TECHNICAL PAPERS
Apr 26, 2010

Height and Construction Costs of Residential High-Rise Buildings in Shanghai

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136, Issue 11

Abstract

A widely recognized theme of construction economics suggests that the cost of construction per square meter increases as building height rises. However, over a number of years, research conducted regarding the height and cost issue has established a classic relationship between the two factors which can be represented by a U-shaped curve. This paper describes the study of the height-cost relationship of high-rise residential buildings in Shanghai in terms of the total construction cost and elemental costs while considering the context and commonality of buildings. This research was developed as an extension of the previous work, which examined data for buildings in Hong Kong. Initial findings indicate that the curves illustrating the relationships between height and cost of residential buildings in Shanghai and Hong Kong exhibit different profiles. The dissimilarities indicate that different sets of criteria should be applied in the judgment of height that affects cost in different locations. In terms of elemental costs, the findings suggest that there are differences in the way these costs react to changes in the building height.

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Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136Issue 11November 2010
Pages: 1169 - 1180

History

Received: May 21, 2009
Accepted: Apr 10, 2010
Published online: Apr 26, 2010
Published in print: Nov 2010

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Authors

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Ivy Q. Blackman
Postgraduate Research Candidate, School of Architecture and Building, Deakin Univ., Geelong 3217, Australia (corresponding author).
David H. Picken
Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture and Building, Deakin Univ., Geelong 3217, Australia.

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