Design of Twisted-Form Buildings: Correlation between Architecture and Structure
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 3
Abstract
The trend of twisted-form buildings, driven by advancements in analysis and drawing methods, material technology, and construction techniques, keeps growing. As buildings reach greater heights, the rotation of floor slabs relative to the previous slab creates diverse and intricate twisted forms. While twisted buildings offer novel design possibilities, they also pose significant challenges. In this study, an overview of the geometrical features and parameters that define twisted buildings are introduced, and their architectural advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The impacts of twisted forms on the structural system, considering both the positive and negative effects, are analyzed and several types of structural systems are presented as examples of buildings with twisted forms. Through case studies of twisted buildings, the problems encountered during their design and construction, and the solutions devised and applied by designers to address these challenges, are investigated. Consideration is given to the applicability and sustainability of twisted-form buildings while adhering to the rules and guidelines of today's regulations. Ultimately, this study provides a comprehensive evaluation related to twisted-form buildings and aims to offer valuable insights for architects, engineers, and contractors engaged in the design and execution of twisted buildings by examining various aspects of their structural behavior and construction process.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
No data, models, or codes were generated or used during the study.
References
Ali, M. M., and K. S. Moon. 2007. “Structural developments in tall buildings: Current trends and future prospects.” Archit. Sc. Rev. 50 (3): 205–223. https://doi.org/10.3763/asre.2007.5027.
Allouzi, R. 2019. “Behaviour of slender RC columns with inclination.” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. Struct. Build. 172 (10): 739–748. https://doi.org/10.1680/jstbu.18.00011.
Baker, W. F. 2013. “Chapter 17 structural possibilities.” In The tall buildings reference book, edited by D. Parker and A. Wood, 213–224. London, UK: Routledge.
Baker, W. F., C. D. Brown, B. S. Young, and E. Zachrison. 2010. “Infinity tower, Dubai, UAE.” In Proc., Structures Congress 2010, 3078–3087. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Belostotsky, A. M., P. A. Akimov, T. B. Kaytukov, N. O. Petryashev, P. O. Petryashev, and O. A. Negrozov. 2016. “Strength and stability analysis of load-bearing structures of evolution tower with allowance for actual positions of reinforced concrete structural members.” Procedia Eng. 153: 95–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.08.086.
Brochure of Baltimore Tower. n.d. “An iconic new landmark for luxury living creating a new focus on Canary Wharf’s world famous skyline.” Baltimore Tower. Accessed November 11, 2022. http://www.frogmore.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Baltimore-Brochure-1.pdf.
Clark, M., and D. M. Scott. 2010. “New Songdo International city block D24, an iconic and efficient twisted tall building structure.” In Proc., Structures Congress 2010, 3066–3077. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Cordek Limited. n.d. “Case study.” Cordek. Accessed December 19, 2022. https://cordek.com/uploads/case_studies/cordek_case_study_bespoke_formwork_baltimore_tower_2016_v2.pdf.
Desimone, V., L. Ramirez, and A. Mohammad. 2015. “Structural challenges of twisting towers.” In Proc., Global Interchanges: Resurgence of the Skyscraper City, 478–484. New York: CTBUH.
Farnsworth, D. B., and D. M. Scott. 2010. “Tapered and twisted, Al Raha plot 815a Strata tower.” In Proc., Structures Congress 2010, 3051–3065. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Giuliani, M. E. 2018. “Structures of the Generali tower in Milano—A concrete challenge.” In ICD 2018: Proceedings of Italian Concrete Days 2018, edited by M. di Prisco and M. Menegotto, 219–231. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Hassan, F. F., and S. R. Al Zaidee. 2020. “Deformation and strength of inclined RC isolated columns using experimental and three-dimensional finite element analyses.” IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 745 (1): 012129. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012129.
Ilgın, H. E. 2021. “Space efficiency in contemporary supertall office buildings.” J. Archit. Eng. 27 (3): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000486.
Ilgın, H. E., and M. H. Günel. 2014. Tall buildings: Structural systems and aerodynamic form. New York: Routledge.
Kim, S., and K. Lee. 2015. “Potentials of elastic seismic design of twisted high-rise steel diagrid frames.” Steel Compos. Struct. 18 (1): 121–134. https://doi.org/10.12989/scs.2015.18.1.121.
Kwon, K., and J. Kim. 2014. “Progressive collapse and seismic performance of twisted diagrid buildings.” Int. J. High-Rise Build. 3 (3): 223–230.
Lagendijk, B., A. Pignetti, and S. Vacilotto. 2012. “Case study: Absolute world towers, Mississauga.” CTBUH J. IV: 11–17.
Lee, D. H., E. S. Kim, D. E. Kang, and T. Kim. 2012. “Seismic performance evaluation of twisted outrigger system.” In Proc., 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Lisbon, Portugal: Portuguese Society of Seismic Engineering (SPES).
Lee, D.-H., H.-S. Kim, and J.-W. Kang. 2021. “Seismic response analysis of twisted buildings with three planar shapes.” J. Korean Assoc. Spatial Struct. 21 (4): 23–30. https://doi.org/10.9712/KASS.2021.21.4.23.
Moon, K. S. 2011. “Structural engineering for complex-shaped tall buildings.” In Proc., AEI 2011: Building Integration Solutions, 204–210. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Moon, K. S. 2014. “Studies on various structural system design options for twisted tall buildings and their performances.” Struct. Des. Tall Special Build. 23 (5): 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/tal.1038.
Moon, K. S. 2015a. “Comparative efficiency between structural systems for tall buildings.” In Proc., AEI 2015 Conf., 111–119. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Moon, K. S. 2015b. “Structural design and construction of complex-shaped tall buildings.” IACSIT Int. J. Eng. Technol. 7 (1): 30–35. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJET.2015.V7.761.
Nalwala, N., U. Parakh, P. V. Ramana, and B. K. Prasad. 2012. “Analysis of dynamic angle of twist in twisted shape towers.” In Proc., Int. Conf. Advances in Architecture and Civil Engineering, 964–967. Bangalore, India: M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology.
Navya, K. S., B. V. Vishal, S. Kavitha, and P. G. Mamatha. 2021. “Seismic behaviour of twisted tall building with different angle of rotation.” In Advances in mechanical engineering. Lecture notes in mechanical engineering, edited by A.N. Evgrafov, pp. 65–75. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Nikandrov, P. 2016. “Upward spiral: The story of the evolution tower.” Int. J. Tall Build. Urban Habitat CTBUH J. 2016 (3): 12–19.
Parker, D., and A. Wood. 2013a. “Case study 14 Shanghai tower.” In The tall buildings reference book, edited by D. Parker and A. Wood, 434–437. London, UK: Routledge.
Parker, D., and A. Wood. 2013b. “Case study 18 Al Hamra tower.” In The tall buildings reference book, edited by D. Parker and A. Wood, 452–457. London, UK: Routledge.
Poon, D. C., L.-E. Hsiao, Y. Zhu, S. Zuo, and G. Fu. 2010. “Structural analysis and design challenges of the Shanghai center.” In Proc., Structures Congress 2010, 3088–3103. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Potgar, A. K., and G. R. Patil. 2017. “Optimum design of concrete diagrid building and its comparison with conventional frame building.” Int. Res. J. Eng. Technol. 4 (8):1471–1476.
Rashid, H., and L. A. Couture. 2009. “Strata tower - asymptote.” Archit. Des. 79 (2): 84–87. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.858.
Sanjay, R., and B. Shivakumaraswamy. 2019. “Comparative study on the structural behavior of RCC and steel twisted building.” Int. Res. J. Eng. Technol. 6 (9): 355–360.
Sarkisian, M., A. Mazeika, N. Mathias, L. Hu, N. Atari, and R. Agarwal. 2010. “Sculpted high-rise: The AL HAMRA TOWER.” In Proc., Structures Congress 2010, 3006–3020. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Scaramozzino, D., G. Lacidogna, and A. Carpinteri. 2020. “New trends towards enhanced structural efficiency and aesthetic potential in tall buildings: The case of diagrids.” Appl. Sci. 10 (11): 3917. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10113917.
Scott, D., D. Farnsworth, M. Jackson, and M. Clart. 2007. “The effects of complex geometry on tall towers.” Struct. Des. Tall Special Build. 16 (4): 441–455. https://doi.org/10.1002/tal.428.
Sev, A., and B. Başarır. 2011. “A recent trend in tall building design: Twisted forms.” J. New World Sci. Acad. 6 (4): 1603–1619.
Sev, A., and A. Özgen. 2009. “Space efficiency in high-rise office buildings.” Metu J. Fac. Archit. 26 (2): 69–89. https://doi.org/10.4305/METU.JFA.2009.2.4.
Sev, A., and F. Tuğrul. 2014. “Integration of architectural design with structural form in non-orthogonal high-rise buildings.” J. Sustainable Archit. Civ. Eng. 7 (2): 31–42. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.7.2.7046.
Shah, Z. A., and R. Satbhaiya. 2022. “Analysis of twisted tall structure considering lateral load using ETABS.” Int. J. Sci. Res. Civ. Eng. 6 (1): 66–75.
Song, S., and C. Zhang. 2020. “Lateral stiffness and preliminary design methodology of twisted diagrid tube structures.” Struct. Des. Tall Special Build. 29 (18): e1809. https://doi.org/10.1002/tal.1809.
Szolomicka, H. G., and J. Szolomicki. 2019. “Architectural and structural analysis of selected twisted tall buildings.” IOP Conf. Series: Mater. Sci. Eng. 471: 052050. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/471/5/052050.
Tamura, Y., H. Tanaka, K. Ohtake, M. Nakai, and Y. Kim. 2010. “Aerodynamic characteristics of tall building models with various unconventional configurations.” In Proc., Structures Congress 2010, 3104–3113. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Tejaswini, P. S., K. S. Madhu, V. C. Chandrashekar, and P. Kamatagi. 2017. “Study on behaviour of CFST inclined column subjected to vertical load using ANSYS software.” Indian J. Appl. Res. 7 (1): 745–747.
Tryggestad, K., and S. Georg. 2011. “How objects shape logics in construction.” Cult. Organ. 17 (3): 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2011.569383.
Vollers, K. 2005. “High-rise buildings with twisted facades.” In Proc., CTBUH 2005 7th World Congress, 1–9. New York: CTBUH.
Vollers, K. 2008. “Morphological scheme of second-generation non-orthogonal high-rises.” In Proc., CTBUH 2008 8th World Congress: Tall and Green, 1–9. New York: CTBUH.
Xia, J., D. Poon, and D. Mass. 2010. “Case study: Shanghai tower.” CTBUH J. 2010 (2): 12–19.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 3 • September 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 24, 2023
Accepted: Feb 4, 2024
Published online: Apr 22, 2024
Published in print: Sep 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Sep 22, 2024
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.