings are available. Today’s tall and supertall building clients demand unique and complex buildings in order to make a significant statement and attract tenants.
The following video shows “These 5 Proposed Towers Will be Among the Tallest Buildings on Earth.”
