This document provides information about high-rise buildings in 3 paragraphs or less: The document defines high-rise buildings as structures of approximately 8 or more stories. It discusses factors that influence high-rise design such as height, climate, and interior uses. High-rise buildings provide economic benefits through efficient land use but also have higher initial and maintenance costs. The document outlines several design considerations for high-rise buildings.

1. HIGH RISE
BUILDINGS
A Seminar By-
AR. SAHID AKHTAR
MALIK SANDAL ART &
ARCHITECTURE COLLAGE, BIJAPUR,
KARNATAKA

2. Massachusetts General Laws define a high-rise as being higher than 70 feet (21 m). Most
building engineers, inspectors, architects and similar professions define a high-rise as a
building that is at least 75 feet (23 m).
Davis Langdon (2002) states that it is not possible to define high rise using absolute
measures. They believe that “tall buildings are therefore best understood in relative terms as
buildings whose planning, design, construction and occupation is influenced by height in
ways that are not normally associated with more typical, local developments.”
For the sake of this study, the terms tall building and high-rise shall be used for structures
with approximately eight or more stories while towers are tall buildings with a slender
shape.
HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

3. Economics of high-rise buildings
The high rise is a necessary response to urban sprawl. Almost half of the world’s
population lives in the cities, and this trend is increasing. The skyscraper has many potential
economic advantages where there is minimal land use as the amount of usable space per available
land area is maximized. High rises still have many economic benefits as: Lowers operation and
maintenance costs; Increases return on 9 investment; and Enhances public image.
Green building has proven effective in minimizing industry impacts on air and water
quality and protecting natural ecosystems. It has also been shown to increase building value by
improving cost performance, enhancing occupant comfort, and creating positive public perception.
Tall building requires an integrated, multi-disciplinary design process and a "whole-
building" systems approach that considers the building's entire life-cycle (from planning, design, and
construction to operation and maintenance, renovation, and demolition or building reuse). Together,
these provide the means to create solutions that optimize building cost and performance
FIRST COST (INITIAL COST)
High Rise as a sample of high
tech is assumed to cost a
fortune. Towers as lab
benchmark for sustainability
Many sustainable
towers especially in Europe and
Asia have been designed with
cutting edge technologies and
pioneering designs.
The first cost on
those high rise structures could be
substantially higher than
conventional budgets, such as
Commerzbank in Frankfurt,
Germany designed by Norman
foster and the SOM design of Pearl
River Tower in Guangzhou China.
The Guangzhou project cost over
eight times the Chinese national
average for high rise projects of its
type.

4. LAYOUT AND SPACE
Layout and Space
design is the cadenza of a
symphony to the architects. A
great design can significantly
improve the sustainability of
the high rise.
Service core
The size and location
of the service core in a high
rise building play a
predominantly part in the
whole design. That is well
stated by Ken Yeang in his
High-rise Elevator Cores
(2002). He believed the
arrangement of primary mass
position can help to shade or
retain heat within the building
form. Of the various possible
service-core positions i.e.
‘central core’, ‘double core’ or
‘single-sided core’, the double
core is to be preferred.

5. The benefits of a peripheral
service core position are:
! No fire-protection
pressurization duct, resulting in
lower initial and operation costs
! A view out with greater
awareness of place for users
! Provision of natural ventilation
to the lift lobbies. (and thus
further energy savings)
! Provision of natural sunlight to
lift and stair lobbies.
! A safer building in event of
total power failure.
! Solar buffer effects and/or
wind buffer effects.
Cores provide a path for building services, vertical transportation
and a means of escape, as well as contributing to the structural stability of a
building. For tall buildings with repetitive floor plates, the efficiency of service
cores is crucial to their viability. Attention in the design process is given to
the service core by parties with separate aims: lift engineers, building
services engineers, structural engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, the
District Surveyor, the fire engineer, the Fire Brigade. Design teams may
review many options of core configuration to meet the different requirements
of each discipline. Developers view cores as a loss of lettable space and
apply pressure to minimise the core footprint. In general, the more time
spent on the core design, the more sustainably efficient it is.

6. Commerzbank: Frankfurt, Germany, Norman Foster
Winter gardens allow vast amounts of light deep within the building and
provide pleasant views to those working deeper within the building.
Creating a central atrium space in a high rise building
Centralized core area for circulation, mechanical, and other basic building
needs.
The core functions were pushed to the outer corners of the building to make
way for the atrium space.
Winter gardens had to be rotated around the facade of the building.

7. Commerzbank: Frankfurt, Germany, Norman Foster
The central atrium, free of structural members, was essential
to provide light
both vertically, from the glass roof at the atrium’s top, and
horizontally, from
the winter garden facades to the office across the atrium

8. Paying more attention
to the configuration of
office floor plans,
favoring those with fewer
columns, reduced glass-
to-core depths, and more
glass. And mixed use
comes of age.
The 27,500-sf floor
plates have column-free
lease spans of 61 feet in
the north-south direction
and 50 feet in the east-
west direction.
All internal columns
were pushed out to the
perimeter and spaced 40
feet apart to enable an
"infinite variety in terms
of office layouts.
The height and the
open space are benefit
for the natural lighting.

9. The plan geometry of the tower serves
to reduce energy consumption in three
ways;
1. The curves shaped of the buildings
in pinched ends allow sunscreens to
effectively shade the glass at these
exposures during the peak summer
months. The geometry also allows the
sun to heat the building during the
limited heating season, as the sun
angle
descends below the sunscreens on
the north facade.
2. The shallow dimension of the tower
slab, 17.5 meters at its greatest
dimension allows the prevailing winds
to actually flow through the entire with
of the building, naturally conditioning
the interior spaces.
3. this narrow slab dimension coupled
with full-height glass reduces the need
for general office illumination for much
of the day, which significantly reduces
electrical energy consumption on the
office floors

10. Envelope
For high-rise developments, the need to reduce energy should
drive the use of high performance building envelopes and hence reduce
perimeter heating to a level that can be offset by passive solar heating and
internal gains. Envelope is also essential to filter, channel and deflect critical
natural forces, to create an internal environment geared towards the
building’s function, to provide light, heating, cooling, sound modulation and
fresh air for the comfort of the occupants.
The building envelope, or “skin,” consists of structural materials
and finishes that enclose space, separating inside from outside. This
includes walls, windows, doors, roofs, and floor surfaces. William Burke
(1996) pointed out there several factors affecting envelope design.
One of the most important is climate.
The second is what occurs inside the building. Most LEED certified high
rises claimed they used high performance, glazing, high-insulating building
envelope.

11. Double skin
DTI research on commercial buildings has shown that double
skin buildings are able to reduce energy consumption by 65%,
running costs by 65% and cut CO2 emissions by 50%, in the
cold temperate climatic prevalent when compared to
advanced single skin building. Cost exercises have shown
that buildings employing a double skin may cost as little as
2.5% based on gross internal floor area.

12. Solar shading
Flats with large windows facing south, east and west can over
heat during summers due to excessive solar gains. Horizontal
shading devices are widely used over the windows facing
south, such as, overhangs, light shelves and external louvers.
The shading is designed to let direct winter gain but must
protect against the summer sun.
Vertical shading devices are used for the windows facing
eastern and western directions, solid or opaque, and use flat
or sloped designs. Fixed and movable exterior louvers
running horizontally or vertically across windows can also be
used to reflect and diffuse sunlight. In some cases PV panels
are mounted on top of the solar shading to generate
electricity.
Reduce
perimeter
heating
Filter, channel
and deflect critical
natural forces
Provide light,
heating, cooling
sound modulation
and fresh air for
the comfort of the
occupants

13. Structure (Current practices)
According to Greg Cox and Oscar Faber (2002), In broad terms,
steel-framed buildings with a rigid frame can be economical for
medium rise buildings up to 20 storey; a vertical steel shear truss at
the central core of the building can be economical for buildings up
to 40 storey; and a combination of central vertical shear trusses
with horizontal outrigger trusses is most suited for up to 60 storey,
this being the most common form of tall building structure in the
US. For even taller buildings, it becomes essential to transfer all
gravity loads to the exterior frame to avoid overturning effects.
Rigid framed tubes braced tubes and bundled tube structures have
been developed to reach up to over 100 storey in buildings such as
the Hancock and Sears towers in Chicago. Outside the US, steel is
not so readily available and construction practice favors concrete.
Rigid concrete frame systems can be economical up to 20-storey;
concrete walls forming the central core can be economical up to
40-storey; and concrete-framed tubes can be economical up to 60
-storey, with tube-in-tube structures and modular tubes used for
very tall buildings. A combination of concrete and steel structures
is often the most efficient form, utilizing the best characteristics of
each material. Research into the performance of concrete-filled
steel tubs has enabled their use at main supporting columns in some
mega-structures in China. In the UK, the most common form of
structure in buildings up to 50 stores is a reinforced concrete shear
core used to stabilize the building against wind, with composite
concrete floor slabs on a steel frame used to carry the building’s
gravity loads to the foundations.

16. A comparison of the environmental performance of concrete and
steel systems found that pre-cast concrete plank floors on steel beams
has the least embodied energy. This structural type appears to have
the necessary flexibility for future use of the building and integrates
well with the building services.

17. Experimental structures
High rise structures have large potential to be integrated with
the green energy
systems, especially with wind turbine. Nowadays this is
popular topic for scholars to research how to combine or
mounted wind turbines with high rise structures for the
generation of electrical energy for the building itself or for
export. According to
Professor Peter Land (2004) there are several experimental
structures have been
developed as the followings.
Light pipe transmission is also used in the experimental
structure. “In this project the entire building and its structure is
shaped around the light-pipe or light- flow concept.
Light is captured externally at the perimeter of the building
every eight double floors, and channeled into and downward
through the center of the building using high Fi
Light pipe transmission is also used in the experimental structure.
“In this project the entire building and its structure is shaped around
the light-pipe or light- flow concept.
Light is captured externally at the perimeter of the building every
eight double floors, and channeled into and downward through the
center of the building using high

19. performance reflectors.”8 Cross atria project
showed in figure 3.22 “has wide atrium,
which penetrates through a slab-like building
orientated
east west”. “An atrium opens on the south side
penetrating horizontally, then drops vertically
through
eight floors, exiting horizontally on the north
side”
Clustered tube structure developed
from the co-supportive concept, was
applied in the design of Jinling Tower
by the San Francisco office of SOM for
Nanjing, China. The square plan twists
90 degrees as it rises 320 meters (1,056
feet). James S. Russell (November
2004) introduced this building in his
article: “Above office floors, recesses
add windowed perimeter to 27 levels of
apartments. The recesses grow deeper
on the top 23 levels, which are devoted
to an atrium hotel.”

20. Structural Safety
After the September 11 attack, high rises are seeking
for optimum robustness and structural redundancy with enhanced
connections at its core and columns, alternate load paths and
hardened columns in the lobby and loading dock.
The 111 South Wacker Drive looked much different
before 9/11 (first three
renderings from left), with massive diagonal columns cradling a 40-
story steel-and-glass structure 120 feet off the ground. Local
developer John Buck decided to scrap the initial design after
prospective tenants expressed concern for the building’s structural
bravado in the wake of 9/11.

21. HVAC
The amount of energy used annually by heating, ventilating,
and air-conditioning, HVAC systems typically ranges from 40 to 60
percent of the overall energy consumption in a building. HVAC
systems also affect the health and comfort of building occupants.
HVAC system is a complex process reflecting the details including the
building’s use, occupancy patterns, density, passive solar
opportunities, office equipment, lighting levels, comfort ranges,
specific needs, envelope, and plan for effective ways to meet future
load increases without sacrificing current energy requirements. The
computer-based simulate software such as DOE 2.0, eQUEST, would
help a lot to select equipment and evaluate the interaction between
building systems.
Those projects certified by LEED also use many detail ways to
improve the running of their HVAC systems and save energies. For
instance:
Motion sensor controls were installed in all conference rooms so that
the HVAC system would only be "on" in these zones when it is
actually needed. All motion sensors to turn off after five to seven
minutes of no movement. On-site black water reuse system to supply
the HVAC cooling tower; under floor air delivery and commissioning
Filters, with fresh air supplied at a rate 50% higher than mandated by
current code.
CFC/HCFC-free natural gas-fired absorption chillers.
Variable-speed drives on all fans and motors.

22. • Individual air-handling units on each floor, with local control to
ensure minimum use of the system.
Further more, experts suggested those approaches in performing the analysis
before HVAC design, all of which can be designed with architecture design.
! Explore passive solar strategies and non-energy-intensive HVAC and
lighting opportunities
! Consider the building envelope and integrate this with general architectural
issues such as solar strategies, glazing, day-lighting, and access.
! Fine-tune the proposed building footprint and orientation to maximize
energy benefits. ! Recognize that thermal mass can be beneficial to reduce
after-hours environmental conditioning and morning warm-up loads
! Optimize the energy benefits for each building facade.
! Review the interaction between daylighting and artificial illumination.
! Consider architectural elements to reduce direct solar radiation into the
occupied space when not desired (cooling load avoidance).
! Control the infiltration of unwanted air
! Consider increased insulation levels for various systems to reduce loss
factors.
! Consider vapor barriers to reduce latent (moisture) loads.
! Reduce internal heat gains
! Design systems and components for ease of maintenance.
! Incorporate ventilation for healthy indoor air quality and balanced energy
use.

23. Lloyds Register of Shipping
Building
In 1995 the Richard
Rogers Partnership won the
competition for the Lloyd’s
Register of Shipping, a 15-
storey 250,000 sq. ft. building
in Fenchurch Street. The
owner-occupier client wanted
a leading edge energy
efficient building for 1,500
people. The initial proposal
was for a mixed mode air-
conditioning system, offering
the combination of opening
windows and mechanical
ventilation, but it became
apparent that the original
concept was unviable for two
main reasons.
Firstly, the occupants should
not be exposed to the poor
external air quality in the area
and,
secondly, they should not be
exposed to ambient traffic
noise from open windows.

24. The air-conditioning system chosen
for the building combines chilled
beams and displacement ventilation
supplying low velocity air near floor
level. The contaminated warm air is
exhausted via driven fan ducts.
The slender floor plate of the upper
storeys assures maximum access to
daylight. Artificial lighting is supplied
as supplementary to day-lighting,
but due to the emphasis on natural
lighting and the use of sophisticated
lighting control systems, the building
requires 35 per cent less electric
lighting than the average London
office building.
A major aspect of the building’s
design is a strong emphasis on the
avoidance of the so-called sick
building syndrome. Synthetic
materials with potential toxic
pollutant emissions have been
eliminated and high-quality natural
materials adopted within the design
to assure healthy conditions.

25. Variable speed gearless lifts generally use
less energy than fixed speed or geared
machines. Smoothing the acceleration and
deceleration of the lift car for passenger
comfort also reduces energy. Variable speed
gearless lifts have a high power factor and
produce less waste heat. Energy is used to
raise cars, but their descent is assisted by
gravity and this energy can be recovered in
electrical power. The recovery can be
approximately 30 per cent and the generated
electricity used elsewhere in the building. In
high-rise buildings, the use of variable speed
gearless lifts with intelligent programming and
energy recovery can reduce their energy
consumption by as much as 50 per cent. In
general, an owner-occupied building will have
a greater lifting requirement than a multi-
tenant building due to greater inter-floor traffic.
Buildings with large inter-floor traffic patterns
are complex to analyse. There are basic
guidelines as to what is perceived to be
acceptable in terms of waiting intervals and lift
handling capacity. Experience shows that for
offices waiting times of up to 25 seconds are
acceptable. People show signs of initial
agitation after waiting for a lift for 16–18
seconds. Most analyses assume that cars are
loaded to 80 per cent. If cars are
loaded to more than 80 per cent, waiting time increases substantially.
Handling capacity relates to the maximum number of passengers that a lift
system can move within a five minute period. In practice, lift provision is not
always optimised and is governed by economic reasons dependent on a
building owner’s perception of the prestige of the property. Lifting
requirements are considerably greater for tall buildings than for
medium/low-rise structures. However, most office buildings of all heights
have a number of lifts depending on the floor plate dimensions and the
horizontaldistance that occupants are prepared to walk

26. Plumbing
Water use in buildings has two environmental impacts: (1)
the direct use of water, a limited resource; and (2) the
expenditure of energy used in water pumping, purification,
treatment, and heating. Water conservation and efficiency
programs have begun to lead to substantial decreases in the
use of water within buildings. Water-efficient appliances and
fixtures, behavioral changes, and changes in irrigation
methods can reduce consumption by up to 30 percent or
more. Investment in such measures can yield payback in one
to three years (Gottfried 2003). Plumbing systems in tall
buildings are similar to those of low-rise buildings, but the
domestic water-supply systems require electric pumps and
tanks to maintain pressure. If the building is very tall, it may
require the system to be divided into zones, each with its own
pump and tank. One early method used elevated storage tanks
at the top of the building with fill pumps at the bottom of the
building, a classic gravity down feed arrangement. (Dennis
M. Connelly 2007) Both of these methods proved to be
reliable and affordable through the years, and many such
designs are still active today or still are used in current design
practices.

27. Popular practices Efficiency equipment:
• Waterless urinals and dual-flush toilets
•The urinals are half-gallon per flush, half the usual amount
•HVAC equipment in the building does not require water for its
operation.
• All sink faucets and toilets to automatic valves that use infrared
technology to turn on and shut off water flows.
• Bathroom lavatory faucets use only.
• Rainwater collection for irrigating the park and cooling the building
• Supplement the water demand for the evaporative cooling towers
Cutting Edge Membrane Bioreactors
Onsite wastewater treatment is a defining characteristic of a green
building, providing a sustainable source of recycled water for toilets and
landscape irrigation, while also reducing occupants' demands on local
potable water supplies and municipal infrastructure. More recently,
membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are providing a highly compact, fully
automated, low odor alternative for wastewater treatment in green
buildings. These robust and reliable systems can treat both grey and black
water to near drinking water quality that meets or exceeds the world's most
stringent standards for water reuse. Moreover, the efficiencies in
wastewater treatment and water reuse provided by an MBR can earn up to
six points in LEED certification for categories that include water use
reduction, water efficient landscaping, innovative wastewater treatment
technologies, and innovation in design.

28. Electricity
About 7% of the electricity generated by power plants is lost as it's transmitted to
end users, so onsite generation is more efficient to begin with. Sustainable
towers
like One Bryant Park can significantly reduce the lost. According to the architect
Robert F. Fox (Jan 2006), at, a 5.1-MW, natural-gas-fired, combined heat and
power plant will generate electricity and capture the heat energy that most power
plants treat as waste. The building's plant will be 77% efficient, whereas typical
utility
plants are 27% efficient. Over the course of a year, on-site power generation will
meet about 70% of the building's requirements. At night, when demand drops,
electricity will be used to make ice in tanks in the cellar. During the day, ice will
be
melted to supplement the air conditioning system, saving energy and evening out
daily demand. This will reduce tenants' electricity bills and protect them from the
higher "demand charge" rate that's applied to an entire month's bill if a usage
threshold is exceeded for even a moment. And cogeneration will displace power
generated by power plants that emit CO2 and other pollutants.
Lighting
Artificial light accounts for almost one-fifth of the world's electricity consumption.
This is substantially more than the output of all the nuclear power stations in the
world. Within 25 years, the global demand for artificial light is projected to be
almost twice today’s level as the developing world moves towards western living
standards. A shift in global climate trends and an international focus on sustainable
energy has seen high rise buildings around the world favoring energy efficient
lighting design as a means of retrofitting structures for modern times. Lighting
controls are an integral component of sustainable building practices. It can also boost
a project’s ability to qualify for LEED certification.
Lighting control systems play three primary roles in the LEED program. First, they
are required for enabling code compliance, which is a major LEED prerequisite.
Second, LEED strongly encourages designing buildings using daylight as a primary
light source. Consequently, from an environmental perspective, the time and dollars
spent designing and building a daylight building are wasted if lighting controls aren’t
utilized for dimming or turning off electric lights when they’re not needed. Third,
lighting controls can be used for further reductions of lighting energy through
personal controls, and integrating the operation of lighting and mechanical systems,

29. Green Power
Green power refers to
electricity supplied in whole or in
part from renewable energy
sources, such as wind and solar
power, geothermal, hydropower,
and various forms of biomass.
Increasingly, electricity customers
are being given electricity supply
options, either as retail power
markets open to competition or
when their regulated utilities
develop green pricing programs.
News from US department of
energy indicated that more than
40% of retail customers in the
United States now have an option
of purchasing green power
directly from their electricity
supplier. In addition, consumers
can support renewable energy
development through the
purchase of green energy
certificates. High rise structures
have good opportunities to
engage the green power
especially with solar, wind or the
purchase of Green-certified
power
New York Times Tower with a so
screen of ceramic rods.
The Solaire includes a 33kW buildin
integrated PV system on its façade.

30. Solar Screen
A design guild website introduces that the south facade
of a 20-storey tower block with PVs can provide enough to light
most of the common areas within the building, thus more and more
high rises consider solar screen as a primo on site energy source.
There are three main types of photovoltaic technologies available
mono-crystalline (deep blue color),
poly-crystalline (multi-colored with sparkling blue tones) and
amorphous (black thin-film).
Mono-crystalline technology is the most efficient however it is
also the most expensive.

31. Wind Turbine
An assessment of global wind resources (May
2002) By the European Wind Energy
Association and Greenpeace concluded that
the world's wind-generating potential,
assuming that only 10 per cent of the earth's
land area would be available for
development, is double the projected world
electricity demand in 2020.
The cost of wind-generated electricity has
dropped from 24p a kilowatt-hour in the early
1980s to roughly 2.5pence a kilowatt-hour
today on prime wind sites and is predicted to
be as low as 1.3 pence by 2020 Energy
balance/payback is typically two months.
These devices are more suited to office
buildings and high rise buildings.
A 49-storey residential tower recently
proposed for Vauxhall will generate
electricity from a wind turbine on the roof to
power lights in communal areas. Such a
technology could be deployed relatively
cheaply in the future however more research
has to be carried out to examine the energy
production potential and where electricity.
produced could be used successfully.
Many designers are considering the
integration of wind turbines within
buildings again it is not yet known how
feasible this will be. News from US
department of energy indicated that the
world's first integration of utility-scale
wind turbines into a building has been
completed in Bahrain. Atkins, a leading
provider of technology-based consultancy
and support services, announced.
Figure 3.37 Proposed Flower
Tower by London
architect Bill Dunster, Credit:
Bill Dunster

32. Three wind turbines have
been installed on the
Bahrain World Trade
Center, which is nearing
completion.
late March that it has installed
large wind turbines onto three 50-ton bridges
that span the two towers of the Bahrain World
Trade Center. The 50-story structure, under
construction in Manama, Bahrain, is
designed to channel the wind between the
two towers and past the blades of the three
wind turbines, which are 29 meters in
diameter. According to Atkins, the wind
turbines will supply up to 15 percent of the
energy needs for the two towers.
A European study published in
2005 examined the potential for such
building-integrated wind turbines in the
United Kingdom. The study recommended
further research on the wind regime in urban
areas and around isolated buildings; the
structural and noise implications of mounting
wind turbines onto a building; and the optimal
design for building-integrated wind turbines.
The report also reviewed the
experience with building-integrated wind
turbines. At the time of that report, the largest
such project involved the installation of three
5-meter wind turbines on the roof of a
building. In contrast, the wind turbines in the
Bahrain World Trade Center are fully
integrated into the design of the buildings. In
future, the power of the whole city probably
can be produced from the wind turbines
integrated with high rise structures

33. Socio-Cultural
Impact on the city planning,
local communities
The skyscraper is a
necessary response to urban sprawl.
Almost half of the world’s population
lives in the cities, and this trend is
increasing. The skyscraper has many
potential economic advantages where
there is minimal land use as the amount
of usable space per available land area
is maximized.
Because of its huge size and efficiency land use, high rise
played a “big” role in city planning since Le Corbusier. The high-rise
covers less land area than a low-rise development. This will provide more
green areas and reduce the impact of urban sprawl on the environment.
Cluster of tall buildings could cast long shade on other buildings, and
strengthen the wind on the ground level. All such problems are impacting
on the planning. High rises cannot be viewed in a vacuum: they exist
within a specific environment and a human context. They contain their
own community of residents and workers, but they are also part of the
wider urban community. Herbert Girardet (February 2002) argued the
urban futures of sustainable tall building should be designed for mixed use
wherever possible to create balanced functions and communities. The
functions of a building at ground level should contribute to the quality of
the city, with shopping, eating and entertainment opportunities.
Le Corbusier is advocating with high densi
compared with the low densities.

34. The Malaysian architect Ken Yeang has pioneered the bio-
climatic skyscraper which has been highly influential in architectural
design since the 1980s. He recognizes that, due to the cultural and
economic environment, tall buildings are an inevitable building form and
part of the contemporary urban landscape, and he has focused on
researching and developing energy-efficient and climatically-adapted
buildings. The sustainability can also be improved through maximizing the
utilization of the building. This can be through long hours of operation, or
the provision of services, which can be shared with others –, in the same
building, in the same company or in the local community (e.g. sports,
conference and canteen facilities). On the other hand the users or the
residence of the buildings need learn to live green as well. In Solaire, a
LEED gold residential high rise, one glance at the recycling bins proved
that the resident did not have the recycling system down. And the ramp
leading to the Solaire's parking garage was lined with Range Rovers, Jeeps
and other SUVs.
Cultural response
The skyscrapers are built for only two reasons:” to make money,
responding to existing demand, or to advertise and flaunt the money one
already has” Said Philip Nobel11. Nowadays we can rarely tell the
location of a high rise structure 11 Philip Nobel is an author of Sixteen
Acres: Architecture and the Outrageous Struggle for the Future of Ground
Zero (2004) due to their similar style. Some architects even feel
proud that their work can be located anywhere in the world.
Obviously, tall building is not a typology to fix in with its context. It
prefers to soar above, and dominate its surroundings. But that does
not mean it cannot become a positive element in the urban
composition. It can and should relate to its surroundings and
respond to the history cultural context. Antony Wood in his “New
Paradigms in High Rise Design” (2004) introduced several
approaches to design help cities in their quest for an appropriate
high rise expression.