Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
An Annotated Bibliography
List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Belinda Yuen
Literature Review
In the Humanities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
In the Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
iii
List of Contributors
Chen Shuhui
Year 2, Chemistry, USP 2008
Chris Henry
Year 3, Computing, USP 2008
Lim Aik
Year 2, Political Science, USP 2008
Tan Wei-En
Year 3, Physics, USP 2008
Ye Yaojing
Year 4, Chemical Engineering, USP 2008
v
Preface
vii
Introduction
Belinda Yuen
1
2 Introduction
not the only building option, high-rise constitutes a vitally important component of
the future city. As enunciated in Singapore’s long-term development plan,
More homes will be built in the city . . . The average plot ratio for housing in the New Down-
town can be increased to between 6.0 and 7.0.
(Urban Redevelopment Authority, 2001, p 18)
There are many motivations to build upwards, including economics, image, reg-
ulation and sustainability. From an early time, Gottmann (1966) has contended that
tall building is a modernist cultural expression, a substitute for the medieval cathe-
drals in the modern city. Others have suggested that high-rise expresses economic
dominance, power and urban boosterism, inspiring architecture and urban design
(Binder, 2001; Abel, 2003). Under the narrative of current housing shortfall, urban
regeneration and sustainability, there have been strong moves over recent decades
to reintroduce tall buildings in the city. As the BBC announced, “high-rise living is
back” (1 March 2004). Even as the post-war high-rise is being demolished, United
Kingdom is again building tall residential buildings, in and outside of London.
The former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, for example, has enthusiastically
endorsed tall buildings, giving fillip to its construction in the city (Greater London
Authority, 2001, p 5).
I support high buildings, both as clusters (such as in the City, Canary Wharf and Croydon),
and as stand-alone buildings (such as the Post Office Tower and Millbank Tower), where
they are in close proximity to a major public transport interchanges and contribute to the
quality of London’s environment. I have no objection in principle to London having the
tallest of buildings.
References
Abel C (2003) Sky high: vertical architecture. Royal Academy of Arts, London
Ali MM, Armstrong PJ (1995) Architecture of tall buildings. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY
Binder G (2001) Tall buildings of Asia and Australia. Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd, Mulgrave
Birmingham must build up or out, Birmingham gazette. (15 June 1949)
Conway J, Adams B (1977) The social effects of living off the ground. Habitat Int 2(5/6):595–614
Gottmann J (1966) Why the skyscraper? Geogr Rev 56:190–212
Greater London Authority (2001) Interim strategic planning guidance on tall buildings, strate-
gic views and the skyline of London. Greater London Authority, Mayor of London’s Office,
London
Lefebvre H (1991) The production of space. (trans Nicholson-Smith D). Basil Blackwell, Oxford
Horsey M (1990) Tenements and towers: glasgow working-class housing 1890–1990. HMSO,
Edinburgh
Glendinning M, Muthesius S (1994) Tower block: modern public housing in England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
Lacayo R (2004) Kissing the sky. Time Magazine 164(26/27):100–106
Sutcliffe A (1974) Multi-storey living: the British working-class experience. Taylor and Francis,
London
UASC (6th September 2002) UK government: urban affairs select committee of members of Par-
liament report on tall buildings. Building Design, Issue 1546
Urban Redevelopment Authority (2001) Concept plan 2001. Urban Redevelopment Authority,
Singapore
Yeung YM, Wong TKY (2003) Fifty years of public housing in Hong Kong. Chinese University
Press, Hong Kong
Literature Review
The Humanities Perspective
Lim Aik
Political Science, Year 2
High-rise buildings and skyscrapers have decisively shaped Man’s existence in
recent decades. Specifically, a high-rise and high-density urban environment has
engendered new behavioural norms, changing perceptions of human relations, and
instilled in modern capitalist societies a spirit of competition steeply couched in
material terms. Skyscrapers, as an architectural form, embody the collective drive
and ambition of mankind by reaching higher and higher into the skies. Presently,
high-rises feature prominently as part of our built environment, and will likely
remain so in the years to come.
It is no coincidence that mankind’s propensity to build higher coincides with the
nature of our political existence. Politics refers to the process through which the
different interests of collective groups of humans play out, and much of modern
politics concerns itself with Man’s desire to build a society capable of providing for
our increasing material needs in an age where capitalist ideals dominate the world
economy. In the annotated summary that follows this brief introductory summary,
there are three broad areas of primary interest in the overlapping region between
high-rise and the political field. Firstly, high-rise as a policy solution to public hous-
ing is explored extensively, particularly in the local context. Next, the ongoing polit-
ical dialogue between proponents and opponents of high-rise urban living features
frequently in published literature. Lastly, the symbolic nature of vertical cities and
skyscrapers has resurfaced as a topic of immense interest since the fateful events of
11th September 2001.
Much of the literature on high-rise in recent times has focused on the economic
rationality of building higher, especially in city centers, and high-rise living as the
dominant lifestyle in contemporary urban society. The latter point is especially true
within the Singaporean polity, as the state’s public high-rise housing programme
not only defines the lifestyle experience of a huge majority of our citizenry, it plays
a critical role in our overall national development strategy as well as in the ruling
party’s political legitimacy. Many unpublished works in the earlier eras (1970s and
7
8 The Humanities Perspective
1980s) touch on various aspects of this public housing programme, while several
published works in the 1980s expand on the body of knowledge by bringing in the
experiences of other countries in similar projects initiated by the state.
In the architectural and urban planning circles, there exists a dialectic exchange
between the voices, advocating high-rise as a way of life and those opposing its
increasing prevalence. The debate grew in intensity following the tragedy of 11th
September 2001, and there is a wide range of literature questioning Man’s rela-
tionship with his environment and the presence of urban pathological influences,
including Kunstler and Salingaros’s “The End of Tall Building”. A dichotomy
exists between those who expound the ills of high-rise living and its dehumaniz-
ing influence, many who belong to the post-World War II generation in the West,
and parties who conceive of modern high-rises as a symbol of arrival and a nec-
essary stage in the development of human society (such as those in Asian coun-
tries which have been constructing tall buildings at a feverish pace in the last few
decades).
The iconic nature of skyscrapers and high-rises is another topic of great aca-
demic interest. As tall buildings, especially financial skyscrapers in the business
district, come to symbolize systems of beliefs associated with capitalism and mate-
rial affluence, they also take on the appearance of arrogance, extravagance and a
sense of condescending superiority. High-rises thus attract attention by its sheer
prominence, engendering intense emotions towards the ideals that they stand for. To
those who are part of this capitalist world, skyscrapers are beacons of hope, industry
and achievement. To others in communities, which are systematically disadvantaged
and materially deprive, they are the epitome of arrogance and inequality, tempting
targets for the disenfranchised to unleash their hatred in a destructive fashion. The
9/11 incident, a tragedy borne of such conflicting viewpoints, is well documented in
works such as Terry Smith’s The Architecture of Aftermath. The body of literature,
which emphasizes the symbolism of high-rises argue that Man’s built form is an
expression of his values system, beliefs, and his relationship with the physical envi-
ronment. As such, there is a need to approach the spread of modern high-rise living
with a degree of sensitivity to the inherent differences and plurality of the world,
because not all societies take to it as a natural cultural expression of their political
existence.
Following the tragic events of 9/11, the confluence between the forces of modern-
ization and that of politics have become of greater interest to academic scholarship.
Any future research into this field will be centred upon the effects of high-rise on
human society, and how vertical cities shape us as much as they are shaped by
architects and urban planners. First of all, it has been said that urban high-density
environments overload their constituents, as the drastic increase in social interac-
tions incline individuals toward touch-and-go relationships and vast but loosely-
knit social networks. This in turn engenders communities defined not by depth and
understanding, but by shallower interests and increased anomie. More research can
perhaps be done on the adverse effects of high-rises in a globalized world where
cultural boundaries are porous and the criteria for socio-political inclusion and
exclusion become more ambiguous as a result of economic integration.
The Humanities Perspective 9
Also, their great heights evoke a sense of awe, further enforcing the idea of
skyscrapers as grand, and stately. Thus, writers use skyscrapers to symbolize wealth
and power in a capitalist reading. Thirdly, in a post-modern sense high-rise are sites
of power struggle. This is most evident in the post-9/11 novels, where there is very
much a sense of America vs. the Terrorists. The fall of the Twin Towers is seen by
most authors as a massive blow to the previously immensely formidable power of
the United States of America, and thus a great point of interest to these authors is the
exploration of America’s efforts to pick herself back up. The fourth reading takes
place at the national level, where much symbolism occurs. Most of these writers
attempt a critique of their nation or of high-rise per se when they use high-rise with a
nationalistic reading in mind. Thus, high-rise takes on the picture of a nation, and by
reading the writer’s work on that particular high-rise one can garner an impression
of the writer’s hidden message with regards to the nation. Admittedly, this is not a
rigid definition and can be quite loosely used.
As for the final category, this is a somewhat technical one. High-rise is quite
often used as metonymy, particularly in the fantasy genre. This basically means that
the physical structure of the building represents something important in that work.
For example, in The Lord of the Rings, the tower changes from a translucent glow
to a menacing façade when evil forces take over, symbolizing the moral change in
that territory. As a literary device then, metonymy frequently combines with another
category to gain more meaning, and indeed the majority of the works are an assort-
ment of various categories. Again, the point is to work towards understanding why
the writer chose such a perspective and what he or she means by them.
The readings reveal the state of literature to be fairly stable, but unfortunately,
quite infrequent. With regards to stability, the four ideological categories are suf-
ficient to host the books and films, excluding metonymy because it is a literary
device. Possibly the only exception is the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis
where the physical tower served a didactic function to the rebellious people. Thus,
these categories also act as the themes for high-rise. However, high-rise does not
seem to be a popular focus in Literature. One possible reason is that high-rise does
not figure prominently in many Western and European countries, because land is
abundant.
In contrast, Asia, where high-rise is more common, might not yet have the luxury
of musing about their environment, as many Asian cities and citizens are still very
much a work in progress. Perhaps in time this will change. One possible route high-
rise in Literature will take, is a multi-disciplinary form. Indeed, examining the slew
of post-9/11 novels revealed that politics was quite inseparable from the symbol-
ism of the Twin Towers, and also in the course of research many novelists became
quite fluent with technical terms and literature. This is undoubtedly an interesting
development, and as Literature is a reflection of one’s times, one can only anticipate
greater integration and blurring of boundaries between disciplines in time to come.
The Science Perspective
Chris Henry
Computing, Year 3
Since the 1970s, computers are fast becoming useful research materials and research
tools. In the 1990s, computational cost has become substantially cheaper and more
ubiquitous. Such development in the 1990s has caused widespread usage of Infor-
mation Technology (IT) and computer technologies in a diverse array of fields out-
side that of computer science and computer engineering. The construction industries
and building fields are not exempt from this development. Computers and IT have
become far more ubiquitous, with usage ranging from simulations to optimization
to building management being popularized in the field. For example, in the early
1990s, there is much research on simulation and prediction and little of other things.
Computer simulation became a favourite research tool in the construction indus-
tries. Foley and Vinnakota (1994) describe a breakthrough in computer simulation
technology, depending greatly on parallel computation, that is, utilizing several pro-
cessing units (CPUs) to perform a particular simulation task. While the computer
used was not as powerful as recently produced computers, such usage of “supercom-
puters” in the early 1990s meant reduced waiting time for simulation process (a pro-
cess that would take almost forever with the processing power available to normal
workstation in that period of time). The usage of computer simulation became more
and more important in building research, especially in high-rise buildings. Simu-
lation techniques were used in construction scheduling (Leung and Tam, 2003),
emergency egress (Lo et al., 2002), fire preventions, and wind and seismic response
(Liang et al., 1997).
The usage of computer-aided optimization and automation also became wide-
spread in the industry since the 1990s. One of the earliest systems to utilize
computer-aided automation and optimization would be high-end, high-range ele-
vator system (Ovaska, 1992), utilizing embedded systems and chips to control pas-
sengers comfort level and minimizing traveling time. New algorithms were used to
solve the optimization problems. The earliest usage would be AI techniques such as
13
14 The Science Perspective
simulation will become very pervasive, improving efficiency of the design processes
and allowing practitioners to try unconventional designs in the simulation.
One really huge area of research would be that of intelligent buildings. Cur-
rently, multiple systems from different manufacturers still use differing protocols to
communicate with each other. Standardization in this aspect will open up possibil-
ities of integration of systems. For example, the School of Computing in National
University of Singapore uses a technology called SMTP to standardize data collec-
tions from the different AHU systems and networking facilities in the two computer
rooms (a smaller equivalent of data centres). The data collected is then made avail-
able through the Internet. Furthermore, controls such as power-cycling and network
controls are available through the Internet. There are also many niche areas that
combine information technology and high-rise. This includes areas such as IT-based
social policy in high-rise community (Ewing et al., 2003). Another niche would be
the usage of IT in construction sites (Choo, 2007).
References
Choo CF (2007) Use of wireless technology (WiFi) in building and construction processes. Unpub-
lished Honours Dissertation, National University of Singapore
Ewing S, Hayward D, Hopkins L, Thomas J (2003) The new social policy and the digital age: a
case study of a wired high rise public housing estate. Just Policy 29:36–45
Fang CF, Froese T (1999) Cost estimation of high performance concrete (HPC) high-rise com-
mercial buildings by neural networks. Durability of Building Materials and Components
8:2476–2486
Finch E (2001) Is IP everywhere the way ahead for building automation? Facilities
19(11/12):396–403
Foley CM, Vinnakota S (1994) Parallel processing in the elastic nonlinear analysis of high-rise
frameworks. Computer and Structures 52(6):1169–1179
Keogh PM (1996) Understanding the options for cabling and networking. Facilities 14(3/4):33–37
Leung AWT, Tam CM (2003) Scheduling for high-rise building construction using simulation
techniques. In: Amor R (ed) Proceedings of the CIB W78’s 20th international conference on
construction IT, construction IT bridging the distance, Waiheke Island, New Zealand, 186–193
Liang B, Tamura Y, Suganuma S (1997) Simulation of wind-induced lateral-torsional motion of
tall buildings. Computer and Structures 63(3):601–606
Liu DK, Yang YL, Li QS (2003) Optimum positioning of actuators in tall buildings using genetic
algorithm. Computer and Structures 81:2823–2827
Lo SM, Fang Z, Zhi GS, Yuen KK (2002) A computer simulation model of emergency egress for
space planners. Facilities 20(7/8):262–270
Ovaska SJ (1992) Electronics and information technology in high-range elevator systems. Mecha-
tronics 2(1):89–99
Yiu CY, Yau Y (2006) A learning model of intelligent home. Facilities 24(9/10):365–375
16 The Science Perspective
about. Also, present are the studies investigating the effects of tall buildings on
electromagnetic fields and the related implications.
Another field that is gaining in importance is the prediction and measurement
of aerodynamics and air flows around buildings. This field has varied applications
ranging from air pollution control to the prevention of street level winds that are too
strong for safe walking. It is noted that the general trend is again observed, with
research of increasing complexity built on the results of previous works. Another
detail worth noting is the increasing importance of this field being proportional to
the height of the buildings in question. With buildings going taller, it can only be
concluded that this field will gain more momentum as the industry’s needs grow in
this aspect.
The reviewed literature on acoustics reveals a field in which much research is
still in infancy stage compared to fields such as those relating to structural stability.
Instead of simply being concerned with issues of safety and feasibility, this field
is also concerned with more aesthetic aspects, including the comfort of building
inhabitants. However, the question of comfort and liveability are set to become
increasingly central to the design of future buildings, since technological advance-
ments has made the other fields rather reliable, and people will inevitably turn their
attention to aesthetic features.
Finally, various areas likely to become more and more important are explored.
Environmentally friendly solutions such as natural lighting and energy efficiency
are seen to begin to take root in the industry, even as the world focuses attention
on environmental issues in recent years. Also, interesting is the possibility of future
structures to possess nerve-like capabilities of identifying faults and damages, which
will be a breakthrough in the field of structural integrity.
Overall, it is seen that tall buildings continue to push the limits, and challenge
researchers to continually progress in knowledge and expertise relating to various
aspects of tall buildings. Of the few categories discussed, none will cease to be of
interest to researchers. Instead, the trend observed may be a shifting of focus away
from the needs of stability and strength, being well established, to new concerns
such as comfort and environmental issues. Consequently, these fields will become
increasingly important for future research. This is not to say that the more mature
areas of research will become redundant. Indeed, breakthroughs in those fields may
also lead to significant benefits in other fields.
18 The Science Perspective
Literature Composition
After Before
Subtopics Total Published Unpublished 2000 2000
Case studies: trends in high-rise 6 5 1 5 1
developments
Biomimetics: ideas and 11 6 5 11 0
principles
20 The Science Perspective
After Before
Subtopics Total Published Unpublished 2000 2000
Biology: insect colonies 4 4 0 3 1
Computational engineering 7 6 1 5 2
science
Energy systems 7 4 3 5 2
Bioimaging and optics 2 2 0 1 1
Nanotechnology and 3 2 1 1 2
nanoscience
Alternative trends: wood and 10 1 9 2 8
earth shelters
Total 50 30 20 33 17
Chemistry
Chen Shuhui
Chemistry, Year 2
In the face of globalization and urbanization, the rising demand for land space has
led to the development of skyscrapers. As high-rise becomes an increasingly com-
mon phenomenon, people have begun to pay greater attention to these tall buildings.
Numerous studies of different disciplines have also been conducted with regards to
skyscrapers. In this paper, literature review of published and unpublished works
related to high-rise in the field of chemistry is given in the form of annotated bibli-
ography. The readings chosen here date from the late 1970s to 2000s.
It is observed that earlier books and papers tended to be rather specialized and
hardly involved other discipline. In addition, studies were first based on tall build-
ings situated in countries with temperate climate, such as European countries. This
is understandable since most western countries were already developed in the 1970s
and had a greater need for vertical cities, as compared to tropical countries, such
as those in Asia, which were still developing at that time. It is also noted that pre-
liminary studies on high-rise centered on commercial buildings but had little focus
on residential ones. The relative abundance of commercial skyscrapers as compared
to tall residential dwellings in the 1970s and 1990s explains the stronger interest in
the former. People had also started to take notice of the indoor air quality of these
air-tight structures. However, little was known about the sick building syndrome
then and researchers could only relate the symptoms to tall buildings. Hence, initial
findings on the indoor air quality of buildings lacked depth and discussions were
limited to construction materials or the emission rates of primary sources of indoor
air pollutants.
More books and papers regarding skyscrapers surfaced in the 1990s as more
countries became developed and the number of tall buildings rose. The rapid emer-
gence of tall buildings around the world drew more attention to this area and aroused
the interest of researchers of different disciplines. In the 1990s, it is observed that
scholars began to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach when discussing issues per-
taining to high-rise in their dissertations, as compared to adhering to only one single
field in the 1970s and 1980s. This allowed a wider scope of discussion as observa-
tions could be rationalized based on the knowledge of different fields. There was
a shift in focus as studies localized on residential high-rise rather than commercial
buildings, and analyses on residential dwellings were noted to be different from
commercial buildings since offices tend to be distinct from that of houses in terms
of furnishings.
In addition, there were more written works focusing on indoor air quality when
the idea of indoor air became increasingly prominent and popularized in the 1990s.
Findings related to indoor air pollution were more conclusive as improvements in
analytical methods allowed researchers to investigate the indoor environment in
a more exhaustive manner. New perspectives were also gained when areas previ-
ously overlooked in earlier studies were examined. Furthermore, as more informa-
22 The Science Perspective
tion regarding the indoor environment was made available, the authorities began to
formulate rules to regulate the indoor air quality of buildings. Thus, studies were
conducted on the indoor air protocols developed by government bodies as well.
In earlier stages, people had little notion on nature-friendly features within build-
ings and there was little information on ecological-friendly buildings. Such con-
cepts did not appear till the late 1990s to 2000s. More literature related to green
buildings emerged then as the increase in the awareness of the environment led to
the push for green buildings. Although there was a period of stagnancy following
the September 11, 2001 incident, skyscrapers were thrown into the spotlight once
again as the race for the tallest building intensified. In particular, the stern warning
brought about by the September 11, 2001 attack prompted the increase in awareness
of security issues and the fire safety features of tall building. In the 2000s, many
books elaborating on fire safety issues were published. The chemical properties of
fire-resistant materials used in both construction and furnishings of buildings were
also studied in great detail. More attention was also given to skyscrapers in tropical
countries as these countries become more developed and demand for skyscrapers
skyrocketed. Hence, research on vertical cities in the tropics was carried out on a
much larger scale as compared to the 1970s and 1980s.
To minimize the negative impacts skyscrapers have on the environment, one
possible area of research would be to analyze possible ways to implement nature-
friendly features on tall buildings. Since the construction of green buildings requires
architectural designs to be ecologically conscious, future studies should center on
complementing nature with high-rise. Further research can also be conducted on
the indoor air environment of skyscrapers as the information currently available
is not conclusive enough. It is possible that the study of environmentally friendly
practices in skyscrapers can converge with the research on indoor air. For example,
researchers can investigate the feasibility of employing natural means to enhance
indoor air quality rather than mechanical ventilation, which can be rather inefficient
and result in wastage of energy resources. In addition, there is potential for more
dissertations and academic papers to be based on high-rise in tropical countries as
the number of tall buildings in non-western countries increase. Since skyscrapers in
temperate countries are highly distinct from those in tropical countries, there is a
wide scope for research in this field as findings on temperate high-rise may not be
applicable to tropical countries.
It is important to note that this paper does not provide an exhaustive list of pub-
lished and unpublished works relating to high-rise. When using this paper to search
for information on the chemical aspects of high-rise, there is a need to pay close
attention to the limitations of the papers stated in the literature review in order to
obtain relevant information, which is reliable.
The Science Perspective 23
the smart structures. A prime example would be the wireless technology: elimi-
nating the need of wire and cables. The lower price of the microcontrollers made
distributed systems a reality: it is now cheaper to equip every sensor with a low
end processor and have them perform simple tasks than to have a supercomputer as
a central processing unit capable of handling all the computations required. Inter-
est in earthquake and wind resistant buildings remains high; there is always a new
type of dampener being developed and old theories are refined to be more accurate.
However, there seems to be a large interest in another field, since the late 1990s:
structural health monitoring (SHM). There are enormous amount of papers being
published about this subject. This is probably driven by the concern in the USA
about aging public infrastructure, particularly bridges and highways. Nevertheless,
the monitoring techniques developed are for monitoring the status of concrete and
steel; thus it is largely relevant to the tall buildings. There are understandably much
more unpublished works by this time, there has been enough time for new graduates
to choose to specialize in this field and the use of smart materials is much more
widespread now.
In the future, I think the field will continue to go in the same direction, at least
for a while. The cost of computing power and actuators are always going down,
meaning it will only get easier to build a smart building. I believe the super high
rises of the future will lead this trend; their construction process is already high-tech
in nature and they are targeted at the rich, so there is nothing to stop the inclusion
of all the latest smart gadgets.
The Science Perspective 25
General Engineering
Ye Yaojing
Chemical Engineering, Year 4
My major of chemical engineering has few intersections with skyscrapers. The only
place where it comes to terms with tall structures in general is probably columns and
towers in a refinery, which, however, do not seem to belong to a module more akin
to urban planning and habitable buildings. Hence, I have decided to select articles
on engineering in a wider sense. The papers I am looking are from the 1990s and
2000s, partly because they turn out to be the easiest to find (older ones are often
not available electronically), though personally I feel it would be more interesting
to span a greater time period and perhaps look back as far as possible. Looking
for unpublished papers has also presented a challenge, as the National University
of Singapore (NUS) alone does not hold a significant number of relevant theses.
The several I have managed to get are from the Electronic prints (EPrints) Digital
Depository of other universities, and it still seems uncommon for authors to put up
potentially publishable technical papers online.
Apart from postgraduate theses and conference papers, there are several notable
journals for papers on engineering and tall building-related topics: The Struc-
tural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, Building and Environment, Energy and
Buildings, as well as Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.
Together, they give a reliable supply of articles relevant to this field of interest. The
Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings (inaugurated in 1992) in particular
provides a wealth of information with its collection of research articles and special
features, so much so that a significant number of the articles I found are from its less
than two decades in circulation.
Glancing across the list of papers irrespective of time, they fall into two main
categories: investigative and research-based. Investigative papers are often triggered
by disastrous events, such as the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California
and the 2001 September 11 attack on World Trade Centre, both of which caused
wide-ranged repercussions in the building industry and beyond. The Northridge
earthquake killed 57 and resulted in $42.5 billion in damage, leading many to
question the construction standard of buildings in the seismically active area. The
collapse of World Trade Centre, on the other hand, severely affected the psyche
of Americans and their view of the safety of skyscrapers in particular. Investigative
articles covering these topics often question what went wrong, what could have been
done but was not, and what should be done in the future.
Research-based papers, in comparison, focus on improvement of existing meth-
ods and prevention of accidents. For instance, much effort has been put into simu-
lating and measuring the seismic response of high-rises and minimizing oscillations
during high-force wind, while other researchers have focused on improving the
design of elevators and claddings. Often, computer programme simulations are run
and comparisons made to real life data. These papers are often cross-referenced and
26 The Science Perspective
sometimes researchers would publish a series of articles, each of which are similar
but build upon the prior one.
Looking at the papers chronologically, again it may be easier to look at them
along the two categories mentioned earlier. Investigative articles follow the event
they cover, so immediately after an earthquake people will report on its aftermath,
a few years later write-ups on policy change in response to it comes up, and after a
decade there can be a retrospective on the long-term impact of the entire event. A
similar pattern is observed for articles on the effect of September 11 on skyscraper
construction. Each event thus stands on its own, but a sense of time and development
can be distilled from looking at the relevant articles on it through the years.
Research-based papers naturally follow a more synchronized pattern, for the
many technological methods involved in high-rise projects are intricately inter-
twined. Every new development is built upon older ones, sometimes utilizing exist-
ing ideas in novel ways, sometimes thanks to a breakthrough in a related field. And
a good idea is immediately made available to others to be built upon in turn. By
comparing papers on a similar subject from the two recent decades, the differences
in approach and methods can be striking, and little wonder that given how rapidly
the skyscraper scene has evolved during the time in between. It is certain to remain
an active field, too, with many technical barriers yet to break through.
The Science Perspective 27
the effects it has on the occupants or residents. If we mean the biology aspect, it
would be like the distribution of the dengue vector and the integration between the
environment and these buildings. Therefore, are we interested in just the occupants
of the building, or are we asking about the role high-rise buildings can play in all the
various concentrations of the Life Sciences? If we are interested in just one aspect
of the Life Sciences, then we have limited literature upon which to draw.
The focus is thus on the relation of high-rise buildings to the discipline of Life
Sciences as a whole. High-rise buildings are defined as tall, continuously habitable
buildings of five stories and above that are used for various uses such as for residen-
tial and commercial purposes. This definition is adopted considering the complex
and limited relationship between high-rise buildings and the Life Sciences. The
literature from the past decade suggests the criticism and evaluation of high-rise
residence and the ecological relationship between nature and these high-rise build-
ings. Of course, there are many other relationships between high-rise buildings and
the Life Sciences, and we will review some of these. This helps us understand the
role Life Sciences can play in the study of high-rise buildings in our community,
especially where high-rise has become part and parcel of our lives.
Various studies and research have approached the topic from different aspects of
the Life Sciences, all of which come together in determining and shaping the future
of high-rise buildings and the improvements that can be taken to provide a better
quality of life for the occupants. Being a small country where land is scared and
the need for high-rise housing to provide a shelter for the people of Singapore,
high-rise public housing remains a viable option for most Singaporeans and will
be here to stay. Together with the fact that the Aedes aegypti is the primary vector
of dengue viruses in both Southeast Asia and Singapore with the Aedes albopictus
serving as a secondary vector, both of which are capable of transmitting the virus
that cause the fatal dengue haemorrhagic fever. There is thus an urgent need to study
the distribution of these vectors among high-rise buildings in Singapore. Hence, this
can be a possible future area of research to target what might be a potential endemic
if the situation gets out of control.
In addition, another future area of research can be to study the vertical flight
ability of mosquitoes in relation to high-rise buildings. Will a building be too high
for a mosquito? Could a mosquito fly all the way to the top floor? If the results
obtained are found to be negative (in other words, a building may be too high for a
mosquito and mosquitoes cannot fly too high), this may chart the future development
of high-rise buildings where only the upper floors (way above the vertical flight
ability of mosquitoes) are reserved for residential uses and the lower floors (within
the vertical flight ability of mosquitoes) reserved for commercial or other uses that
require an enclosed air-conditioned space. This, thus, reduces the transmission of
diseases that are borne and transmitted by mosquitoes and maybe other insects as
well.
The Science Perspective 29
Another factor that is of main concern to high-rise living is the quality of air
that is found both in the indoor and outdoor environment of high-rise buildings.
It is a cause for worry as poor air quality can lead to several illnesses where young
children and the elderly are more susceptible to these illnesses, as reviewed by some
of the research and findings over the past 3 decades. Hence, there is a need for
constant monitoring of air quality among high-rise buildings and new measures to
be developed and implemented in urban planning to improve air quality in both the
indoor and outdoor environment of high-rise buildings.
30 The Science Perspective
Materials in Skyscrapers
Tan Kuan Khoon Royston
Material Science and Engineering, Year 3
Many books and journals have been published about the use of materials in con-
struction of skyscrapers. The focus of most research is on the understanding of
material properties and how they act in-situ. Considerable research is also done
on new materials and composite methods in order to improve building properties.
However, research on materials for buildings and skyscrapers face a unique problem
not faced by materials for other purposes. These buildings are meant to last at least
50 years and skyscrapers, which define a city’s character, may last even longer.
Skyscrapers also tend to house many people, be it for work, play or residential thus
the tolerance for any damage or failure is much lower. Given its unique problems
such as wind and seismic resistance and its low tolerance for failure, researchers
have to work on a complete understanding of the materials properties and also how
it may change over time.
Perhaps the most difficult task is to predict the behaviour of materials over the
long term in environmental conditions as they undergo different processes such
as degradation and creep. Although some research has been done to observe such
effects, they are often hindered by the long time frame of such effects, which may
take many years to observe. Creep can occur in regions of 1 mm per year, which is
barely noticeable to most people but precise fittings and walls in the rooms may be
affected. There were precedents of ceramic walls cracking and falling off buildings
possibly due to the lack of understanding and consideration of this effect. Creep
effects are amplified by the stress accompanying the huge weight of skyscrapers on
the lower floors thus their understanding becomes even more critical. However, we
must also keep in mind the diverse grades of materials used in construction (e.g.
high strength versus normal concrete) that requires observation to be done in each
example.
Degradation has only come to the forefront of material understanding recently,
having previously been accepted as inevitable. While some buildings such as the
stone pyramids and pantheons of the past could afford to ignore these effects due
to the resilience of stone, the newer materials such as steel and concrete are not
resistant to the effects of degradation. Steel, even stainless steel rusts over time
depending on the conditions of the atmosphere. Concrete may crack and spall over
time as well. This ignorance has cost many organizations around the world millions
in repairs and replacement. In a skyscraper, the harsh environmental conditions such
as high stress on lower floors and high winds at higher floors can exacerbate these
problems, thus a thorough understanding of the material properties is important.
In the aspect of understanding the properties of materials, the use of advanced
computer models allows us to predict such behaviour with some degree of accuracy.
These models are often able to upscale material properties from small individual
tests to predict their behaviour in buildings. However, it must always be remem-
bered that such data are extrapolated and may not be the real situation. For example,
The Science Perspective 31
the lack of certain defects for small pieces of certain materials causes its material
properties to be often superior compared its larger samples. Thus, we can see many
articles refining old models based on new data and new understanding. Experience
with modeling tells us the change of certain small and possibly rather obscure
parameters of the equations could yield totally different results and modeling of
skyscrapers with its complex structures and supports would make use of many of
such equations thus accuracy is of utmost importance. Calibration with real life data
is not only recommended but rather crucial to making sure that the calculations are
relevant.
Besides research to understand existing technology and materials, there is also a
considerable amount of ongoing research to improve on the qualities of our current
materials. One example is the constant search to find stronger and lighter materials,
which has resulted in high strength steel and concrete. However, with every new
material we need to build up a body of understanding before it can be safely applied
to buildings and skyscrapers. High strength concrete, which was very exciting when
it was first used experienced problems in situations of fire. The concrete walls would
sometimes spall explosively when exposed to heat. This was a problem not con-
sidered by many designers until the events of September 11, 2001 where it was
suspected that fire was the main cause of collapse. Thus, a complete understanding
of the character of a material is important in any application, especially for building.
Many researchers also tend to focus on disaster prevention. Unfortunately, these
usually occur after a major disaster such as the 1994 Northridge earthquake and
the September 11, 2001 plane crash. Many lessons were learnt but these are painful
lessons. If work was done earlier to predict and prevent such disasters, consider-
able number of lives would be saved. Thus, it is the work of structural engineers
and designers to predict the possible worst case scenarios and work towards their
prevention. This is especially true for skyscrapers where the possibility of damage
may be highest. One possible consideration where less work is being done is the
possible effect of tsunami or hurricanes given many of these skyscrapers are found
in coastal cities. Even if there were no evidences of previous occurrences, the cost
of planning for such possibilities may save lives in the future. One example is the
Republic Plaza, which has earthquake proof features in spite of Singapore being in
an earthquake free zone. This would aid occupant comfort in light of the tremors
from large earthquakes from Indonesia. Thus planning ahead to foresee problems
and prevent them should be a major focus for structural engineers and the materials
engineer would support them with materials designed for such purposes such as fire
insulation, damper material and tougher materials to withstand damage.
Towards the future of material research in skyscrapers, many researchers con-
sider composites to be the way to go in the future. Composites are by no means new
to construction. In fact, the first composites could be traced to the bricks made of
straw and mud. Composites of the future would be made of more exotic materials
such as carbon fiber nano-tubes, which could provide better mechanical properties
at a much lighter weight, ideal for construction of skyscrapers. The problem often
comes with the processing cost of such materials but with superior properties that
cannot be matched by any other materials, it is sometimes out of necessity that
32 The Science Perspective
these high performance materials are used. Thus, research focus could be on the
processing of such materials in order to bring the down the cost and improve ease
of use.
Thus, we see materials research and understanding supports the skyscrapers quite
literally but often times the material knowledge lags behind the dreams and ideals of
the designers. The onus is on the researchers to catch up to those dreams and ideals.
While we can push for innovation, it must be tempered with care especially for a
low tolerance environment like skyscrapers, as any mistakes or oversight could lead
to massive loss of lives and resources.
The Science Perspective 33
Physics Matters
Tan Wei Lin
Science (Physics Major), Year 2
Physics is the study of how nature works. A few broad categories of topics rel-
evant to high-rise buildings within the discipline of physics include: mechanics,
wave and acoustics, electrodynamics and thermodynamics. I will briefly discuss
each of the abovementioned topics to explain why I consider them relevant to
high-rise buildings. Firstly, mechanics deals with the motion and thus stability of
the building. Secondly, wave and acoustics are responsible for lighting and noise
control of the buildings respectively. Thirdly, the study of electrodynamics will aid
understanding in electrical systems and circuits. Electrodynamics is also important
to the understanding of atmospheric electricity, for example, lightning, under atmo-
spheric physics, which is an application of physics to the study of the atmosphere.
Lastly, thermodynamics explains the heat transfer mechanisms within the building.
Therefore, the study of the stability of high-rise buildings as well as its safety and
comfort is highly dependent on the principles of physics.
A major proportion of the literature found falls under the topic of mechan-
ics, especially wind-induced motion of the buildings. The studies regarding wind-
induced motion of the buildings range from methods, calculations and predictions of
wind-induced motion of the building, to the measures taken to stabilize the structure
and reduce such motion. There are many factors involved in this phenomenon. The
building shape and geometry, the direction of wind and its fluctuations, the sur-
rounding buildings and their positions and dimensions all contribute to the motion
of the building in response to wind. Due to the complexity of this phenomenon,
the investigations have spanned through the decades, from 1960s to 1990s. Some
of these investigations have tried to generalize the study by introducing a shape
variable to use in the calculations. However, the description of a shape variable
seems to be rather arbitrary and hard to implement.
Another approach taken by some is to define a building with a uniform cross
section, such as a square, and to start the calculation from there. The advantage of
this approach (though its application has become limited due to various unsymmet-
rical designs recently) is that the investigation can be more in-depth. Eventually, all
these studies have shown how to measure the wind effects on buildings and provide
a good reference for engineers to derive and calculate the wind loading effects of
any specific building they have in mind. The other line of studies, which contin-
ues from calculating the effects of wind loading, is the measures taken to reduce
those movements. Different types of dampers are well discussed. There is a good
range of literature on the studies of wind-induced motion of the buildings and their
self-regulation.
Similar to the wind-induced motion of buildings, seismic responses and other
forms of vibration of structures are also well investigated through the decades. The
structure of these investigations takes a similar form as that of wind-induced motion.
With respect to the different types of loading, structures such as shear walls, steel
34 The Science Perspective
frames and concrete are also investigated to ensure their stability. The studies on
such structures have shifted from an emphasis on shear walls and steel frames to
more studies on composite types. This is probably an indication of more integration
of the different types of technology used and probably shows how the advantages
of each system have been used to complement each other. The indication is that
high-rise structures have evolved to use more composite systems so as to ensure
efficiency.
From the late 1960s to 1980s, it can be seen that most of the literature deals
with the structural stability of high-rise buildings. However, from 1990s onwards,
while the studies on structural stability continue, there is more discussion on factors
relating to design and comfort, such as cladding, ventilation and elevator systems.
The importance of cladding extends beyond the design of the buildings; it is also
very important in providing shade and insulation. Appropriate cladding will help to
reduce the transmission of excess heat into the building, which helps to reduce the
need for air-conditioning to improve thermal comfort. At the same time, it can also
aid in improving the natural lighting of the building. Ventilation is closely related to
occupants’ health as the regulation of internal air and external air helps to maintain
the balance of air quality within the building. Elevator systems provide the necessary
transport within the building. Such studies have been aimed at improving the service
it provides occupants of tall buildings. However, the number of these studies, though
increasing, is still lacking in rigour and in-depth study. For example, the materials
of cladding used and their relative positions along the surface of the building could
have been discussed more, using case studies as well. The positions of windows
within the tall building and the measures taken to control wind speed through the
building can also be discussed.
Although the application of science on high-rise has shifted from ensuring struc-
tural safety to improving the comfort of occupants, much of the literature is to sug-
gest improvements for the status quo of high-rise, and lacks speculation about the
future. In discussing the structural stability of tall buildings, for example, very little
is said about the height when buildings become almost impossible to be stabilized.
Much of the studies are made within fixed parameters of height and building shape,
if not, just arbitrary variables. Therefore, this question of the height limit of high-rise
has never been addressed.
As we go higher, air compositions and density will be different. The lower air
pressure at greater heights will also make natural ventilation difficult. Wind speed
will be higher, leading to greater wind loading effects. Due to the height, the accel-
eration observed on the top floors of the building would also be very significant,
resulting in discomfort. These natural phenomena may possibly impose a limit to
how tall we can build. Among others, the question is then how to evaluate and place
a numerical value on this and the practicality of doing that. Stating a specific value
as a cut-off height limit may be uninspiring, challenging the notion that the sky is the
limit. This may be the reason for the lack of motivation for research on this question.
However, study on the maximum buildable height would raise interesting issues to
contemplate, especially in the current race to build the world’s tallest building.
The Annotated Bibliography
In the Humanities
Film
Burton, T, Kane, B and Hamm, S (1989) Batman, Warner Brothers Pictures, United
States of America.
High-rise here represents a postmodern reading, being sites of power struggle. In the archi-
tectural sense, skyscrapers join to form a Gothic-like city, one that is mysterious and gloomy
with its long-drawn silhouettes and shady figures that hide among the tall walls of each
high-rise. Batman is their mightiest foe, a lone ranger sworn to protect Gotham City after his
parents were killed by a hoodlum when he was a young child. In the film, the final struggle
between Batman and his greatest enemy, Joker, takes place in the Gotham Cathedral. One
can see the postmodern perspective very clearly as Joker and Batman battle it out. In the
end, Joker falls to his death in the church belfry. But as policemen surround his body they
hear eerie sounds of laughter. It is a recording put up by Joker, and seems to promise that in
the dark walls of Gotham City’s skyscrapers there will be more evil.
Clouse, R, Lee, B and Spears, J (1978) Game of Death, Concord Productions Incor-
poration, Hong Kong.
This 1978 remake of Bruce Lee’s partially finished film focuses primarily on the martial
art action that takes place at the Red Lantern Complex. Billy Lo, the main character of the
film, is typically threatened with his kidnapped girlfriend’s death if he does not come out
of hiding from where he is systematically killing members of the triad one by one. Thus,
37
38 In the Humanities
he has to defeat a different martial art exponent at each floor, and eventually the film ends
with his victory. The reading of high-rise in Game of Death looks to be a postmodern one;
that is, high-rise as a site of power struggle, simply because Lo pits himself against these
martial arts experts and has to overcome all of them before he can rescue his loved one.
There is also likely a direct parallel with each of his successes, and subsequent ascension to
the next level, where a deadlier foe awaits. Thus, Game of Death employs both the subtle
and postmodern touch in its use of high-rise.
Ephron, N and Arch, J (1993) Sleepless in Seattle, TriStar Pictures, United States of
America.
This 1993 film takes advantage of high rise for the most significant part of the plot, which
is about how a grieving widower and a journalist in an unhappy relationship come together.
High rise takes up relatively little land area considering that most of the space it uses extends
vertically. Thus, a sense of constriction results and Ephron capitalizes on this to create a
feeling of urgency as the film’s two stars almost lose each other, one missing the elevator
that the other is on, and almost walking away forever. In a modern society, courtship is no
longer conducted amidst picturesque walks down country lanes while the sun sets; life is
more harried, and urban life bustles. Skyscrapers capture that essence. Thus, using high rise
as the site where the lovers meet is an accurate portrayal of the fleeting breaths of experience
by which we live our lives today.
Geronimi, C, Penner, E and Perrault C (1959) Sleeping Beauty, Walt Disney Pro-
ductions, United States of America.
Another story from Children’s Literature, Sleeping Beauty tells a tale of a beautiful princess
cursed by an evil fairy, who declares that she will prick her finger and thereafter be doomed
to an enchanted sleep until her prince comes and rescues her. The tower in Sleeping Beauty
is the abode of the princess as she lies in her unnatural sleep, placed there by the good fairy
who helped to soften the initially fatal spell. Thus, it represents the task that the prince must
conquer before he proves himself worthy of her love. It seems like a postmodern reading
of power struggle, but considering its history as written in the 17th century it seems rather
premature to call it that. The tower is a symbol of power, this time to be won and gained by
the bold prince. As fairy tales go, in the end he succeeds, and they all live happily ever after.
The Towering Inferno is a disaster-centred film – a film genre that has a catastrophe either
imminent or ongoing. The skyscraper in this film is quite certainly solely used for nationalist
purposes; the film was released the year the Sears Tower was opened, and a year after
the construction of the two World Trade Center skyscrapers. They were the world’s tallest
buildings during the two years of their releases. Action in this film borders around the new
but shoddily constructed skyscraper. On the night of its dedication an electrical panel short
circuits and a fire starts, trapping hundreds of people still in the building, some of whom
are at a celebration party thrown in honour of the opening. Firefighters battle the blaze
and make many heroic attempts to rescue these people. The film’s theme is thus about the
tension between courage and fear, and its issues include safety concerns – both about the
reasons for the fire, and the lack of preparedness, evidently reflecting real-life concerns of
high-rise.
Jackson, P, Walsh, F and Boyens, P (2005) King Kong, Big Primate Pictures, New
Zealand.
The plot is as follows: A film crew on Skull Island for a shoot, encounter a monstrous
gorilla who takes a fancy to their female lead and capture her. After many tremulous events,
he is captured and taken to America to be exhibited. However, he escapes, and in an iconic
scene, climbs to the top of the Empire State Building and battles aircraft in an attempt
to protect the girl. In the end, he dies. From the summary, several inferences can be made.
Firstly, the Empire State Building is here given a post-modern and national sense. The power
struggle is obvious enough; King Kong and Man fight against each other, and the winner
will symbolize either the triumph of Man, or beast. Nationalistic feelings are also aroused,
as watchers are led to identify themselves as citizens of the nation (in this case America),
and will thus naturally desire this nation to win against its terrible foe. The Empire State
Building is the treasure, where the party who claims control of it is the ultimate victor.
they speak the same language. Thus, the theme of Metropolis is on the social crisis between
workers and owners in capitalism, and a major concern is that of injustice.
Marguand, R, Lucas, G and Kasdan, L (1983) Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the
Jedi, Lucasfilm, United States of America.
The skyscrapers in this movie are completely out of the world, literally. Set in the vast
galaxy, Return of the Jedi is the third film in the Star Wars. Known internationally as an
epic space opera, it is interesting to view the Return of the Jedi through the lens of a student
of skyscrapers. The tall buildings in the Return of the Jedi are given a feminist reading in the
postmodern sense. The Galactic Senate Building is specifically focused on in this film. The
Galactic Senate Building was the political structure which housed the Galactic Republic’s
political figures. As the major building that juts out of the Galactic Republic skyline, it
is an undoubtedly phallic symbol of might and power. Indeed, decades on in the Star Wars
timeline, much has happened but the Senate Building is still visible on the coruscant skyline,
even at the time when the second Death Star has been destroyed, a symbol of the structure’s
lasting might.
McTiernan, J, Thorp, R and Stuart, J (1988) Die Hard, Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Corporation, United States of America.
A popular film series, the first of the Die Hard series, revolves around various skyscrapers
in a capitalist and postmodern sense. The villains in this film use a terrorist pretense to
cover their actual act – theft of $640 million in bearer bonds from the building. Given the
relatively confined space in the horizontal sphere, the direction then proceeds to cram a lot
of action within the building itself. As such, suspense and thrill are imparted to the film
watches. Here, McTiernan goes a step further and consciously employs the vertical heights
of the skyscraper for more drama. There are various scenes of hangings: a man hanging
onto a chain, the latter separating him from a fatal fall and the mastermind hanging for his
life onto a woman’s watch before the protagonist rushes up and causes him to plunge to his
death.
Moore, M (2004) Fahrenheit 9/11, Lions Gate Film, United States of America.
Quite uniquely, but hardly surprisingly, the fall of the World Trade Centre has been taken up
for political discourse by filmmaker Michael Moore. The event is revisited for the express
purpose of questioning the Bush administration, and the manner by which they handled
the September 11 attacks. Thus, using the Twin Towers, he criticizes and shows a side
rarely seen in the pom-pom carrying American corporate media that were “cheerleaders”
of the Bush administration. Other issues he takes up against the administration include his
In the Humanities 41
contention that they neglected to take action, and implies that President Bush’s priorities are
not about the nation, but of story book reading, as seen from how the President continued
reading to young children even after being told of the attacks and that the nation was in
danger. He also links 9/11 to terrorism, and declares that the war against Iraq was built on a
lie. Fahrenheit 9/11 won the extremely prestigious Palme d’Or for his documentary.
Nemes, C, Aoun, K and Bedia, R (2001) Tour Montparnasse Infernale, La, 4 Mecs
à Lunettes Production, France.
The plot centers around two window washers, and humour is used as the medium of the film
where their unintended stumble into heroism by saving a group of people from gangsters
who mean to rob the building of fifty million francs. Skyscrapers are portrayed here from
a capitalist reading, given how, as majestic structures that rise formidably into the sky, they
also represent capital accumulation. It is also quite unarguable that a low-rise building might
not have had the same effect – grocery stores and quaint shops are low-rise; high-rise is an
irrefutable statement that there is wealth in the business building. Thus, skyscrapers have
been employed for their symbolic meaning of wealth, and the struggle by various groups to
obtain that wealth.
Ratner, B, Nathanson, J and LaManna, R (2007) Rush Hour 3, New Line Cinema,
United States of America.
Classified under the martial arts-action-comedy genre, the film uses the Eiffel Tower for a
significant length of time, as it is the site for the climax and conclusion. The high-rise tower
is used for dramatic effect when one of the main characters is trussed up outside the Jules
Verne Restaurant, and held for ransom. The villains repeatedly lower her ropes until it looks
42 In the Humanities
as though she might be crushed amongst the grinding wheel cogs outside the restaurant, but
in the midst of the fight she is freed and one of the key assassins is crushed to death instead.
More dramatic effect occurs when Chan engages in a fatal battle against his sworn brother
Kenji whom he still cares very much for, and even as Chan tries to save him despite the
ripping safety net, in the end Kenji kills himself by releasing himself from Chan because
he knows that the weakened netting cannot take both their weight. Finally, the high-rise is
used as a parachuting base for Chan and Tucker to escape from, to comic effect. Thus, we
see the various uses of high-rise employed by Ratner in his film.
Vidor, K and Rand, A (1949) The Fountainhead, Warner Brothers Pictures, United
States of America.
In the Humanities 43
Literature
Alten, S (2008) The Shell Game, Sweetwater Books, Johnstown.
A thriller based on the 9/11 attacks, Alten has constructed a postmodern reading of
skyscrapers and high-rise in general. He views skyscrapers as sites of power struggle, and
as such his novel claims the fall of the World Trade Center as a government-led job. As
might be expected, The Shell Game is very much a government conspiracy theory centric
work. Essentially, the fictional novel’s argument is that the government of the United States
of America is corrupted, so it can, does and did perpetrate mass-murder terror schemes
for profit. Amongst other theories thrown up in the book are profit for the control of oil,
international gamesmanship, and political mastery. At the end of his novel, there is an actual
nuclear incident occurring within an American state, again from a government conspiracy
theory angle. Alten has included other issues, for example, his instigation of the media as
puppets of the government, incompetent and incapable of being true journalists. His issues
ultimately arise because of the great symbolism high-rise holds as sites of wealth and power.
attacks on the World Trade Center. The basic theme of Dear Zoe is how the catastrophic
event befalling a building can overshadow other events no less important, even if they are on
a less dramatic scale. The Twin Towers’ fall is the reason for the DeNunzio’s grief, and her
entire life subsequently hinges on that one day. Indeed, the attacks may not be the core of
this story, but they come to symbolize struggle, tension and confusion in a young adolescent
who eventually learns how to let go.
Colon, E and Jacobson, S (2006) The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, Hill and
Wang, United States of America.
In the Humanities 45
The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation was a personal mission undertaken by two veterans
of the comic industry. With the fall of the Twin Towers as its subject matter, the argument
for the educational use of graphics is a happy consequence of the adaptation. Given that a
picture paints a thousand words, this book is a godsend to those who are weaker in literary
skills.
Dwyer, J and Flynn, K (2005) 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive
inside the Twin Towers, Times Books, New York.
Categorized somewhat loosely under non-fiction, 102 minutes is an account of the literally,
hundred and two minutes from the time the first plane hit the first Twin Tower, till the time
it collapsed and fell. Taken from hundreds of interviews with eyewitnesses, thousands of
radio transcripts, emails, and phone calls, it seeks to recreate that 102 minute time span.
Evidently, its theme is that of death: impending death, reactions to death, responses from
both the people inside the Tower and their loved ones whom they tried to contact before
they were killed. The mood of 102 Minutes is somber and gut-wrenching in its simplicity.
A man fatally trapped on the eighty-eighth floor sends a phone message to his fiancée: “
Kris, there’s been an explosion . . .. I want you to know my life has been so much better and
richer because you were in it“ . Another calls his wife in his final moments, telling her to
cancel a surprise trip he had planned for her. This book centers around the loss and pain the
fall of the Twin Towers brought, and recalls that hopeless day.
Foer, J S (2005) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Houghton Mifflin, United
States of America.
Skyscrapers are brought forth in the nationalist sense in this book. The destruction of one
building is specifically focused on in the fiction novel, namely, the World Trade Center in
the United States of America on the 9th of September, 2001. This book traces Oscar Schell’s
efforts to deal with his loss of his father, who died in the attacks, and his subsequent recov-
ery. The fall of the Twin Towers in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close also trigger off
other painful memories and stories. The overall story seems to have its purpose as emotional
therapy for the victims of the September 11 attacks, who undoubtedly experience catharsis
as they feel Oscar’s bewilderment, and struggle to cope, combined with determination to
make sense of his tragic situation. A significant inclusion to this novel is a flip-book of the
Falling Man. Foer has reversed the order of his fall, so that it looks as though the Falling Man
is actually, floating. This could be taken as a symbol of Oscar’s healing, and transcendence
over his trauma.
King, S (1987) The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, Viking Adult,
England.
Stephen King is a master storey-teller, and his Dark Tower series is his crowning glory.
A seven part series, together they tell the quest of Roland of Gilead in his quest to find
the Dark Tower. In the second volume of the series, three doors are placed in his way,
and he opens them as part of his quest. Skyscrapers in this book are employed by Stephen
King as structural metonymy, or, the use of physical landscapes as a clue of what is really
happening around the protagonist. Each of the three doors open into different times, and
the skyscraper in each reality is reflective of the current social issues facing Roland and the
other main characters. For instance, in the first door opens up into the year 1987. Eddie Dean
is a heroin addict, and the person Roland becomes involved with. Fittingly, his surroundings
reflect the situation. High-rises are grimy and dubious, with much crime and filth going on
inside. As the novel goes on, buildings are described according to the mood the King wants
to set. This is part of his genius, using high-rise as a structural metonymy to alert readers as
to his intended meaning.
King, S (2004) The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, Viking Adult, England.
The final book in the Dark Tower series is where Roland of Gilead finally gains access to
the actual Dark Tower. The Dark Tower has various meanings in here. Firstly, high-rise in
this novel is used more in the feminist sense, where Roland encounters various rooms that
have signs of his journey en route to the Dark Tower. Secondly, the Tower represents the
only reason for living to Roland, and thus it should actually be understood more from the
metaphorical sense than the literal structure, even though it is indeed a high-rise. He has
devoted most of his life to the search of the Tower, in the hopes that its power might slow
down or even reverse his slowly dying world and indeed, it has taken seven full length novels
In the Humanities 47
to properly tell of his efforts. Thus, the Dark Tower, though an actual physical building, in
this case should be considered from its metaphorical and figurative sense, as is the case with
most literary works.
are also invariably the site for fear. Through subversion, suspense and the uncanny, Stoker
breathes life into strange and evil things, such as ghostly women, locked doors, and a veri-
table prison of a castle, dark and foreboding, set on the top of a steep precipice. Unnatural
acts are performed by the vampire, such as scaling a castle wall downwards with his cape
streaming behind him, yet not falling to his death. Ultimately, high-rise is employed to strike
fear into the reader; fear of the unknown in hidden passageways, dark corridors that yawn
into nothingness, and the inexplicable happenings that defy science and common sense.
Tolkien, J R R (1955) The Return of the King, Allen and Unwin, Australia.
This book is essentially about the battle between the forces of good and evil. The once-
flourishing city Minas Tirith has come to decay. Its castles and great buildings are proof
of that. Towers act as a metonymy of sorts, albeit a structural one. That is, the buildings
facades are a physical representation of the moral standing of the Ages. For example, during
the Second Age Isildur son of Elendil built a tower he named Minas Ithil, meaning, Tower
of the Rising Moon. The walls were of white marble, designed to catch and reflect the
moonlight, and so shine with luminescence. However, during the Third Age, Minas Ithil
was taken by force. It was renamed Minas Mogul, or the Tower of Black Sorcery. The walls
were studded with fortifications that were menacing, reflecting the change in times. Thus
Tolkien uses buildings as an indication of the moral standings of the Times, as each change
and evolve.
Jess Walters is one of the few post-9/11 writers who see the fall of the World Trade Cen-
ter from a capitalist point of view. He dares to give an unflattering reading of that day;
especially rare because the American public has glorified it to the extent that the only
associations allowed are basically tales of exceptional courage, bravery, and rage against
the incompetent builders who neglected to design firewall staircases in favour of more floor
space – since the latter would translate into more money for business. His central theme
is the surreality of a post-9/11 world, and the utter importance of the Twin Towers falls to
the lives of American citizens. One of the most pertinent issues he tackles is the double
tragedy of the 9th of September – that of the day itself, and then of human exploitation of it.
He discusses America’s culture, and it’s unfortunately parasitic reaction to the demolished
buildings. He argues that people treat the former skyscrapers as a site to gawk, as though it
is a tourist attraction and not a historical event where citizens paid for their political leaders’
mistakes.
When the book report is from the Bible, one supposes the author is rightfully God. One can
also suppose the Tower of Babel was therefore put into the Bible for a reason, and that would
be very much correct. The Tower of Babel was built for Man to showcase their progress and
advancement, and most importantly, self-sufficiency, a kind of primitive capitalist reading.
Thus, the Tower represents Man’s rebellion against God, for it was made with the purpose
of glorifying Man, and not Him. The outcome of the event serves a didactic function – God
confused their language, so that they were not able to complete their self-idolatry, and they
eventually separated into nations. The Tower of Babel has been a tremendous influence in
literature, sparking off allusions in many works, from plays to songs and even video games.
The significance of The Tower of Babel is simply that of its history; stretching back to the
beginnings of time and containing much symbolism in the relationship between God and
rebellious men.
In the Humanities 49
Best, R (1992) Housing after 2000AD: the likely effects of political, social and
economic change. In: W. A. Allen, E. Happold, R. G. Courtney and A. M. Wood
(Ed), A Global Strategy for Housing in the Third Millennium, Taylor and Francis,
London, 21–42.
Britain’s housing market underwent notable changes engendered by changing political,
social and economic conditions in the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Many of these changes
were not unique to the British experience; rather, the causal relationships affecting urban
form in cities around the world were characterized by similar socio-political factors. For
example, longer life expectancies and a lower birth rate caused demographic changes to
British society as a whole, which in turn translated to an increase in the demand for smaller
dwelling units: houses and flats with one or two bedrooms. Also, this situation caused large
numbers of large homes to be torn down, making way for high-rise residential apartments
offering the smaller units that society demanded. From this, we can clearly see a direct
link between demographic trends and the modern Man’s obsession with building taller.
High-rises are, thus, an architectural response to the social and political configuration of
contemporary society, and Britain’s experience in this respect, as explored in this chapter,
are certainly not exclusive to her alone.
Chow, S T and Mcdonald, A (1984) Planning and design of public housing estates
in Hong Kong. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore Pro-
fessional Center, Singapore, 25–34.
Hong Kong’s public high-rise housing programme parallels Singapore’s Housing and
Development Board schemes in many aspects, and there is little wonder for this considering
the degree of similarity between the two polities. Both Singapore and Hong Kong face the
problem of extreme land scarcity coupled with a steadily increasing migrant population,
and hence have to contend with ‘running up a sandy slope’. This set of preconditions bring
with it challenges and demands for the relevant authorities and planners, because they have
to be nimble and adapt their policy decisions to the changing situation and demographics
on the ground. High-rises must continually adapt to the needs of the community: a fledgling
nation-state requires the rapid construction of functional apartment blocks, as compared
to a more affluent and family-oriented society which will necessarily demand larger units.
50 In the Humanities
This flexibility is essential in ensuring that high-rise living remains a good option for small
autonomous polities like Singapore and Hong Kong.
Gilbert, R V (1984) Improving the quality of life on high-rise estates through tenant
participation in management. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-density Living,
Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 165–170.
The writer was the Director of Housing in Australia’s Ministry of Housing. He used exam-
ples from the Australian experience with public high-rise housing to elucidate certain
aspects of high-rise living. Often, governments have made use of high-rise living as a polit-
ical tool, achieving the dual purpose of having something tangible to show with regards to
national development, as well as housing the poorer segments of society. It is economically
impossible for the private sector to provide housing for all, and thus the government has
to step in to ensure that the poorest have a roof over their heads with low-cost housing
programmes. However, these quick-fix projects often run into problems in their later years.
This is due to the rising expectations of people, who become discontent with the lower
cost units as time passes. This paper emphasizes the importance of flexibility in planning
and the fluid nature of the property market, and how the public have to work together with
relevant government departments to ensure good quality public high-rise housing for those
who need it.
Lim, S S (1984) The role of Residents’ Committees in HDB housing estates. In:
Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore Professional Center,
Singapore, 214–217.
If we allude the issue of high-rise living to computers, we can say that apartment blocks
are the hardware and residents are the software. Residents’ Committees (RCs), comprising
groups of these residents arranged into a working organizational hierarchy, are then the soft-
ware upgrades which improve the entire setup. Integral features of Singapore’s HDB public
housing programme, RCs are the subject of study in this paper, and the writer attempts
to analyze the functions of RCs and their role as a cohesive force creating a tight knit
community among citizens in a neighbourhood. Some examples include the implementa-
tion of community projects and activities, promotion of an effective communication system
amongst residents, and encouraging residents’ participation in grassroots activities. Overall,
RCs play an integral role in gelling the community, promoting the spirit of neighbourliness,
and enhancing the quality of high-rise living in Singapore.
Liu, T (1984) Housing policies and life style. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-
density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 9–24.
As ex-Chief Executive Officer of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in Singapore,
Liu has had tremendous influence over policy making and marketing the idea of high-rise
living to the great majority of Singaporean citizens. Not only content with building shelter
for the people, the HDB is also intent on providing a way of life that is sustainable for
land-scarce Singapore, yet appealing and affordable. Then, high-rise living did not exist in
a vacuum; the HDB built shops, food centres, carparks and gardens to cater for a holistic
approach to the HDB lifestyle. Progressing from the first generation’s aims to construct
as many new houses in as short a time as possible, Liu’s HDB was more concerned with
meeting the broader social objectives of creating a community within its neighbourhoods.
Perhaps it is this holistic enmeshment of public housing into everyday life that makes
HDB relatively successful to other similar programmes elsewhere. By giving Singaporean
families a tangible stake in the form of HDB flats, they are committed physically to the
well-being of the nation and ideologically to her political leaders.
In the Humanities 51
Perera, L R L (1984) High-rise trend in developing Sri Lanka. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed),
High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 82–88.
Sri Lanka’s experience in promoting high-rise living as a legitimate way of life has not
been entirely smooth sailing. The writer states that high-rise living was not suited for Sri
Lanka at the time of writing, and this is due to several reasons. The most important is
the unsustainable nature of high-rise public housing projects, and the inability of the state
government to pour investments into this area of national development. Perera argues that
high-rises have always been coveted for its ability to project a sense of modernity and
national progress, but issues of prestige do not dominate the minds of Sri Lankans for now.
The money that would have otherwise gone to high-rise housing projects can be diverted to
other aspects of national development that will perceivably yield more results in the short
term. This article shows us the difficulties in high-rise development, and the conditions that
disfavour high-rise living and prevent it from becoming an accepted way of life.
The article discusses the anomalous situation in ex-communist Central-East Europe where
the privatization of housing seems to be causing problems to the social fabric in the name
of economic expediency. The wave of privatization has been closely linked to the forces
of decentralization shifting power from central governments to local governments within
part of Central and Eastern Europe. The issue of ‘high-rise’ features both as a contributing
factor, as well as an area adversely affected by housing privatization. Firstly, it has been
stated that the impetus to privatize dwelling units emerged both due to housing shortages
and a growing dissatisfaction with monotonous high-rise housing estates. Also, as a result
of rapid privatization of apartments in Central and Eastern Europe, older buildings and high-
rise housing estates at the urban periphery have become a new ‘ghetto’ of sorts, housing a
new ‘post-socialist’ underclass who can afford only public rental flats. Clearly, the apparent
failures of post-World War II high-rise housing feature regularly in academic discourse
when examining the social problems engendered by forces of urbanization in the West.
Ruchelman, L I (1977) The World Trade Center: Politics and Policies of Skyscraper
Development, Syracuse University Press, New York.
The high rise building under scrutiny, New York’s World Trade Center (WTC), features
very prominently in the body of literature which concerns itself with both politics and
skyscrapers. Published back in 1977, this book approaches the WTC in poignant contrast
to other works written post-9/11. While the title might seem ironic for many people, the
author examines the issues of policy-formation and skyscraper development from a highly
objective point of view, using the WTC merely as a case study for the politics of building
taller. Engendered by economic necessities and an exceeding amount of political will, the
WTC Towers were intended to add luster and prestige to Lower Manhattan, and strengthen
the economic fabric of the entire area. Then the second tallest building in the world, its
geographical situation near the banks, which serviced the bulk of United States foreign
trade not only provided for a logical concentration of office space, but also crystallized, in
architectural form, the spirit of American capitalism. The many policy issues involved in
building and developing this skyscraper were discussed in great detail over many chapters
of the book, oblivious to the political forces that would bring about its downfall sometime
in the future.
52 In the Humanities
Scoffman, E R (1984) What rise high-density – how dense high-rise? In: Y. M. Boey
(Ed), High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore,
59–66.
High-rise has almost always been equated with high-density in the literature on urban built
form, but the writer of this paper is of the opinion that this perception cannot hold true.
Pointing to historical progression in architecture and city planning, Dr Ernest Scoffham
traces the various stages in the refinement and implementation of city plans, ranging from
Milton Keynes to Letchworth. Using geometric diagrams and calculations, he seeks to
show that high rise need not be equated with high-density, and that the ideas of prominent
figures such as John Seed and David Dennis go to demonstrate that the possible spatial
characteristics of an urban structure can still remain habitable, workable, convenient and
attractive. Also, Scoffham brings our attention to the fundamental differences governing
Western models of urban high-rise development and the conditions facing countries in the
Far East, particularly that of a rapid increase in population size.
Stephens, S (2004) Imagining Ground Zero: Official and Unofficial Proposals for
the World Trade Center Competition, Thames and Hudson, London.
Collected in this book are proposals submitted to find the perfect replacements for the single
most politicized architectural form of our generation: New York City’s World Trade Center
(WTC). The competition for the new WTC, to be built on the site of the old twin towers, saw
enthusiastic response from both architectural firms and members of the public, translating
the emotions of grief and loss into powerful creative energy. The winning entry, submitted
by David Childs of world-renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, was
In the Humanities 53
to be called Freedom Tower, and a memorial was to be built alongside it. In Lower Man-
hattan, a geographical location characterized by her high-rises and financial skyscrapers,
residents, stakeholders, planners and architects worked together to conceive the resurrection
of the WTC to an area historically defined by tall buildings. The politics of Freedom Tower
are evident in its design: the height is 1776 feet (1776 being the United States Independence
Day), a strong reiteration that the American spirit of freedom is indomitable and resilient.
Security
Blossom, D R (2006) Evacuation procedures for buildings. In: R. Kemp (Ed), Home-
land Security Handbook for Citizens and Public Officials, McFarland, Jefferson,
80–88.
In addressing the multitude of issues and concerns brought forth by the 9/11 incident, the
writer highlights two glaring facts that have so far eluded our attention. Firstly, it seems
that we are expecting too much out of our firefighting services in asking that they fight fires
in buildings that are way too tall. Secondly, we have grossly underestimated the issue of
high-rise evacuation. Both of these problems must be solved for the high-rise to remain as
a viable urban receptacle for human activity in the modern era. Some suggestions listed to
tackle these issues include occupant training, and improvement of firefighting and evacua-
tion infrastructure. Since it is unfair to demand that firefighters climb up to a hundred stories
with their equipment to fight fires, there could be hardened emergency lifts to send them up,
or alternatively building owners can provide for firefighting equipment in the upper floors of
their high-rise to negate the need of having to lug the heavy equipment up. Such measures
will undoubtedly improve the safety of high-rises and make them more liveable and viable
for urban use.
Emigh, J (2006) Access control systems improve building security. In: R. Kemp
(Ed), Homeland Security Handbook for Citizens and Public Officials, McFarland,
Jefferson, 13–15.
This paper, as part of a compilation of articles pertaining to homeland security policies
issued after the 9/11 incident, offers a detailed account of how the Washington State Depart-
ment of Social and Human Services made use of photo identity (ID) access controls to
securitize all their buildings and facilities. In the wake of 9/11, much has been said about the
54 In the Humanities
vulnerability of high-rises and skyscrapers to attacks originating not only from the outside,
but also from within. This is especially valid when considering the volume of human traffic
flowing through commercial skyscrapers on any given day, and how easy it would be to plan
and execute a terrorist act from within. Such photo ID access controls in key financial and
government buildings will allow entry only to core personnel and keep away those who have
no business in those buildings. A colour-coding system will differentiate different levels of
access to different groups of employees depending on job-scope and seniority, and even
allows for registered visitors into the building.
Marcuse, P (2002) Urban form and globalization after September 11th: The view
from New York. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 26(3):
596–606.
Following the fall of the World Trade Center twin towers on September 11th 2001, there
has been much speculation and realignment of views regarding the future of architecture.
Peter Marcuse points out possible developmental trends affecting urban form, including
decentralization and ‘citadelization’. The former concerns what many perceive as over-
agglomeration, which is equated with danger and vulnerability in a modern context that is
largely dominated by fears of opportunistic terrorism, paranoia and insecurities. The New
York Stock Exchange has decentralized its operations to avoid a total shut down should any
one of its nerve centers be hit, as has firms like American Express and Lehman Brothers,
which have moved significant portions of their business to suburban areas. On the other
hand, citadelization postulates that in lieu of going ostentatiously high-rise, the direction
of development will be towards protected, secured citadels to internalize and protect criti-
cal activities. Integrated into these new-age fortresses will be an intricate web of security
checks, protective barriers and high technology. Presented in this article are just some of the
changes wrought upon the modern urban form by the tragic events of the 9/11 incident.
Nicholson, J (2006) High-rise structures, disasters, and public safety. In: R. Kemp
(Ed), Homeland Security Handbook for Citizens and Public Officials, McFarland,
Jefferson, 107–109.
In studying the reasons for the collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers on 11th
September 2001, engineers have stated that the impact alone would not have been able to
bring the buildings down. Rather it was the resulting conflagration, fed by massive amounts
of aviation fuel (91,000 litres of it), that melted the steel trusses and other key structural
support features. This informed understanding of the real cause of collapse has led public
policy makers to focus on improving other aspects of high-rise safety such as fire retardant
building materials and sprinkler systems. Also, developers of high-rise may choose to go
for options such as redundancy, which refers to the creation of excess capacity and support
in anticipation of possible failure of some of the main load-bearing structures. However, the
World Trade Center’s developers have claimed that such measures were in place to prevent
disasters of a limited nature, but the situation on 11th September 2001 simply overwhelmed
everything that the towers had. As such, it is evident that a comprehensive securitization
process is needed to complement infrastructural improvements to ensure the liveability of
high-rise buildings in the world today.
speaking). Such structures inevitably induce responses in those with dissenting views, pro-
voking unexpectedly intense urges toward their destruction. Smith imposes a somewhat
bleak undertone to his examination of contemporary events such as the construction of the
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the fall of the World Trade Center Towers, stating that
all buildings constructed by humans do violence to the natural order and offers us protection
against the forces of nature in exchange for the constraints the built form imposes on our
lives. However, the 9/11 incident demonstrates that it is impossible to guard against the
violence humanity perpetuates upon itself. The disfigurement of our urban form merely
reflects a deeper dismemberment of mankind, and the future of architecture and high-rise
construction depends entirely on man’s ability to overcome the challenges of the contem-
porary world.
Sociology
Chan, Y K (1984) Life on confined living space: with special reference to hous-
ing in Hong Kong. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore
Professional Center, Singapore, 187–191.
Drawing on the examples provided by Hong Kong’s unique experience in the state provision
of public high-rise apartments, Chan attempts to explore the negative effects of high-rise
living and the ways in which one can cope with them. For example, he points to space-
intensive recreational activities, such as mahjong and TV-watching, as a coping mechanism
in helping Hong Kong citizens adapt to and deal with the lack of space. However, there are
also examples of how a lack of space at home actually causes an increase in the number
of youth delinquents, and the high-density creates a condition of overload interaction with
family members and neighbours, leading to additional stresses and strains. In rounding off,
Chan reiterates the importance of the built environment in shaping human tendencies, and
good architecture and design can actually facilitate community building. The state has a
huge role to play in this respect to ensure that high-rise living does not impose additional
social costs to the society.
Tall buildings are among the most forceful and defining characteristics of the American
urban landscape, and no other architectural form has evoked the kind of ambivalence that
skyscrapers have: some people have described it to be iconic and majestic, while others
think that high-rise buildings are inherently pretentious and vulgar as a built form. The
writer argues that skyscrapers dramatize America’s energy and flamboyance in its architec-
ture, articulating Americans’ desire for things that are fresh, new and forceful. The chapters
in this book discuss various iconic American skyscrapers, and how they are the products of
American political, social and economic forces. These include, the Empire State Building,
the Rockefeller Center, the Sears Tower and of course, New York’s World Trade Center
twin towers. By exploring the historical dimension of these tall buildings, the writer aims to
describe the ways in which skyscrapers have come to symbolize the United States’ idealism,
capitalism and the abundance of opportunities within her borders.
Kunstler, H J and Salingaros, N A (2007) The end of tall buildings. In: A. Chavan,
C. Peralta and C. Steins (Ed), Planetizen Contemporary Debates in Urban Planning,
Island Press, Washington, 117–128.
Written a week following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Kunstler and
Salingaros predicted the demise of high-rise construction, pointing to various reasons, both
political and sociological. Firstly, they argue that tall buildings generate ‘urban pathologies’
and deform the long term ‘health’ of urbanism in general. They also claim that there is an
alternative form of urban life other than that housed in ‘megatowers’, and that the American
government should not rebuild the World Trade Center simply as an act of defiance, as sug-
gested by some. Readers’ responses to Kunstler and Salingaros’s arguments were mainly
negative, citing its lack of academic depth, speculative theories and sweeping remarks
about the perceived harms of high rise buildings. All in all, while this article provides a
refreshing look at the modern day obsession with building towards the sky, its claims are
weak and factually unpersuasive. Their subsequent update on this article touches on the
‘un-insurability’ of modern day skyscrapers and its lack of economic justification. This
similarly lacks statistical data and insufficient factual support, dwelling more on subjective
notions of human comfort and urban well-being.
Murakami, M (1984) Urban unit Tokyo ‘83. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-
density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 43–47.
The Tokyo Metropolitan area is a huge sprawling megalopolis with a population exceeding
28 million people back in the 1980s. A city of this size runs into many problems relating
to diseconomies of scale: for example, people living on the fringe have to drive very far to
In the Humanities 57
reach the city center. In light of this need to rearrange and redevelop parts of this city, a
private project team has come up with an urban community design known as Urban Unit
Tokyo ’83. Essentially, it refers to a self-contained high-rise apartment block catering to
a comprehensive range of needs for its residents. Such urban units are meant to relocate
segments of the population out of the denser areas into the parts which enjoy a lower den-
sity, yet retaining the variety of activity that is often associated with crowded city centers
and dense urban areas. This model for development provides an interesting insight into
redefining high-rise and utilizing it to decentralize activity away from areas of high density.
Olszewski, P S (1984) Roads and car parks in high-rise housing estates – some
planning and design problems. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-density Living,
Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 75–81.
High-rise public dwellings contribute greatly to transportation trip generation within a cer-
tain zone due to their high-density. Of the various modes of transport, the private ownership
of motor cars creates the additional problem of carparking provision, and this has to be
planned for adequately in order for the quality of high-rise living to be maintained. In this
paper, Olszewski argues that the provision of carparks and access roads in Housing Devel-
opment Board housing estates is a major problem. The land area required for a high-rise
apartment block is proportional to its height, and thus building taller increases the space
needed for carpark construction. In land scarce Singapore, this clash in planning logic has to
be resolved: the space saved from building taller cannot be lost to bad planning of carparking
facilities. However, there are synergies that can be developed between carpark planning and
high-rise public housing development. Carparks can act as a buffer between housing estates
and the main road, thus improving the environmental quality and safety of the neighbour-
hood. As a complementary dimension of Singapore’s acclaimed public housing policy, the
issue of car parks and access roads planning must be given sufficient attention in order to
ensure a decent standard of high-rise living.
Onque, E T (1984) Planning and design with people for people. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed),
High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 25–34.
Drawing from the example of the United States of America, Professor Onque aims to
explore the nature of high-rise housing developments and the impact that this form of
residential living has on the people who are subjected to it. In Pittsburgh, the Housing
Authority released a one-time grant back in 1980 to revitalize one of their major public
housing communities known as Northview Heights. Some of the design solutions to the
58 In the Humanities
problems of this community included high-rises for the elderly with elevators which stop
at every floor and laundry facilities at each level, and converting low-rise housing from one
floor apartments to two storey masionettes. Such revisions and upgrading help improve the
quality of high-rise living. Onque argues that planners and architects have the obligation to
design living spaces that allow for human potential to grow and flourish, instead of high-rise
prison cells to constrain our activity and to dehumanize us.
Safdie, M (1984) High-rise building as a microcosm of the city. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed),
High-rise, High-density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 35–42.
In this paper, Safdie argues that we have to realign our perceptions of modern living and
view high-rises as miniature cities within cities, or what is termed a microcosm of the city.
Tall buildings are the product of both necessity and capability; reinforced steel structures
and elevator technology make it possible to build high-rises fit for human occupation and
activity. This has in turn resulted in high-rise buildings growing larger and taking on an
increasing number of uses and functions – the same skyscraper can house a shopping mall,
convention halls, residential apartment units and even hotel rooms in addition to its offices.
It is also argued that a marginal decrease in density to human activity within urban areas
would not greatly affect efficiency. This would require a rethinking of urbanism among
planners and architects, and new building types may be needed to create an urban form
conducive for high-rise living.
Simpson, W (1984) Environmental factors and their effects on the planning and
design of high-rise residential buildings. In: Y. M. Boey (Ed), High-rise, High-
density Living, Singapore Professional Center, Singapore, 48–58.
The built form alters natural landscape in a way that any callousness in planning and design
would cause it to clash with its environment, potentially causing unhappiness, sensual
discomfort or even injury to its users. As such, it is important to consider environmental
factors when constructing high-rise buildings, and this paper brings up several examples
of relevant cases and legislations from the Australian experience in building tall buildings.
This is especially relevant as the high density of high-rises demands a greater degree of
care and effort in making sure that environmental concerns are addressed by the builders
and urban planners. In 1979 the New South Wales government enacted the New South
Wales Environmental Planning and Assessment Act to impose minimum standards on and
guide high-rise residential developments. Such regulations pertaining to building locations,
height, site allotments, plot ratio and landscaping are important in making sure that residents
enjoy a decent standard of living in the high-rise development.
In the Humanities 59
Yuen, B, Yeh, A, Appold, S J, Earl, G, Ting, J and Kwee L K (2006) High-rise living
in Singapore public housing. Urban Studies, 43(3): 583–600.
This article seeks to address the issue of high-rise buildings as viable residences from the
point of view of those living in them, or as the paper puts it, “it is ultimately the person
whose foot has to be fitted with the shoe who knows whether it pinches or not.” By conduct-
ing interviews on randomly selected households in Toa Payoh New Town, it is hoped that
a closer look at Singapore’s famed public housing scheme will shed light on the qualities
which make high-rises liveable and those that turn people away. Based on the information
collected during the study, it seems that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has
hit the right notes in pitching high-rise living to Singaporeans, with a high percentage of
respondents expressing satisfaction. Also, it seems that respondents display a high level of
adaptability to take up residence in HDB flats, with the younger generation most in favour of
buying into this new lifestyle. From this study, it is apparent that planners and builders have
to seriously consider user needs when constructing high-rise residences, as it determines
whether high-rise living remains viable in the long run.
Unpublished Works
Chin, J K F (1970) The probationer living in high-rise housing – a study of twelve
cases. Unpublished dissertation, University of Singapore.
Zooming in on the marginal portions of Singaporean society affected by the relocation to
Housing and Development Board (HDB) public housing estates, this dissertation seeks to
study how high-rise living could possibly contribute to juvenile delinquency in contem-
porary society. The writer made use of twelve probationers to help understand the effect
that high-rise living has in engendering the conditions conducive to immorality and crime.
Such factors include a situation of anomie and social dislocation, brought forth by the lack
of human interaction, which results in a greater probability of social maladjustment and
anti-social behaviour. In a high-rise dwelling, one’s interaction is mainly with his or her
family and not so much with neighbours and friends, as compared to the traditional kam-
pong setting of pre-HDB Singapore. Thus, one’s family upbringing is critical in determining
the extent of socialization, and in isolated cases where the family consists of an abusive or
mentally unstable member, increased interaction from living in the confined area of an HDB
flat might in turn create unhealthy levels of mental stress, unhappiness and other conditions
that predispose one to delinquent behaviour. From a ‘micro’ perspective, this paper focuses
on the negative effects of high-rise living affecting a peripheral minority in Singapore, a
country where the state is immensely proud of its public housing policy.
60 In the Humanities
Delillo, D (2001) In the ruins of the future. Unpublished article, The Guardian.
An essay on the rhetoric of seeing 9/11, the Twin Towers are examined on the national level.
One of the few in 9/11 literature that is about critical arguments, Delillo’s theme is actually a
question – that of response. 9/11 has unarguably been largely about reactions and responses
to all aspects of the incident. However, to him, responding is not so much as a knee-jerk
reaction but to take that step back and question the haws of responding. Significantly, he
calls for ethical respond-ability. The approach he takes automatically sharpens and critically
questions any representational judgment of the 9/11 incident. The adverb here is crucial;
representational judgment here means judgment stemming from one’s own position; a deci-
sion tricky and problematic because one’s position usually has much unrevealed bias and
prejudice, and thus to obstinately stay on one’s position and be unwilling to consider others
is exactly the moral high ground Delillo calls to avoid.
various aspects of human well-being. For example, the writer drew the connection between
the adverse effects of living in an environment of great density and students’ tendency to
achieve poorer grades, stating that children from such family backgrounds generally fare
worse in academic performance. This in turn leads to them achieving fewer academic qual-
ifications and consequently finding lower-paying jobs and in the long run, perpetuating a
cycle of poverty that bears few exceptions in grades-obsessed Singapore. Other instances
mentioned in the paper include social stigmatization of large families living in cramped
conditions and marital communication in a high-rise environment, go to show that reloca-
tion efforts to high-rise apartments have to be complemented with policies and measures to
improve not only the physical conditions of residents, but also the material and social ones.
Tai, C L (1986) Relocation and high-rise living: a study of Singapore’s public hous-
ing. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Hull.
According to the author, housing has been, and will continue to be, a controversial political
issue in both industrial and developing countries. In Singapore, Housing and Development
Board (HDB) public housing provides shelter for a vast majority of citizens, and the social
and political impact of the government’s ambitious scheme is the subject of much civic dis-
cussion. In particular, many wonder if the massive relocation of people into public housing
estates engender the same set of problems for all, or does it affect different ethnic and social
groups differently. This has been the topic of debate since HDB’s implementation, and Tai
brings it forward to the mid-1980s – a relatively stable and prosperous period compared
to the preceding decades. Issues of racial and ethnic integration complicate the already
complex array of problems facing adaptation to high-rise living, but the findings paint a
rather positive picture of high-rise residential living in the 1980s, and this can be attributed
to the comprehensive approach taken by the state. HDB estates are conceived not as physical
structures, but are packaged and marketed as a whole new lifestyle and symbol of identity.
This has cleverly made use of the high-rise housing scheme to intertwine Singaporeans with
a common perception of nationhood and communal living. Although not without its prob-
lems, this approach has largely been successful in adapting the majority of Singaporeans to
high-rise HDB living as a lifestyle choice unique and symbolic of the island-state.
Tan, K C (1973) Public housing in Singapore 1947–1970: the work of the SIT and
HDB. Unpublished Honours thesis, University of Singapore.
The situation of public high-rise housing in 1970 was a far cry from what it is today, and
the transformation of high-rises since then has changed the face of urban development in
Singapore. This paper provides a historical connection to the forces that have directed and
acted upon public housing development in Singapore, notably the Singapore Improvement
Trust (SIT) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB), and creates a basis from
which a thorough study of the issue of high-rise in the Singapore polity may be carried
out. By looking at the political environment of post-war Singapore, her subsequent inde-
pendence and struggle for survival, and her eventual years of double digit growth, Tan
paints a compelling story of the transformation from the days of squatter settlements to the
relative stability and success then in the 1970s. High-rise public housing in the early days
of Singapore’s statehood was tentative and experimental, and it is important to understand
the factors which contributed to its accomplishment in making high-rise living a way of life
for the majority of Singaporeans today.
Tan, K L (1972) Impact of relocation on HDB tenants: a case study of the Bukit
Merah housing estate. Unpublished Masters thesis, University of Singapore.
The key issue being addressed here is adjustment, as Tan’s study focuses mainly on the
effects of relocation to Housing and Development Board (HDB) public housing. Using the
Bukit Merah Estate as the chosen research area, surveys and interviews were carried out to
ascertain the presence and nature of problems that affect new residents moving into HDB
flats, both involuntary and voluntary. While Western literature has focused much on the
anomie and dehumanization that results from high-rise residential living, Singapore’s brand
of state-imposed public housing seems to experience less of such problems of social dislo-
cation. This is due to the fact that relocation had not drastically altered social organization,
and most respondents maintained frequency of contact with their kin n primary social circle.
However, the economic costs of relocation loomed large in the minds of Singaporeans then,
as they experienced a stark increase in living expenses. Compared with other academic
studies of the same nature, citizens within the Singaporean polity seemed to have adjusted
In the Humanities 63
well to the notion of high-rise living as a way of life, and this could have accounted for the
phenomenal success of the HDB programme.
Yap, G Y (1976) Family life-styles in high-rise and low-rise homes among the Sin-
gapore Chinese. Unpublished Honours thesis, University of Singapore.
This study focuses on the family lifestyle of Singaporean Chinese in high-rise and low-
rise public homes, and how features of both can possibly be integrated to reap both the
benefits of high-rise and low-rise living. The usual grouse against high-rise family living is
that children are not allowed the luxury of space as compared with the setting of low-rise
housing and traditional kampongs, where space is in abundance. Yap approaches the topic
from the premise that human behaviour articulates, in some systematic way, the physical
environment, and pays special attention to how the physical form of high-rise Housing and
Development Board (HDB) flats limit and constrains family life. The findings concurred
with mainstream academia, concluding that high-rise living does indeed restrict family life,
especially for children. As a solution to this issue, the writer brings up the residential design
of Kiyonori Kikutake, which incorporates a ‘semi-public’ space every 4 to 5 stories in a
high-rise apartment block. This allows residents to reap the benefits of high-rise living, yet at
the same time constructs a micro-level setting of abundant public space that is characteristic
of low-rise houses and walk-up apartments. Despite being written over three decades ago,
this study provides insights and proposals that are still highly relevant to the study of high-
rise living today.
In the Sciences
Acoustics
Coley, D A (2002) The reverberation time of tall spaces. Journal of Sound and
Vibration, 254(3): 595–598.
This paper seeks to investigate and determine rules by which large rooms in new buildings
are to be built so as to minimize unwanted echoes, which arise from the reflection of sound
off walls or ceilings that are further away from the sound sources than in common rooms.
This is an interesting and important study since it can easily be overlooked when an architect
considers the more urgent issues such as structural stability. Also, many modern tall build-
ings feature large halls for conferences and multi-purpose use as well as large entrances and
lobbies to enhance the experience of a visitor. Thus, it is very important that such spaces
be able to minimize reverberation for good acoustics. The author presents his findings that
increasing the height of a room will not increase reverberation time if certain sound absorb-
ing walls are installed, which is achievable in existing rooms by the modification of some
surfaces. This field may well increase in importance in the future given that tall buildings
are increasingly being built for prestige and comfort and as a consequence, better and better
indoor conditions will be sought after.
Godinho, L, Antonio, J and Antonio, T (2002) Sound propagation around rigid bar-
riers laterally confined by tall buildings. Applied Acoustics, 63: 595–609.
This paper studies the propagation of sound waves under the influence of sound barriers
placed in the vicinity of tall buildings. These sound barriers are placed generally to shield
the inhabitants of tall buildings from external noises such as road and rail traffic. As in the
numerous cases we have seen above, there is a need to model the effects of these barriers so
as to predict and identify their optimal placement positions. The authors analyze different
geometries and varying layouts of several buildings and sound barriers. Interestingly, the
sound diffracts off the barrier edges; it is also found that the addition of nearby buildings
reduces the effectiveness of the barriers due to complicated inter-reflections off the numer-
ous surfaces. The authors conclude that increasing the vertical length of the sound barriers
increases the performance while admitting the limitations of the study, which assumes all
surfaces to be homogenous and rigid. Nonetheless, this study is important and it has already
been applied extensively in many countries.
Hossam, H, Dien, E and Woloszyn, P (2004) Prediction of the sound field into
high-rise building facades due to its balcony ceiling form. Applied Acoustics, 65:
431–440.
65
66 In the Sciences
This study specifically wishes to determine how the angles of balcony ceilings for various
balcony floor depths affected the amount of protection the balcony gave to its owner in terms
of acting as a sound barrier. The authors utilize an algorithm to model the outdoor sounds
to a high degree of realism, since the algorithm is able to reproduce effects such as sound
passing through sound barriers, edge diffraction and the scattering of sound from the edges
of external surfaces. This is clearly a development from the previous studies; in fact, it is
probably based on results obtained from those models. The authors finally conclude that the
effectiveness of balconies as sound barriers is proportional to balcony depth and inversely
proportional to ceiling angle. As a direct result of these findings, designers will now be
able to incorporate sound shielding into the façade of a building itself without the need for
additional sound barriers as well as not increasing any costs. With further verification, this
would be an essential consideration in the design of upcoming residential high-rises.
Kai, M L and Siu, H T (2003) The predicted barrier effects in the proximity of tall
buildings. Acoustical Society of America, 114(2): 821–832.
The authors employ a more developed method by modelling the sound as a ray. Similarly,
diffraction around the edges of barriers and the multiple reflections of the surfaces are taken
into account. They then proceed to verify these with experimental results of indoor noise
levels. The ray model is also compared to a wave model in which sound is treated as a wave,
which is what sound actually is. It is important to note that the previous study involved the
modelling of the sound barriers; in this study, the sound waves are modelled as rays. In
these two examples we see the progress in the research in this field. Using intuitive ideas,
scientists can proceed to attempt the modelling of a natural phenomenon on something that
is simpler, and if the results are satisfactory, there is development and the same concepts of
modelling can then be furthered by the next group of researchers. Clearly, the motivation
here was the comfort of inhabitants of the building, and surely as technology progresses,
greater efforts will be placed on comfort instead of just ensuring the safety of inhabitants in
tall buildings.
Aerodynamics
As buildings go taller, the elevators that ferry people to different levels become more and
more indispensable. Furthermore, there is also a new need for these elevators to be increas-
ingly speedy so as to improve efficiency of the users. As such, aerodynamic forces become
significant in the design of elevators cars and this paper seeks to improve the shape and
design of existing elevators to reduce the air resistance and improve energy efficiency. In
fact, the literature for working on elevator aerodynamics is rather rare, although high speed
elevators are potentially riddled with problems such as excessive vibrations, noise, and rapid
pressure fluctuations in the cars. A physical model was constructed for simulation purposes.
The researchers then proceed to measure quantities such as pressure differences between the
top and bottom of the elevators were measured for different car shapes and elevator shafts of
which scale models were used. Thus, by experimenting on these variables, the researchers
are able to determine the behavior for each car shape. They mention several aspects of the
scaled model that differ from real elevators; however, they account for each one convinc-
ingly enough to allow this paper to be the basis for further research and experimentation to
determine the optimal elevator design.
This paper describes the methods involved in predicting structure motion when subjected to
wind forces, motivated primarily by occupant comfort in the presence of building motion.
Three methods are outlined, namely, the mean pressure measurement, the aerodynamic
models and, the aeroelastic models. The authors consider the first approach, the method
used in building codes, unhelpful as it is mainly used for cladding pressure study. In the
second method, the fluctuating wind load on the structure is measured. This method is
quick and inexpensive and the results produced are valid for most practical buildings. For
the last method, the model is mounted on a flexible base moment balance so that the nat-
ural frequency of the model is in scale with the frequency content of the approach wind
spectrum. This method is highly accurate but expensive and the results need a long time to
obtain. This study is useful as it weighs the efficiencies and shortcomings of each method of
measurement. The amount of data measuring human discomfort in tall buildings is surpris-
ingly small. Therefore, even as measurements of building sways become more advanced
and accurate, the lack of a measure of human comfort renders such measurements of build-
ing motions insignificant. Therefore, a possible suggestion for the measurement of human
comfort index compatible to the study on building motion would make this paper more
helpful.
This study is concerned with the three-dimensional response of tall buildings to wind
dynamic forces. For the response analysis, a method based on a spectral approach with
matrix formulation is presented. The power spectral density function (PSDF) matrix of the
response is related to the PSDF matrix of the random dynamic forces through the complex
frequency response function matrix of the building. The PSDF matrix of random forces
is obtained by dividing the face of the building into a number of elemental areas forming
a mesh and lumping the wind forces acting over the area at its centroid. The method is
developed for a fixed base condition and wind incident normal to one of the faces of the
building, and can be easily extended to include across wind and torsional wind forces.
68 In the Sciences
Chang, C C and Qu, W L (1998) Unified dynamic absorber design formulas for
wind-induced vibration control of tall buildings. The Structural Design of Tall Build-
ings, 7(2): 147–166.
The objective of this paper is to establish some unified design formulas for various kinds of
passive dynamic absorber for wind-induced vibration control of tall buildings. A total of five
different passive dynamic absorbers are considered in this study. Firstly, unified equations of
motion for the building – absorber system under wind-induced excitation are presented. A
set of unified formulas for the optimal properties and the equivalent damping ratios for these
five dynamic absorbers are then derived analytically. The Shanghai Central Plaza, which is
a thirty-nine-storey reinforced-concrete building, is used as an example to demonstrate the
procedure and to verify the accuracy of the unified approach. The results showed that these
unified formulas provided direct performance evaluation and comparison between the five
dynamic absorbers for the control of wind-induced vibration of tall buildings.
Unlike the numerical methods mentioned before, this paper seeks to find a simplified
method of predicting winds in urban spaces with tall buildings, while also attempting
to minimize discrepancies when compared with actual measurements. The challenge, of
course, is the formulation of an effective model that can be applied to differing regions
each with distinct building layouts and characteristics, and even for application to a single
heterogeneous area. The authors thus propose the urban canopy model, which seeks to find
statistical averages for aerodynamic properties of groups of buildings instead of calculations
based on individual buildings. Then, each region can be separated into smaller groups of
buildings, each group with distinct mean building heights and densities. After modelling
these, they perform simulations on a selection of downtown Los Angeles and Salt Lake
City, and conclude several similar results as those that we have already seen, such as winds
slowing down when meeting a higher density of buildings, yet increasing their speeds at
ground level in the vicinity of taller buildings. This presents us with a good example in the
modelling of wind, yet the authors conceded that for the model to work effectively, substan-
tial differences in mean building height and density, allowing regions to be separated, have
to be present.
Collin, K J (1993) Cold- and heat-related illnesses in the indoor environment. In:
R. Burridge and D. Ormandy (Ed), Unhealthy Housing: Research, Remedies and
Reform, E and FN Spon, London, 117–137.
This article examines the implications of excessive temperature in homes of high-rise build-
ings on the health of the occupants. Other clinical conditions arising from cold and heat
within building interior climates are also analysed. Parameters that influence health, com-
fort and safety of occupants within a building include humidity, temperature, lighting, air
quality and noise. In cold environments, the moisture content of the surrounding air can
be much lower than the relative humidity in the building, which may measure up to 100%.
If the surrounding air manages to enter the building through leaks or deliberate channels,
the interior relative humidity will decrease. Such incidents can lead to irritation amongst the
residents and respiratory problems due to increased vector transmission of airborne microbe
(caused by low humidity conditions). Consequently, this paper emphasises the need for
each building component ranging from thermal insulation to natural lighting to be carefully
evaluated prior to construction, so that the internal conditions can be better managed to
reduce cold- and heat-related illnesses amongst the residents.
Davenport, A (1967) The treatment of wind loading on tall buildings. In: A. Coull
and S. Smith (Ed), Tall Buildings, Pergamon Press, London, 3–44.
This is a study on the interaction of a tall building with wind as well as the approaches
available for making quantitative estimates of key design parameters. The author consid-
ers quasi-static approach usually taken to estimate wind loads to be unrealistic in several
respects. There is also a need to include other factors such as allowable deflections and
comfort of occupants when measuring wind effects. The properties of mean wind are first
discussed, along with the action of the wind on a tall building. Next, fluctuations of wind,
such as gusts and turbulence, are considered. Based on a list of performance criteria, the
approaches to improve the buildings’ response to wind are suggested. This is a compre-
hensive study of the different types of wind, and the building response, following up with
ways to improve performance, taking into account occupant’s comfort. However, this study
could be more useful if some discussion on how the methods of measurement of building
response to wind have been evolving and how else these measurements and testing methods
could be further improved.
This long paper gives a rigorous description of the various methods of modelling the
behaviour of fluids as they interact with structures, each in great detail. The authors compile
well established methods as well as those still under research and testing, from classical
models which, though simple, form the basis for more complex and accurate models later,
such as time-linearised models, non-linear dynamical models, and reduced-order models,
some of which we have already encountered. Interestingly, what is seen is that the general
trend of the ongoing research is such that the simplest solutions are always found first, based
on idealized applications of physical laws derived from fundamental principles. However,
with the non-trivial nature of most structures in the real world, these solutions are modified
again and again with increasing complexity such that they approach the true nature of real
objects and fluids. As such, one may conclude that the field has yet to achieve perfection
but instead studies conducted for increasingly complex structures will go on as long as the
demand for more and more technologically complex and taller buildings are present.
This is a study on the natural ventilation of tall buildings and how the use of structures such
as wind scoops and atria can help to promote it. Model studies and wind tunnel environment,
as well as the climate of tropical countries form the basis of this study. The central atrium
performs like a natural chimney as it draws fresh air into the building through the temper-
ature and thus pressure difference. Wind scoops are passive systems of natural ventilation
which are mostly used in high-rise buildings in humid urban cities where mean ground
wind speed is slow. Models made of perspex were created and a pressure test carried out
to find the pressure coefficients. Results obtained showed that the double inverted pitched
roof wind scoop with pitch angle between thirty and forty degrees to the top section of tall
building with vertical atrium and through opening at ground level proved to be the most
consistently effective one. This study is useful as constant reference of tall buildings is
being made, which makes the study more focused on high-rise living. However, this study
is only based on models. It would be more useful if more reference was being made to
actual buildings. Experiments of such can be carried out and included more extensively as
well.
on aspects of human life previously taken for granted, such as the ability to walk safely on
ground level. These studies, therefore, are not to be taken lightly but properly and diligently
done to prevent any unwanted occurrences.
Roaf, S (2005) Air conditioning avoidance: lessons from the windcatchers of Iran.
In: P. Fazio (Ed), Passive and Low Energy Cooling for the Built Environment, Taylor
and Francis, London, 1053–1057.
Centralised air-conditioning systems in buildings with fixed windows prove to be a high-
risk strategy nowadays due to fuel energy insecurity and inflation, increased awareness to
reduce carbon emissions, and enhanced robustness in an event of extreme weather condi-
tions attributed to global warming. Hence, there is an increased interest in natural ventilation
systems to reduce energy consumption and survivability despite blackouts. Air-conditioned
office buildings typically use much more energy resulting in higher carbon dioxide emis-
sions which further drives climate change making us in need for more air-conditioning.
This is akin to an undesirable positive feedback loop. This paper outlines how lessons can
be learnt from the traditional windcatchers of the Middle East. It is an ancient and varied
technology that provides basic ventilation, convective cooling for people where indoor tem-
peratures range from 25 to 35◦ C, evaporative cooling for those living above 35◦ C, and to
cool the structures in very high temperatures while being coupled with underground tunnels
and basements. Windcatchers are enhanced when coupled with earth, air and water heat
sinks. Traditionally, the skill of the windcatcher designer was passed on from one master
builder to another but they no longer exist. The paper highly encourages researchers and
designers to revisit the traditional palette and adopt them in modern building designs.
Ruegg, W F (1996) Storm driven trajectories of rain near balconies on tall building.
Journal of Architectural Engineering, 2(3): 100–106.
The author sought to explain and also predict the behaviour of rain droplets on tall buildings,
since some of the behaviour, such as the ability of water droplets to wet the tops of windows
which were well sheltered by balconies, seemed unintuitive and required an explanation
other than gravity. In fact, wind was the driving force behind the paths of the rain droplets.
Credit is due to this researcher for accurately deriving the observed phenomena, namely that
droplet sizes had to be within a certain range for the abovementioned phenomena to occur.
This study, together with others, probably formed the basis on which later wind models
were constructed and utilized to predict phenomena of greater significance.
mechanisms were also discussed in this paper. This paper advocates the use of viscoelastic
dampers as a viable, versatile and cost-effective solution.
Smith, R F and Killa, S (2007) Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC): the first large-
scale integration of wind turbines in a building. The Structural Design of Tall and
Special Buildings, 16(4): 429–439.
This paper describes the design evolution of the large-scale wind turbines proposed for the
almost-completed Bahrain Trade Center. It covers details of the wind turbines and their con-
trol, showing how several innovative ideas have come together and have been technically
validated to produce the design for this unique building. The two 50-storey sail-shaped
office towers taper to a height of 240 m and support three 29 m diameter horizontal-axis
wind turbines, which carry less than 3% of the project value but generate about 225 kW at
full power, amounting to approximately 11–15% of the towers’ electrical energy consump-
tion. With similar projects coming up in Dubai, it seems that Middle East constructors are
riding high on the green energy wave.
Zhang, A and Zhang, L (2004) RBF neural networks for the prediction of building
interference effects. Computers and Structures, 82: 2333–2339.
The authors in this paper draw on the success of neural networks in other fields to examine
and predict wind loads on buildings. Earlier, we had seen the application of neural networks
to identify and locate structural damages in the event of strong vibrations affecting tall
buildings. In this case, wind loads are seen to differ greatly on isolated buildings and those,
which are part of a group of neighbouring buildings. Since the effects are hard to predict
in a multi building layout, a radial basis function (RBF) neural network is formulated and
applied to evaluate the interference due to neighbouring buildings. The authors then ver-
ify the theoretical results with measurements made and find close agreement between the
two. As such, it can be seen that the use of neural networks in application to tall buildings
has moved by a quantum leap. Without doubt, these techniques will be useful in future to
predict complicated phenomena, of which many more are sure to arise with taller buildings
coming up.
Air Quality
Anachem, I and Sandia National Laboratories (1982) Indoor Air Quality Handbook:
For Designers, Builders, and Users of Energy Efficient Residences, National Tech-
nical Information Service, Springfield.
Simple diagrams are used to explain certain concepts, such as ways radon could infiltrate a
house, in order to allow readers to understand the content easily. This book also discusses on
both the positive and negative impacts of energy-efficient features on the quality of indoor
air, unlike other books which tend to focus on only the adverse effects. Methods available
for the measurement of indoor air pollutants are listed in the book as well. However, these
methods do not seem to be suited for households but for business or corporations instead, as
the methods suggested are rather costly and results obtained require the analysis of profes-
sionals. Certain areas of discussion do not seem to be applicable to tropical countries too.
76 In the Sciences
For example, sources of contaminants as well as potential health effects related to furnaces,
chimneys and fireplaces do not apply, since countries with warm climate throughout the year
do not have such facilities. Using information related to indoor air pollutants, the author
integrates such concepts into the design of buildings. Hence, this book will be helpful to
designers and builders who wish to construct “healthy” buildings.
Bardana, E J J and Montanaro, A (1997) Indoor Air Pollution and Health, Marcel
Dekker, New York.
A detailed analysis of components leading to indoor air pollution is carried out in this
book without using over-complicated chemical terms, allowing easy understanding. Health
effects and the toxicology of indoor combustion pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and
acid aerosols are explained in detail. An in-depth discussion on organic solvents (such
as aliphatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes) which are widely used in the manufacturing of
building materials is done as well. The Sick Building Syndrome is also highlighted here.
Sources of indoor air pollutants and means to control the indoor air quality of buildings
are mentioned. Ways to assess and evaluate the extent of indoor pollution in buildings are
elaborated. However, the methods suggested are not suitable for normal civilians as they
require the expertise of professionals. The fact that there are few resources dedicated at
addressing the issue of indoor air pollution is acknowledged in this book. Hence, this book
is targeted at providing relevant and crucial information to people in the various disciplines
such as engineers, environmental scientists and even policy-makers, which will be useful
for the construction of a safe high-rise environment.
Benda, G (1999) Indoor Air Quality Case Studies Reference Guide, The Fairmont
Press, Lilburn.
This book sets itself apart from others by highlighting the positive correlation between the
quality of indoor air and the energy efficiency of a building, which is rare since it is not
unusual to see authors relating energy efficiency with a decline in indoor air quality. It pro-
vides background information on indoor air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds
and allergens. An evaluation on methods to identify and measure the levels of indoor air
pollutant (e.g. gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy) is done as well. In this book,
case studies of various places such as office buildings and hotels where adverse effects due
to poor indoor air quality have been recorded are analyzed. Through these case studies, the
author provides a deeper insight into issues, allowing people to tap on the experiences and
learn from them. This can be rather useful as it prevents people from committing the same
mistakes and adopt methods which have been proven to work. Although not all the case
studies mentioned involve high-rises, the measures recommended and lessons to be learned
can be applied to tall buildings. For example, the preventive measures taken by McDonald’s
can be applied to any building.
the indoor problem. It is important to note that certain information given in this book is
applicable only to the United States of America as most case studies mentioned are based
in the United States. Hence, there is a need to exercise caution when using this material. The
book is useful when analyzing the problem of indoor air pollution with regards to radon.
affect human health negatively. It is observed that the half-life of some pollutants such as
perchloroethylene (which is present in dry-cleaned fabric) is relatively long (approximately
100 days), which implies that people could experience prolonged exposure to these harmful
compounds. In addition, it is observed that factors affecting sorption and re-release rates of
volatile organic compounds varied with the rate of ventilation and temperature. Using these
observations, the author is able to point out methods that could be employed to reduce the
quantity of indoor air pollutants. The findings from this study will be beneficial to building
designers and engineers when looking at safety aspects.
Hoskins, J A (2003) Health effects due to indoor air pollution. Indoor and Built
Environment, 12: 427–433.
Even though buildings are becoming increasingly “air-tight” (due to the push for higher
energy efficiency), the author observes that there are significant interactions between the
indoor and outdoor environment, which contributes to the decline in indoor air quality.
Carcinogenic indoor air pollutants (e.g. benzene) and their related risks are discussed in the
paper as well. Although the paper is published in 2003, it uses sources dated as far back
as 1973. Hence, certain claims made by the author may no longer hold due to the use of
such obsolete information. In addition, it is noted that the paper does not include the use
of electric stoves when relating the emission of indoor air pollutants from cooking stoves,
despite the fact that electric stoves have been increasingly common in buildings then. Thus,
certain assertions stated in the paper may not be reliable since electric stoves contribute
differently to indoor air pollution compared to conventional stoves. However, there are
useful fundamental concepts of indoor air pollution highlighted in the paper, which can
be useful to researchers investigating indoor air pollutants (organic and inorganic chemical
compounds) and their related health risks.
Kay, J G, Keller, G E, and Miller, J F (1991) Indoor Air Pollution: Radon, Bioaerosols,
and VOCs, Lewis Publishers, Michigan.
Diverse areas related to indoor air pollutants are covered in this book. Building bake-out,
which is a method often proposed to reduce the concentration of volatile organic com-
pounds, is analyzed through a simulation under laboratory conditions. Through the results
obtained, the effects of building bake-out on volatile organic compound emissions are then
discussed. Detailed experimental procedures of laboratory work (e.g. extraction and spec-
trometry) which are used to identify and measure semi-volatile organic compounds associ-
ated with air pollutants are also listed in the papers. Evaluation of the efficiency levels of air
cleaners and various methods for indoor air pollution control shows that air-filters designed
for residential uses are poor in removing low concentrations of volatile organic compounds
from the indoors. It is interesting to note that the discussion of the experiment included
measures taken to ensure the reliability of the results obtained as well as an evaluation on
the machines used. This will be useful in allowing readers to know the extent of accuracy
and soundness of the results. However, this book fails to address certain issues related to
indoor air pollution, such as the negative effects on health and better measures that could be
adopted to improve the situation.
changed with different locations in the HVAC systems. Outdoor air intake produced great-
est filtration effect for both the counts and species of the outdoor air fungi and was further
reduced in the air directly after the filters. However, the counts were doubled and the species
different from the air leaving the HVAC system. Presence of the HVCA system in high-rise
buildings did not explain the changes in the mixture of airborne fungi from the outdoors
to indoor air. Some of the fungi present in the indoor air did not appear to be transported
indoors by the HVAC systems. Therefore, further research should be done to determine the
source of the fungi present in the indoor air of high-rise buildings.
Lin, Z and Deng, S (2003) The outdoor air ventilation rate in high-rise residences
employing room air conditioners. Building and Environment, 38(12): 1389–1399.
Air ventilation is important as it affects the indoor environmental conditions in high-rise
residences that may affect the health of the occupants, their perceptions and comfort. In
this paper, the monitoring of indoor carbon dioxide levels overnight and outdoor ventilation
rates in bedrooms employing air conditioners was studied in high-rise residential build-
ings in Hong Kong. Laboratory experiments were conducted where two typical residences
employing air conditioners were used to examine the outdoor air ventilation characteristic
in bedrooms employing air conditioners. The results showed that the “outdoor ventilation
rates in the measured bedroom equipped with room air conditioners in high-rise” buildings
In Hong Kong could not meet the requirement specified in the standard even if there was
only a single occupant in the room. To improve the condition, a window-type air conditioner
can be used to provide a higher outdoor ventilation rate as there “is more natural infiltration
when” this type of air conditioner is used. Hence, the use of a window-type air conditioner
does not significantly affect the outdoor ventilation rate and thus reduces the health impact
on residents living in these high-rise buildings.
Meckler, M (1996) Improving Indoor Air Quality through Design, Operation and
Maintenance, The Fairmont Press, Lilburn.
It is interesting to note that this book views the issue of indoor air quality at an angle
different from other books. Similar to other books, information on the sources and types
of indoor air contaminants is provided. However, dynamic models targeted at evaluating
indoor air quality (to ensure that it complies with the standard provided by ASHRAE
Standard 62-1989) such as carbon dioxide methods are developed and are elaborated by
the author, which is rarely done by others. In addition, chemical concepts behind indoor air
pollutant removal systems such as molecular sieving and adsorption processes are illustrated
in the book. The efficiency levels of adsorbents at removing indoor air contaminants are
shown as well. The author introduces a two-pronged approach (technical and management
strategies) to maintain and control indoor air quality, which can be very useful to buildings
80 In the Sciences
that face restrictions and constraints on indoor air quality. One thing good about this book is
that the author does not engage in data-dumping where readers are flooded with countless
technical terms. He goes down to the ground level to emphasize the concepts introduced
and provides examples to which people can relate to, thus allowing clearer understanding.
showed that the location of the building and its surrounding facilities are important as if
the building was to be located near sources of contamination like streets with heavy traffic,
this will in turn have an adverse effect on the indoor air quality, affecting the health of the
occupants.
Rohr, A C (2003) Indoor chemistry and health: where are we going? In: K. W. Tham,
C. Sekhar and D. Cheong (Ed), Healthy Buildings 2003 Volume 1, Stallion Press,
Singapore, 301–308.
Unlike most books, this paper does not focus its attention on primary indoor air pollutants.
Instead, it analyzes secondary products that are formed as a result of reactions between
various indoor air contaminants, in particular products of ozone-related reactions such as
alkene-ozonolysis. Reasons behind such reactions are explained using the concept of reac-
tion mechanisms (e.g. free radical chemistry) at work. In addition, detrimental effects of
particle formation (as a result of ozone-related reactions) on human health are pointed out.
Particle formation due to the nucleation of products of alkene-ozonolysis is emphasized
as well. Other than merely listing health implications which arise due to the products of
ozone-related reaction, the author goes one step further by providing details on how such
by-products induce adverse health effects (e.g. water solubility level or acidity of some
products). Various knowledge gaps in this field of research such as toxicology of terpene
oxidation products have been identified too. This paper will be helpful for people looking
for information on the chemical aspects of indoor air quality as it provides a large source of
literature related to the topic.
Seifert, B, Esdon, H, Fischer, M, Ruden, H and Wegner, J (1987) Indoor Air ’87:
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate,
Institute for Water, Soil and Air Hygiene, Berlin.
This book is a collection of papers presented during the 1987 International Conference on
Indoor Air Quality and Climate. This particular volume covers a whole range of topics
related to indoor air chemistry as well as the biological aspects of it. Emission rates of
volatile organic compounds from building materials are analyzed. Various methods used
to identify and quantify indoor air pollutants such as formaldehyde are also evaluated. In
addition, there are numerous papers that study the indoor air quality of different buildings,
such as offices and residences. Negative health effects due to prolonged exposure to indoor
air pollutants are briefly mentioned as well. This book is published in 1987. Although the
82 In the Sciences
findings in the book may be slightly outdated, it can be used as a reference when analyzing
the trends of indoor air quality. Based on the information available, comparisons between
indoor air qualities of different decades can also be made. However, it is noted that most of
the papers presented focuses heavily on the results of experiments conducted. Discussion
on the results obtained is usually brief, which may not be helpful to researchers who wish
to look deeper into the issues and need to know more information.
Turiel, I (1985) Indoor Air Quality and Human Health, Stanford University Press,
Stanford.
The author attributes the decline in indoor air quality to the rising numbers of “air-tight”
houses. In this book, the more prominent indoor air contaminants (e.g. radon, formaldehyde
and asbestos) are analyzed. Using a variety of literature, the author provides a list tabulating
the sources and uses of some indoor air pollutants. Chemical properties of these compounds
which result in negative health effects are explained as well. Although this book does not
bring in a wide range of indoor air pollutants, its discussion on a few selected pollutants is
rather in-depth and can act as a good source of information. In addition, the author tends to
focus his discussion in the context of residential houses, rather than office buildings. Hence,
the data and findings of this book should not be applied to office buildings, since offices
tend to have many facilities which houses do not, such as photocopying machines. Thus,
the levels and types of indoor air pollutants listed here should vary significantly from office
buildings.
to the understanding of effects of emissions from materials. This will be particularly impor-
tant to indoor contaminants which cannot be quantified or measured easily since surface
chemistry provides at least an estimation on the levels of such secondary pollutants.
Biomimetics
canadensis), earthworm and termites are mentioned as allogenic engineers, organisms that
actively shape environments. These engineers inadvertently promote species diversity and
healthy growth of surrounding ecosystems. Characteristics of ecosystem engineers include:
presence of mutualisms, presence of other species, efficient nutrient cycling, and flexibility
and adaptability. Detrimental engineering are characteristics of exotic non-native species
introduced in new environments, leading to loss of species diversity, nutrient exhaustion and
degradation of ecosystem. Zebra mussels and feral pigs are cited as detrimental engineering.
Species’ impacts can be quantified and similar techniques can be used to model human
engineering solutions. The emulation of role model organisms that enhances diversity and
ecosystem function represent potential alternatives to traditional engineering approach.
Ultimately, there are two things we need to know: information about ecosystems, and means
to use such information in decision-making and planning.
Design
pros and cons and recent developments. Though the performance characteristics may not
include charts and graphs the scientist is more used to, it provides a concise understanding
without going too technical. Though the information may be old, it is surprisingly relevant
today as many aspects discussed such as structural expression of using a certain material
still very much applies today. It is a good place to start understanding what goes on behind
a skyscraper before going more in-depth in any specific aspect.
Halliday, S P and Kendall, K (1997) Architecture of habitat: design for life and
discussion. Philosophical Transactions: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering
Sciences, 355(1728): 1389–1403.
The significance of adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to the design and construction
of a building is highlighted in this paper. The authors first explain the different elements of
a built environment, such as construction materials and energy resources. Possible ways
to integrate the use of green energy (e.g. solar energy and wind energy) are illustrated
in the paper as well. It is interesting that the authors stress on the significance of having
green buildings by drawing the reader’s attention to the relationship between the use of
green products and the quality of the indoor environment. Such association between green
features and the indoor environment is generally not observed and would thus aid in the
push for sustainable buildings. However, it is important to note that quantitative analysis is
not carried out in this paper, since the authors tend to engage only in theoretical discussion.
Hence, it might be challenging to quantify the actual benefits and effects of integrating
green designs into buildings.
Hart, G C (2005) The structural design of tall and special buildings. The Structural
Design of Tall and Special Buildings, 14: 473–486.
Tall buildings are the subject of this paper, which is a summary of the oral discussions at the
2005 Annual Meeting of the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council. There is
a clear focus on safety when designers design a building and the author proposes four main
questions to ask, namely, the lifespan of the building, the biggest factor that may cause
the collapse (earthquakes, wind), condition of the building after it is hit by that factor and
how to do quality control. Interestingly, the author believes the first three questions should
be answered by the people who want to build the building and not the structural engineer
as they would know the desired requirements of the buildings better. They designate the
limits of the building while the designers and engineers worry about how to fit in to those
limits. He goes on to discuss how each of these questions can be answered generally by the
structural engineer working with non-structural engineers. This paper is appropriate when
trying to understand what goes into the thinking behind building a tall building.
Lew, M and Bonneville, D (1997) New building code requirements for the seismic
design of tall buildings near active faults. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings,
6(4): 279–297.
The seismic provisions in the new 1997 edition of the Uniform Building Code contain
significant changes affecting the seismic resistant design of buildings. For buildings in
California, the most significant change is related to the amplification of forces in areas near
major active faults. This is done through the introduction of a near-source factor. This factor
affects the design of buildings throughout the spectral range, but particularly affects mid-rise
and high-rise buildings owing to their response to long period ground motions for which the
near source effect is most pronounced. This paper provides an overview of the code change,
a detailed discussion of ground motion mapping in the near field, and a discussion of the
effect of the code change on tall buildings. Preliminary near-source maps are developed for
the Los Angeles Basin. Studies are presented, comparing base shear values calculated based
on the 1994 and 1997 editions of the Uniform Building Code.
The Design Codes differ in each country, usually specifying the types of materials, joints
and even aspects of design such as where the pillars must be situated. These codes provide
safety to the occupants of the building with established designs aspects that will ensure
building integrity. However, many of these design codes are slow to change and adapt to
new materials and technologies thus designers using them have to apply for specialized
permits. The author gives us an overview of how and why the design code in Japan changed
over time. He also explains how it is applied with respect to dead load, snow load, wind
forces and earthquakes. It is noted that by basing a design code on performance, it frees
the designers to use their own designs which may result in innovation and cost savings.
With the advancement in computers, modelling can also help to predict the behavior of
buildings under different conditions making performance based design easier to apply but a
lot depends on the reliability of the model.
Electromagnetism
Ashdown, B and Scott, T (2000) Recommendations for protection and grounding
in rooftop stations. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Twenty-second
International Telecommunications Energy Conference, 34(3): 652–658.
88 In the Sciences
This paper gives a highly detailed view of the implications of the above studies. The moti-
vation is practical; Communications Electronic Packages (CEPs) are mounted on the top of
tall buildings in general, and this places the CEPs at obvious dangers of lightning influence,
as can be concluded from the above mentioned studies. Moreover, a CEP will be usually
mounted on the tallest building in an area, operated by commercial power from the build-
ing itself. As such, a lightning strike would possibly damage and affect power supply in
the building. Thus, the authors proceed to recommend a comprehensive solution, based on
calculations and experiments conducted, which is cost-effective and customizable for use in
differing situations. Credit is due to these researchers for effectively applying concepts and
theories that have been studied. The paper gives insight on the many complications that can
arise, and the non-trivial methods, which have to be applied, with the advent of taller and
taller buildings. Undeniably, each progress made in research of electromagnetic phenomena
will eventually bring about progress in the design and cost-effectiveness of tall buildings.
Morrow, R and Blackburn, T R (2002) The stepped nature of lightning, and the
upward connecting streamer. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 35: 69–73.
This paper uses a numerical method to study the nature of “stepped leader” lightning. Inter-
estingly, this very study reveals the nature of “stepped leader” lightning from a numerical
method and the authors show that their calculations can adequately explain the behaviour
of such lightning. Previously, studies made by other scientists either failed to adequately
explain the reason that the lightning took “steps” to discharge, or could not produce the
accurate results, which coincided with observed phenomena. As such, this paper can be
seen as one of the important ones whose results later studies would have utilized greatly. In
fact, it would certainly be a worthwhile for the industry to proceed in the direction of using
such results to further the field, by applying them to practical calculations involving real
buildings so as to enable safety and a host of other considerations in building tall buildings.
Yoshihiro, B and Rakov, V A (2007) Electromagnetic fields at the top of a tall build-
ing associated with nearby lightning return strokes. Proceedings, 18th International
Zurich Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, 179–182.
This paper has its authors investigating the vertical component of the electric field due
to lightning strikes on tall objects, of which buildings are included. So far, the previous
studies have included calculating the electric fields in the buildings and how measurement
In the Sciences 89
of electric fields on the roof tops are affected by the height of the building. In this case,
using a technique called the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, the authors
solve Maxwell’s equations and conclude that the magnitude of the vertical electric field
on a roof top is respectively about 1.5, 2, or 3 times that of the same at ground level in the
absence of a building, for buildings of height 20, 50 or 100 meters. Thus, using these results
they are able to determine the electric field enhancement factor of a building, which can be
used to simplify future calculations involving electric fields. In doing this, the authors make
a significant contribution to the study of electric fields with respect to tall buildings and
the possible effects and necessary precautions needed in constructing taller in future. They
also conclude that the field enhancement factor is negligibly affected at horizontal distances
greater than 100 meters from the building.
Zhang, X (2002) Calculation of transient electric field inside the building struck by
lightning. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 3rd International Sym-
posium, 290–293.
The author attempts to formulate a simple and efficient method of obtaining accurately
calculated values of the electric field that remains in a building after it is struck by lightning.
The implications of such a research are clear. All technological devices used today are
highly sensitive to electric and magnetic field disturbances since they operate on very low
levels of electric current as compared to the magnitudes generated by nature. The author
successfully formulates his method and uses it to calculate the electric field based on prior
knowledge of a building’s lightning protection system. In spite of the fact that the worked
example is based on a simple protection system, it has, according to the author, been tested
on a real building. If his claims are true, then this new method is superior to existing methods
used, and since tall buildings are especially susceptible to lightning strikes, this method
seems set to be used extensively from now on.
Health
Balsdon, A (1990) Sick Building Syndrome: Causes, Effects and Control, London
Hazards Centre Trust Limited, London.
This book is a study on the sick building syndrome based on information obtained from
the 1980s. Details of the symptoms of the syndrome are stated, of which lethargy and nose
irritations are more common. The author uses the case of the Legionnaires’ disease to high-
light the significance of human negligence towards the environment, since the outbreak of
the Legionnaires’ disease in buildings is due to poor housekeeping methods. In addition,
the author has come up with an A to Z list of chemical compounds which contributes to the
decline in indoor air quality, such as ammonia, carbon monoxide and benzene, and elab-
orates on these chemicals. Other key factors of the sick building syndrome (for example
thermal radiation and ventilation) are provided as well. In this book, information related
to this syndrome such as the health impacts and its causes is explained in a concise and
thorough manner, allowing readers to grasp essential concepts easily. Hence, this book will
be useful as a guide to the management staff of offices who are looking for ways to improve
the working environment for their employees.
Byrne, D and Keithley, J (1993) Housing and the health of the community. In:
R. Burridge and D. Ormandy (Ed), Unhealthy Housing: Research, Remedies and
Reform, E and FN Spon, London, 41–64.
90 In the Sciences
Byrne and Keithley challenged the merit of a research enterprise, which seeks to attribute
individual ill-health to “bad high-rise housing”. They present a compelling and authoritative
argument for the monitoring of community health among high-rise housing by discussing
the methodological questions associated with high-rise housing and the causal process of
health. This was done by looking at research that investigated the relationships between
housing and health. It was found that there were improvements in health when dramatic
improvements were made to housing which was measure by the growth and development of
children. Byrne and Keithley noticed that for many years, interest in the origins of ill-health
had been in decline in urban societies with high-rise buildings. Thus there is a need to study
on whether the construction of certain forms of housing (especially high-rise accommoda-
tion) has had damaging effects on health. With that, future preventive measures can be taken
to reduce the damaging effects if any.
Chadee studies the seasonal prevalence and vertical distribution of the oviposition of the
Aedes aegypti with the use of modified ovitraps that were located at several elevations.
A total of 988 ovitraps were placed both indoors and outdoors in high-rise apartments
in the urban town of Trinidad, West Indies. The ovitraps collected during the months of
the wet season revealed that 404 ovitraps were positive with 18.536 Aedes aegypti eggs.
Those collected during the dry season revealed that 435 ovitraps were positive with 12.255
Aedes aegypti eggs. Data obtained from different elevations of the high-rise apartments
showed that more eggs were collected at elevations of thirteen metres to twenty-four metres
than any other elevation, suggesting that the invasion of high-rise ecosystems by the Aedes
aegypti can enhance the transmission of the dengue vector. As a result, this ecological shift
in the Aedes aegypti population has exploited new habitats associated with human activity,
suggesting that strategies should be developed to educate householders with the creation of
appropriate vector control measures to prevent future threats of dengue transmission.
The prevalence of asthma has increased considerably as more Americans spend their time
indoors. This pattern has led researchers to examine exposure to indoor allergens in high-
rise buildings that are an important risk factor for the cause of asthma. One such risk factor
is the exposure to cockroach allergen in high-rise apartments in the United States. In the
project, residents of 831 high-rise apartments were surveyed. The allergen, questionnaire
and observational data of the residents were analyzed. Results obtained showed that the
concentrations of cockroach allergen were elevated and were associated with allergic sen-
sitization and asthma. The odds of having even further elevation of cockroach allergen
concentrations were greatest when cockroach problems were reported or observed and
increased with the number of cockroaches observed. Hence, it can be concluded that the
allergen is prevalent in many settings and at levels in high-rise apartments that may con-
tribute to allergic sensitization and asthma. As a result, steps should be taken to reduce the
exposure to these allergens to reduce the cause of asthma and allergic sensitization when
one is indoors in a high-rise apartment.
In the Sciences 91
Evans, G W (2003) The built environment and mental health. Journal of Urban
Health, 80(4): 536–555.
Evans chose to examine the direct and indirect effects that the built environment has on men-
tal health. He argues that high-rise housing does not favour the psychological well-being of
women with young children. Besides the quality of housing which may be difficult to draw
conclusions from, Evans mentioned that the mental health of psychiatric patients is linked to
design elements that affect their ability to regulate social interaction. He gave the example
of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. For these patients, they were better adjusted
92 In the Sciences
in buildings that accommodate physical wandering. Hence, if these patients were to live in
a built environment consisting of high-rise housing, residential crowing and loud exterior
noise sources may elevate psychological distress in them. Besides that, air pollutants from
the urban surrounding heighten negative affect and may cause behavioural disturbances.
The properties of the built environment also affect personal control, relationships and even
restoration from stress and fatigue, increasing depressive symptoms. Hence, more attention
should be focused on the health implications of multiple environmental risk exposure of the
built environment and high-rise housing.
Goh, K T and Ooi, P L (1995) Health and the Built Environment: Proceedings of
the Medical and Public Health Sessions of the Asia-Pacific Conference on the Built
Environment, Institute of Environmental Epidemiology (Ministry of Environment),
Singapore.
Various aspects of indoor environment in several commercial buildings are studied, such as
aldehyde cadmium levels. Most of the buildings selected are in Singapore, with a few case
In the Sciences 93
studies focusing on other places such as Japan and Shanghai. It is noted that various ambient
factors such as humidity levels are taken into consideration when the authors account for
the results obtained. Readers will be able to get a clearer understanding as plausible expla-
nations on the data acquired from field studies conducted are given. However, it is observed
that discussions often include mitigation methods such as increasing ventilation rates or
prohibiting the use of materials which contain hazardous compounds (e.g. formaldehyde).
Yet, this may not be feasible as further research needs to be done before new variations of
materials can be formulated. Hence, such suggestions will not be able to eradicate current
problems associated with these indoor air pollutants. Increasing ventilation rates may not
be cost-effective for air-conditioned buildings as well.
Jackson, L E (2003) The relationship of urban design to human health and condition.
Landscape and Urban Planning, 64: 191–200.
The population of the United States is currently experiencing increased illness from dis-
persed and synergistic causes. Chronic aliments like asthma and allergies, obesity, diabetes,
heart disease and depression are also on the rise. This paper surveys the impacts of urban
design, in particular the design of high-rise buildings, on human health and well-being.
It outlines the influence that high-rise apartments have on aspects of physical and mental
health by drawing on recent literature. Jackson concludes that sufficient evidence exists to
reveal the urban design of high-rise apartments as a powerful tool for improving the human
condition. One example is the access to greenery both visually and physically, which are
the principle keys to health. Hence, Jackson feels that there must be elements which are
to be incorporated into the design of high-rise buildings to increase physical exercise and
enhance civic life of the residents. Further research is also recommended to strengthen the
relationships between the designing of high-rise buildings and health.
Lavin, T, Higgins, C, Metcalfe, O, and Jordan, A (2006) Health Impacts of the Built
Environment: A Review, The Institute of Public Health, Ireland.
The quality of indoor air in a high-rise building can directly affect the health of the occu-
pants living in the building. The World Health Organisation has identified five main harmful
substances present in the indoor air of high-rise buildings. These five substances include:
“radon, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), cooking pollutants, volatile organic com-
pounds and asbestos, all of which have been linked to respiratory diseases including asthma,
lung cancer and mesothelioma”. In addition, radon and ETS have been identified as health
94 In the Sciences
risks associated with indoor air quality found in the United Kingdom together with other
pollutants like dust mites and carbon monoxide. As young children are more susceptible to
certain environmental threats compared to healthy adults, it may be unsuitable for young
children to live in high-rise buildings if the indoor air quality is poor and unhealthy. Hence,
the indoor air quality of high-rise buildings have to be monitored as poor indoor air quality
will cause the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory diseases to be more susceptible
to developing other illnesses, supporting the claim that high-rise living is detrimental to
health.
Mant, D (1993) Understanding the problems of health and housing research. In:
R. Burridge and D. Ormandy (Ed), Unhealthy Housing: Research, Remedies and
Reform. E and FN Spon, London, 3–21.
Research into the relationship between housing and health is no easy feat, as poor health
conditions can be linked to poor and insufficient housing conditions instead of just type of
housing. As such, Mant outlines alternative research methods in considering the conceptual
and methodical challenges facing an inquiry into the health hazards of high-rise housing,
explaining the difficulties and doubts attached to each type of research method. He pro-
vides a guide to health and housing research and a framework for understanding the various
studies related to the topic. Mant’s assessment of the value of the different methodologies
is directed towards exposing the discrete world of research expertise to the untrained but
understanding eye of the non-professional. He also provides the research amateur with
checklists for evaluating the professional empirical investigator, thus providing a founda-
tion for understanding and evaluating the studies of specific health hazards in relation to
high-rise housing and provides methods which can be used for future areas of research.
patch tests with crude moth material produced similar eruptions in five out of seven adult
volunteers between the duration of forty minutes and twelve hours. A similar response to
that induced by histamine was elicited through the conduction of pharmacological exper-
iments with aqueous extracts of moth hairs in isolated guinea pig ileum. Thus, to prevent
future or similar possible outbreaks among other high-rise public housing estates, further
studies on the vertical distribution and breeding environments favoring the tussock moths
can be conducted for future implementation to prevent the same situation from happening
again.
Potter, I N (1991) Sick Building Syndrome, The Building Services Research and
Information Association, Berkshire.
The author highlights the various symptoms of the Sick Building Syndrome, of which
sensoric irritation in the eye nose or throat is the dominating one. Parameters that play
an important role in the Sick Building Syndrome, such as the heating, ventilating and air-
conditioning systems of buildings, are identified as well. With the aim of creating guidelines
to act as preventive measure, a set of conditions targeted at alleviating the symptoms and
causes of the Sick Building Syndrome is formulated. Good housekeeping protocols that can
be put into place to minimize the symptoms of the syndrome have also been suggested. The
author brings up an interesting point, of which other books addressing the sick building syn-
drome have ignored – the complaints of people within the building. Be it living or working
there, the comments of these people should not be disregarded as such forms of feedback is
vital in allowing others to determine the effectiveness of the methods employed to address
the issue of the sick building syndrome.
Saunders, T (2002) The Boiled Frog Syndrome: Your Health and the Built Environ-
ment, Wiley Academy, Chichester.
Thomas Saunders uses an intriguing analogy of boiled frogs to describe typical human
behavior of adapting to rising health hazards to satisfy our needs for better living, until
everything is too late. He touches on the sick building syndrome (SBS), which has become
commonplace. In this book, the upsurge in the number of cancer cases and other related
diseases has been attributed to the severe contamination of the environment in built-up areas.
In-depth discussion on the sources of environmental pollution, including contaminated land
due to landfills, toxic gas (radon) emissions, asbestos and volatile organic compounds, is
96 In the Sciences
done in the book. For example, Saunders highlights the use of asbestos in building materi-
als, which are known to be cancer-causing. He also points out the severity of negative ion
depletion on the human health, since the lack of such ions has an undesirable impact on the
bodily chemical changes. It is important to note that points raised by Saunders may not be
applicable to all, since not all countries have the same practices. For example, there are no
landfills within the island of Singapore. Hence, it is unlikely that land contaminated land in
Singapore will be due to improper treatment of landfills.
Hygrothermal
impact of such developments on the overall ecological setting. The paper concludes that a
developed site with earth-sheltered houses will not disrupt the landscape, and instead will
enhance natural beauty. It mentions that earth sheltered housing is “a positive step” towards
achieving sustainability and energy conservation.
Bojic, M and Yik, F (2005) Cooling energy evaluation for high-rise residential build-
ings in Hong Kong. Energy and Buildings, 37(4): 345–351.
Based on the design of a typical high-rise public housing block in Hong Kong, the depen-
dence of space cooling loads of residential flats on the constructions of external walls and
partitions, and the location of thermal insulation layer in the walls and partitions, was stud-
ied by detailed simulation. The results show that insulating the envelope and the partitions
would be effective in reducing the yearly space cooling load, by up to 38%, but could either
increase or reduce the peak cooling demand, depending on the number and positions of
insulation layers in the walls. Reducing the thermal capacity of the envelope and partitions
would lead to large increases in the peak cooling demand, by more than 60% in the extreme
case.
Chow, D H C and Levermore, G J (2007) New algorithm for generating hourly tem-
perature values using daily maximum, minimum and average values from climate
models. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 28(3): 237–248.
Building designers often predict building performances using simulation programmes that
use hourly weather data. While some weather stations provide such data, many only pro-
vide daily data. As such, algorithms are required to obtain hourly weather data from such
data. The author offers a glimpse on available algorithms to perform such calculation and
introduces a new algorithm, called Q-Sin method. The author proceeds on to discuss the
effectiveness of each algorithm and compares them with each other. The results indicate
that the Q-Sin method introduced in the paper can reproduce hourly temperatures better
than other algorithms. It does so by utilizing daily maximum, minimum, and average tem-
peratures while other algorithms utilize only maximum and minimum value. The study also
reveals that the specified time for daily maximum and minimum value is crucial to estimate
hourly temperature accurately. This study is useful for building simulation programmes and
provides more accurate data to obtain better simulation.
Collin, K J (1993) Cold- and heat-related illnesses in the indoor environment. In:
R. Burridge and D. Ormandy (Ed), Unhealthy Housing: Research, Remedies and
Reform, E and FN Spon, London, 117–137.
Collin analyses the health implications of both excessive cold and heat in the home of
high-rise buildings and raises other indoor climate related clinical conditions that can result
from a high-rise living environment. The “indoor climate of a high-rise building embodies
aspects of the hygrothermal environment, lightning, noise and air quality that influence
requirements for comfort, health and safety. In cold air temperatures, the moisture con-
tent of the outside air is low even though the relative humidity (RH) may approach 100%.
This air may then infiltrate the indoor environment of a high-rise building causing the RH
to become very low, creating an irritant effect for the occupants. This decrease will also
lead to respiratory illnesses and the upper respiratory tract infections due to the increased
transmission of infection as airborne micro-organisms survive better at lower humilities.
As such, in the construction of high-rise buildings, each component in the building from
natural lighting to thermal insulation has to be critically considered in relation to its effect
on the others as interactions may occur between the physical elements of the environment.
98 In the Sciences
Bazant, Z P and Zhou, Y (2002) Why did the world trade center collapse? – Simple
analysis. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 128: 2–6.
The collapse of the World Trade Center during the attacks of September 11th came as a
shock to the world. In the months that followed it, many have continued to ask how it
happened. In this paper, the authors took a simplified approach to consider the engineering
aspects of how the building collapsed especially since the building was designed to take
the impact of a large aircraft. It is noted that at high temperatures, the yield strength of
structural steel tends to decrease increasing its likelihood of buckling. This was possible
in the case of the World Trade Center due to the aircraft fuel present, exposing the steel to
upwards of 800◦ C for long periods of time. The collapse did not occur immediately but upon
buckling of the structural steel of a single floor, the kinetic energy of the top crushing down
on the top floor causes the subsequent collapse of the floor below creating a domino effect.
Interestingly, the paper also examines through the use of physics many other questions like
why the building did not topple over like a tree. More importantly, the paper points towards
future research into fire safety and developing better materials to withstand such disasters.
In the Sciences 99
Fortner, B (2001) Designers embrace technology for latest skyscrapers. Civil Engi-
neering, 71(5): 30–31.
Published just several months prior to the fateful terror attacks on September 11, this article
is almost embarrassingly optimistic about the future of tall buildings. In it, the Sixth World
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is described as being attended by more than
320 engineers, urban planners, and architects, of which key figures such as presidents and
chief executives of top architectural and construction firms present their latest advancements
in technology. On the other hand, the report accurately describes computer technology,
along with mass dampers, light and strong materials, and innovative construction tech-
niques, as quantum leaps in enabling taller buildings to be built more stably and economi-
cally. Evidently, the industry was at a peak of optimism and successful, rapid development.
Although the optimism died down following the terrorist attacks, it seems to have gained
momentum once again in recent years, and the industry has once again attracted much
attention, which will be the trend in future barring any unfortunate events.
Mendonca, D and Wallace, W A (2006) Impacts of the 2001 World Trade Center
attack on New York City critical infrastructures. Journal of Infrastructure Systems,
12(4): 260–270.
The authors of this study investigate the impacts of the terror attacks on critical infrastruc-
tures such as emergency services and transportation services in New York City. They focus
much on the interdependencies of these infrastructures and the resulting disruptions that
were caused. The findings include the fact that 20% of the disruptions involved interdepen-
dencies, for example emergency services being disrupted due to breakage in transportation
links. Thus, it is concluded that methods be formulated to manage infrastructure disrup-
tions based on the knowledge of interdependencies. The authors are clearly right in their
deductions, since 20% of disruptions, involving interdependencies, can probably be greatly
reduced if such considerations were made. As such, much more emphasis will eventually be
placed on the planning aspect of city building. Moreover, since tall buildings present with
themselves a host of challenges such as transportation and human traffic, as well as possibly
requiring the disruption or rerouting of underground transport routes, more challenges will
be faced when considering the construction of such buildings.
vulnerabilities involved, and talked about the forensic investigation in uncovering the cause
of the collapse, and what lessons can the builders of future skyscrapers learn from it.
Because the article was written just a few months after the terrorist attack, emotions were
still running high and so the author believed city skylines would remain unchanged for some
time due to the disinclination toward building more skyscrapers. Such a sentiment would
largely evaporate in a few years, however, as New York City and Chicago plan their new
record-breaking structures.
Yean, Y L F and Soh, L H (2005) Improving the design of tall buildings after 9/11.
Structural Survey, 23(4): 265–281.
The authors in this paper seek to investigate possible enhancements to the safety of tall
buildings following the terror attacks in New York. Their approach is unique in that it
focuses on architects and engineers in Singapore, by compiling the opinions of these experts
in the field as well as interviewing public authorities for their views as well. In this way, it
is targeted at providing grounds and material for future research in Singapore. Interestingly,
the architects and engineers generally agree that it is infeasible to design buildings to with-
stand aircraft impacts. Instead, the focus is on improving safety in reasonable peacetime
scenarios and enhancing existing methods to cater for taller buildings in future. The paper
concludes its findings by pointing towards four key methods of improving safety, including
the decentralization of fire protection systems and a separate design code for super tall
buildings. In effect, these aspects will probably lay the ground for the local government to
set the necessary guidelines and criteria, which is key for the safety and reliability of taller
buildings in the future.
Insect Colonies
Jones, J C and Oldroyd, B P (2007) Nest thermoregulation in social insects.
Advances in Insect Physiology, 33: 153–191.
Most social insect species exhibit the ability to control and regulate their nest tempera-
ture. This literature review investigates the diverse variety of systems that such species
have adopted and adapted to regulate nest temperature. Two broad categories are identified:
active and passive thermoregulation. ‘Passive’ thermoregulation includes mechanisms like
the selection and orientation of nest site to provide optimal internal temperature, structural
designs that allow passive cooling or heating, or brood translocation to more conducive
regions of the nest. ‘Active’ temperature regulation refers to individual behaviours that alter
nest temperature through physical activity like evaporative cooling or wing fanning. This
review further examines how termite mound designs differ according to climate and geog-
raphy. Two termite species (Ametermes meridionalis and A. laurensis) in northern Australia
use structure and orientation to regulate nest temperature (long axis is oriented north-south
and in dry cooler seasons, they shift towards eastern face). Near Chicago, nest mounts of
Formica ulkei have a long slope aligned to maximise solar radiation. Under shading exper-
iments, these ants modify the slope.
The North American harvester ants Pogonomyrmex occidentalis construct nests with
southeastern slopes and northwestern peaks to maximise solar radiation. Interestingly, this
design resulted in a range of temperatures under the ground from 12.9◦ C to 41.8◦ C and
under the peak 10.7◦ C and 43.3◦ C. This wide range is exploited by workers for different
functions. Bees, on the other hand, make use of batumen and cerumen (both plant com-
pounds) in their walls to regulate temperature. Slender comb designs (in Ropolidia variegate
jacobsoni) tend to give cooler nest temperature than oblong ones (in R. fasciata). A silk
cap on pupae provides insulation too. He cited examples of a termite species Macrotermes
In the Sciences 101
bellicosus in two different habitats, savannah and galley forest, and two different nest archi-
tectures are observed. In the hotter savannah, they are tall and thin-walled. In the cooler
shaded galley forest, they are dome-shaped and thick. Experiments show that termites
modify their architecture from one form to another in response to the climate. It is also
observed that during construction, environmental factors such as wind can affect distribution
of ‘cement pheromones’ which affect final nest outcome. Such understanding can enhance
the interaction between architecture, engineering and environment. Several similarities are
observed amidst the diversity of thermoregulatory mechanisms. Interestingly, in the insect
world, all thermoregulatory mechanisms are self-organized in which individual workers
obey certain simple rules or guidelines. Certainly, it is a protocol worth exploring with
regards to participatory concerted action within a vertical city in which communications
face more boundaries as compared to horizontal communal living.
Kleineidam, C, Ernst, R, and Roces, F (2001) Wind induced ventilation of the giant
nests of the leaf cutting ant Atta vollenweideri. Naturwissenschaften, 88: 301–305.
This article aims to comprehend the importance of highly sophisticated nest architecture for
the regulation of nest climate. In addition, it examines the mechanisms underlying air venti-
lation in a large field nest of Atta vollenweideri. During summer, the predominant force driv-
ing the ventilation is surface wind. It draws air from within the nest through central tunnels.
The paper suggests that nest ventilation, in this case, is not driven by thermal convection
as the nest does not maintain the required temperature gradient. It instead contains fungus
that tolerates temperature below 30◦ C. Measurements show that temperatures within the
nest do not reach 30◦ C, the temperature required for significant thermal convection to take
place. Two functionally distinct tunnel groups were identified based on their predominant
airflow direction: outflow tunnels in the upper and central regions, and inflow tunnels in the
lower and peripheral region of the nest mound. Nest ventilation in the leaf-cutting ants Atta
sexdens and Atta cephalotes were first studied in 1939 by Wilson and Sheehy. By releasing
small smoke puffs at various openings, they both observed that certain nest openings ‘suck
in’ air. The extraordinary capability of leaf-cutting ant workers to measure absolute carbon
dioxide (CO2 ) concentrations makes this gas a probable trigger of regulatory responses, and
a high sensitivity to air flows, as observed in termites, could facilitate researchers in locating
outflow channels. Measurements were taken using anemometer tubes that were positioned
at a depth of 10 cm within the tunnels and were connected with a wire. All anemometers
were oriented in a manner that a positive sign of the sensor output voltage indicated inflow
and a negative sign outflow of air into the nest. Even though this article does not deal directly
with skyscraper design, it exposes an issue common between buildings and biological nests:
ventilation.
tends to be higher than in the day. It is found that the ventilation system in the savannah
type is externally driven by the sun. The dome-shaped nest however exhibits Lüscher’s
postulation, indicating a predominantly internally driven system. Hence, experimental data
does not support Lüscher’s hypothesis for the tall savannah structures.
This report finds that the fanning behaviour exhibited by honey bees provides effective
ventilation inside the nest. There are several fascinating findings. First, even with only a
single small entrance leading into the nest, the fanning could be coordinated so as to induce
tidal ventilation akin to a typical breathing pattern. This fanning behaviour also regulates
temperature, carbon dioxide concentration and humidity. In addition, brood temperature is
maintained at 35◦ C by burning stored honey. Second, such periodicity in the active fanning
movement could expel an air current followed immediately by a passive air influx. Third,
interestingly, this fanning behaviour exhibits negative phototaxis (it gets induced due to lack
of light). Fourth, the respiratory activity of the bee colony reduces at night. Through field
observations and experimental setups emulating nest cavity, it is found that the bees coordi-
nate amongst themselves by employing fanners near the entrance to regulate air movement
(into or out of the nest) depending on temperature and light. It is observed that large colonies
cost less metabolically in winter in terms of thermoregulation. Interestingly, measurements
and dimensions of nest cavity appear to be carefully planned out to optimise ventilation and
colonial survival. These observations point out that knowledge of occupant population and
seasonal climate changes during construction can lead to effective design. Ultimately, the
shape, volume and intense activity within the nest influence the nest microclimate greatly.
Ideas such as the burning of honey and proactive ventilation design can be applied into
construction technologies in the future.
Barnett and Browning concluded that there are a lot of reasons on why buildings should
be environmental friendly and have a positive instead of negative impact on the surround-
ing environment. Some of these reasons include “improved aesthetics, comfort and perfor-
mance” which will in turn translate to improved and increased productivity with “lower
operational costs”. Even though the building cost of green buildings is comparable to that
of conventional ones, unlike conventional buildings, green buildings consume less energy,
obtain and harness energy from natural sources, and in turn produce less pollution. Thus,
green buildings provide healthier spaces for occupants and residents to live and work in,
as many work-related illnesses like headaches and eye strains are directly related to poor
lightning, inadequate fresh air, harsh acoustics and gloomy surroundings that prevail in
many office spaces found in conventional buildings. This is of great importance specially so
when 80% of the typical American spends most of their time indoors. Therefore, with the
construction of green buildings, absenteeism and sick-leave use will reduce significantly,
suggesting that green buildings are not only nicer, but healthier to live in as well.
In the Sciences 103
between high-rise housing condition and the health and well-being of the residents. It is
recognized that high-rise housing in general provides some form of protection against expo-
sure to external elements like vectors of communicable disease and polluted outdoor air. As
such, Lawrence discusses the various models and principles to be taken into account in for-
mulating housing and health policies in high-rise housing design. He considers the internal
conditions of the dwelling unit and its relationship with the external environment, devel-
oping a range of high-rise housing and health indicators from an ecological perspective.
His approach illustrates the limitations of many of the conventional approaches to high-rise
housing and health. By examining the indicators in relation to health and well-being of the
residents, an evaluation of the indoor environment can be done.
the easing of some restrictions. As such, most of the high-rise buildings projects have been
exempted from the ordinance since then. This may lead to the development of high-rise
buildings which may bring about a drastic or negative impact on the environment. In this
study, the amendments of the ordinance were explored. The current environmental quality
of high-rise buildings in the Tokyo central area was investigated as well to explore whether
the relaxation of the ordinance has led to drastic and negative changes in the environmental
quality as compared to before these amendments were made. By doing so, improvements
of the current EIA ordinance of Tokyo can be made to further improve the development of
high-rise buildings that are environmentally-friendly.
Ong, B L (2002) Green plot ratio: an ecological measure for architecture and urban
planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 63(4): 197–211.
Ong concludes that the current research on the sustainability of high-rise buildings has
favoured the implementation and conservation of greenery in building development. He
feels that “the benefits of plants are not just environmental, but recreational, aesthetic and
emotional”. Even though the full benefits of plants and the role they play in the ecology
of high-rise buildings have remained to be mapped out, plants are still significant. In this
paper, Ong proposes an architectural and planning metric for greenery in cities and high-rise
buildings to integrate high-rise buildings and plants. This new metric is known as the green
plot ratio which is based on the “common biological parameter called the leaf area index”
and “defined as the single-side leaf area per unit ground area”. The use of the green plot
ratio is similar to the building plot ratio just that instead of controlling floor area, the green
plot ratio controls the area of the greenery on site, ensuring that there is an integration of
greenery with building development.
Raw, G J and Prior, J J (1993) The environmental assessment of new houses. In:
R. Burridge and D. Ormandy (Ed), Unhealthy Housing: Research, Remedies and
Reform, E and FN Spon, London, 361–379.
New homes like high-rise buildings have an impact on the global and local environment, the
use of natural resources and impact on the indoor environment. Raw and Prior identified the
contribution that construction methods and materials can make towards reducing pollution
and improving the environment for a healthier future. They describe a scheme developed
by the Building Research Establishment for the assessment of new high-rise houses which
accredits pollution-reducing and safety-enhancing features of high-rise construction. They
also provided another example of the potential for developing practical guidelines and eval-
uation criteria directed towards the reduction of specific health hazards in the home envi-
ronment. This is especially important as the impact of high-rise construction and buildings
leads to health implications not only for the residents living in these buildings, but for the
earth as well (contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming).
ions play in the onset of the sick building syndrome. This book will be suitable for those
who work in the building industry as the information it provides can be applied to many
aspects of building construction and designs. Although the information given is not directly
related to skyscrapers, the fundamental principles still applies to tall buildings.
Yeang, K (2001) The Green Skyscraper: The Basis for Designing Sustainable Inten-
sive Buildings, Prestal Verlag, Munich.
A whole new perspective on tall buildings is created here, as ecological features are shown
to be integrated into building designs, protecting the environment and enhancing the perfor-
mance of skyscrapers in the process. In particular, the author highlights the use of natural
ventilation to enhance indoor air quality and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In addition,
a very innovative method (using flowers as absorbers) to reduce VOC (volatile organic
compound) levels is suggested. The author also stresses on the importance of selecting
materials that are environmentally-friendly (e.g. formaldehyde-free carpets). In this book,
the author manages to break free from the stereotype of skyscrapers as energy-guzzling and
environmentally-unfriendly structures by introducing nature into building designs. These
ecological designs can act as effective means to solve problems of poor indoor air quality,
which are often related to mechanically-ventilated buildings, such as skyscrapers. However,
it might seem ambiguous to some people when the author is seen to substantiate his claims
using his books. However, the conclusions drawn should be reliable as his information is
derived experimentally after much extensive research. The book will provide viable alter-
natives and improvements to the design of skyscrapers in terms of the impact on both the
external and indoor environment.
Materials
this in mind, this paper is a sobering one. Thiocyanate exhibits acute and chronic toxicity
and thus its release into the atmosphere through diffusion from concrete is of concern. It is
shown that 6 to 8% of thiocyanate is emitted over a 30 day period. Given the lifetime of a
building, it is rather worrying. While resin acid exhibit slower rates of emission at 10% over
143 days, it is still a cause for worry as it has the ability to bioaccumulate among aquatic
organisms to dangerous levels. The authors point out that this study is done in a laboratory
setting which is very different from in-situ conditions. Thus further research still needs to
be done to determine the danger from such chemicals and whether it is already a serious
problem. If it is proven to be true, work needs to be done to find alternatives to the chemicals
to build “safer” buildings.
As buildings grow taller, there is an increasing demand for stronger materials much needed
by structures near the base to withstand the weight of higher levels. This article suggests
several novel materials that exhibit impressive mechanical characteristics like lightness,
stiffness, toughness and strength, as well as explores the mechanics involved in hard biologi-
cal materials like nacre and bone. Both comprise a large percentage of minerals like calcium
carbonate that correlate to material strength. Innovative methods like layer-by-layer assem-
bly or ice-template crystallisation are described, but they consume much time and effort.
Consequently, the paper sees great potential in ‘bottom-up’ fabrication of nanomaterials
through self-assembly or biomineralisation as these methods introduce tremendous control
at the intricate level, which becomes amplified at the macroscopic level. There is a graph
relating toughness versus hardness of various biological materials. Such visual analytical
representation facilitates engineers and designers to select the most appropriate biological
material to study for a desired characteristic. Bivalves and gastropods develop hard shells
to protect themselves from predators and debris. Through evolution, nacre appears to be
the strongest and toughest shell structure (approximately 90 GPa and 1 KJ m−2 ). The shell
of a red abalone comprise two layers: an outer layer of hard but brittle calcite crystals,
and an inner layer of nacre (composed of 95% aragonite and 5% organic materials). The
outer layer prevents penetration and the inner layer, arranged like alternately-stacked tes-
sellated tablets, dissipates mechanical energy through inelastic deformation. Nanoasperites
are structures that prevent tablet sliding. Hardening mechanisms at the periphery of tablets
enhance dissipation. Bone, on the other hand, is more dynamic. It has mechanisms that can
regulate its density based on mechanical loads. Further explorations into self-healing and
microstructural adaptations will lead to ‘next generation’ materials needed where structural
strength and resilience are highly critical. Most importantly, this paper calls for collabora-
tion and information exchange amongst diverse practitioners.
In the wake of the World Trade Centre collapse, many researchers have focused on answer-
ing how the collapse occurred and how it can be prevented in the future. This paper focuses
on a single aspect, the forces on the trusses due to heat, whether it was sufficient to cause a
collapse and how to prevent it in the future. Though there have been other studies on it, they
fail to consider transverse floor trusses which may also bear some load. Thus the researchers
consider the effect of such trusses, the different possible types of bolting and the presence
of insulation. Though these may not be the actual conditions at the World Trade Centre,
it provides us with an understanding of how to prevent it in the future. Different types of
fire with different decay rates were also modeled. However as the researchers pointed out,
this is only considering one layer and not fire on multiple layers as was in the World Trade
108 In the Sciences
Centre thus results can be disputed. Further research may be needed to generalize it to an
actual building.
Fang, C F and Froese, T (1999) Cost estimation of high performance concrete (HPC)
high-rise commercial buildings by neural networks. Durability of Building Materi-
als and Components, 8: 2476–2486.
HPC structures’ costs are determined by a few factors, including structure parameters,
building design specifications, and design objectives. Therefore, cost estimation techniques
involves understanding of the interrelationships between these factors and the costs. The
author suggested using neural network, a then relatively new area of research, to discover
and establish relationships between costs for HPC for tall buildings and the design parame-
ters. Two neural network models are used and tested. Such neural networks require training
to be able to automatically predict the cost estimation of HPC. Between the two strategies,
the estimation strategy is easier to implement yet has an accuracy of only 92%, which is
lower than the hierarchical strategy. Hierarchical strategy requires more than one network
and extensive training and implementation works. The conclusion is that neural networks
are plausible methods to use in cost estimation of HPC for tall buildings from the experi-
mental results of the two strategies.
Gonzales, J M and Jalali, S (1998), Smart structures using carbon fibre reinforced
concrete (CFRC). In: J. Holnicky-Szulc and J. Rodellar (Ed), Smart Structures:
Requirements and Potential Applications in Mechanical and Civil Engineering,
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, 89–95.
This paper discussed the use of CFRC in smart buildings. CFRC has many attractive
properties, such has high flexural strength, toughness, and earthquake resistance. However,
more importantly in the context of smart buildings, it can conduct electricity with variable
conductance depending of its mechanical stress. This means that the building could self-
monitor its state of stress by simple current measurements. Despite the great potential of
this material, plenty of further research is needed to address some difficulties that prevented
its widespread use; some that is mentioned in the paper is the water content, distribution
of carbon fibres, and repeatability of electrical response of the CFRC. The authors seek
to address the last point, and presented their experimental findings in this paper. They
found that the current intensity in the CFRC remains proportional to the applied force after
repeated loadings. However, the experiment is still at a very early stage. They only examined
the effect of uniform loading in a block of concrete. The usefulness of the material in a tall
In the Sciences 109
building subject to wildly varying stress is unexamined. The authors state that their research
is still ongoing.
The use of fire-retarded polymeric systems is highly applicable in today’s world. It could be
a matter of life and death, since unwanted fires can be prevented or at least the rate of burn-
ing can be reduced when fire-resistant materials are used. This book does a very detailed
analysis on the chemical aspects of flame retardant materials. The reaction mechanisms as
well as the thermochemistry aspects of flame-resistant materials exposed to high temper-
atures are examined in order to illustrate the flame-retardant efficacy of these materials.
Various types of spectroscopy such as infra-red and Raman spectroscopy have also been
conducted on these materials to determine the chemical structures of chemical components.
It is noted that a very wide range of chemicals are inspected in this book, be it organic or
inorganic compounds. The author has also used fire statistics to provide evidences of the
benefits of the use of fire-retardant materials. The findings of the analyses done will be very
useful to builders or designers selecting materials to use in the construction of any building,
especially high-rise since fire safety aspects are of utmost importance in such high-density
living areas.
Recently, the trend in architectural forms has been towards larger and taller buildings.
Building materials are, therefore, also becoming larger and heavier. Typical construction
machineries are not adequate for handling such materials, and most construction works are
still managed by a human operator. Construction processes are, therefore, fraught with a
number of problems, including frequent accidents, high construction cost, and heteroge-
neous construction quality depending on the experience of the workers. Automation has
been introduced at various sites to address these construction problems. In this paper, the
process of a curtain-wall installation in a skyscraper is analyzed, and the prototype of a
construction robot for curtain-wall installation (CRCWI) is proposed. Use of the proposed
CRCWI can reduce the need for manpower and the construction period and cost, and can
assure safety in the curtain-wall construction site. The performance of the proposed CRCWI
was verified with a real application test in a skyscraper construction site.
Hegger, J (1996) High strength concrete for a 186 m high office building in Frank-
furt, Germany. Engineering Structures, 18(11): 850–854.
Trianon was the first building in Germany to require the use of high strength concrete of
at least 85 MPa. The German standard for reinforced concrete was regulated to withstand
up to 55 MPa. For this building, special permits had to be requested. This paper looks at
how the high strength concrete was selected and tested based on the properties of such
concrete on aspects such as mix design, design assumptions, fire tests, experience on site,
quality control and economic aspects to ensure the safety and viability of using high strength
concrete. The paper was written with a specific case study thus the analysis was only specific
to one example only. The designers took into consideration the high temperatures in-situ
which may decrease the strength of concrete which contradicts a previous study. They would
have done better if they did in-situ tests to get actual results rather than extrapolate the
results. However, the rest of the paper still proves to be rather thorough with the tests being
carried out.
110 In the Sciences
Kim, H S and Cho, S H (2005) Shrinkage stress analysis of concrete slab in multi-
storey building considering variation of restraint and stress relaxation due to creep.
The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, 14: 47–58.
Concrete is known to shrink over time due to the evaporation of water content. This may
lead to cracks if the concrete slab is restrained by other structural elements which do not
allow it to shrink. Other studies have been done on the subject but they usually consider an
invariable restraint which is unrealistic as other elements may shrink or expand as well. Thus
the researchers consider a variable restraint as well as shrinkage strains, stress relaxation
due to creep to determine the shrinkage stress. These calculations are applied to a model
10 storey building to illustrate their use. Interestingly, the results show that concrete slabs
on lower floors are more restraint compared to higher floors. Thus the shrinkage stress
decreases as we go up in floors. This experiment considers a pure concrete slab with no
reinforcements. Thus a case where reinforcements are in place may give different results.
Also, the concrete is assumed to be normal concrete but even then concrete has different
grades with differing amounts of water content. Shrinkage may vary vastly dependent on
the water content.
A major factor in the selection of the structural system for a high-rise building is the initial
construction cost of candidate structural systems. In Korea, composite steel and concrete
construction, and cast-in-place concrete flat plate construction are the most commonly used
structural systems. However, there is a lack of data related to the relative construction costs
of these two structure types. This paper compares material quantities for representative
building models up to 80 stories in height using both types of structural system. Based on a
typical floor plan, six models are developed and the buildings are designed for gravity and
lateral loading. Quantities of materials for each model are calculated and compared. The
information presented can be used with appropriate cost data to compare construction costs
for the two structural system types.
structural modeling (which is easy to happen because of the complexity involved), a control
system should be robust enough so that it will never become unstable. They utilized a tech-
nique called linear matrix inequality to design a controller that they claim is very robust.
They then proceeded to build a scale model of a multi-story building with variable stiffness
and mass to test out their controller. The mass dampener performed consistently, giving a
nearly constant reduction ratio when subjected to the same earthquake simulation even with
great variation of stiffness and mass.
This paper presented a new hybrid mass damper (HMD) system and its application to a high
rise building in Tokyo. The new system utilizes a gear type pendulum and a linear actuator.
The gear-type pendulum is employed to make the natural period of the auxiliary mass com-
paratively long while minimizing the height of the device, and the linear actuator realizes
smooth and noiseless operation of the system. Two of such system are employed together
to control the transverse-torsional coupled vibration of the building. A unique control algo-
rithm called variable gain feedback, VFG, is also developed to specifically take advantage
of this system’s strengths. The experimental result showed that the system performed very
well under typhoon condition, reducing maximum acceleration experienced by the building
by 63%. This result also confirmed the accuracy of the theoretical model developed to create
the algorithm.
This paper first described the development of tuned mass damper (TMD) into active mass
damper (AMD) through the use of actuators. The authors seek to combine the two methods,
in what could be called a hybrid system of both active and passive element. They developed
a methodology to determine the optimum parameters and to minimize the force, power,
and energy involved in controlling various types of excitations. The model is then extended
into multi-modal algorithm model, to simulate the real thing a little better. The authors
performed several simulations and field experiments to verify the developed model. This
paper is a follow-up of the above-reviewed paper by the same group.
Behavior of viscoelastic materials are usually modeled after a Kelvin-Voigt model however
when being applied as a damper, the model may not be accurate. A more accurate model
is needed which can take into account viscoelastic memory. Thus a different model is pro-
posed in this paper which is used to analyze the fatigue life of structural components in the
building. The damage on a building due to wind loads can be modeled by the Palmgren-
Miner rule. However, the rule also fails to take into account memory effects. Through the
application of the rule on a model 15-storey building, significant inaccuracies were found.
Thus it is concluded that the effect of considering viscoelastic memory is significant and
should be considered in any fatigues analysis of buildings with viscoelastic dampers. This
is very technical paper dealing with many equations behind the different models, which is
difficult to understand but for those interested to see what goes on behind a model, this may
be a good place to start.
In the Sciences 113
Qu, W L and Xu, Y L (2001) Semi-active control of seismic response of tall build-
ings with podium structure using ER/MR dampers. In: G. C. Hart (Ed), The Struc-
tural Design of Tall Buildings, Wiley, England, 179–192.
The use of electrorheological (ER) or magnetorheological (MR) dampers, smart materials
which will change state upon application of electric and magnetic fields respectively, to
connect a podium structure to a neighboring tall building to prevent whipping effect when
they are subjected to earthquake excitation is explored in this study. A smaller building
is more resistant to a lateral motion, and due to the proximity, the tall building will also
experience increased lateral stiffness. This will result in a potentially catastrophic increase
of displacement of the top of the building. Simply applying a dampener in the tall building is
not sufficient here; the solution the authors proposed is to connect the two building and then
semi-actively controlling the structures using the ER/MR through conventional feedback
loop. A 20-storey and 5-storey pair of buildings is presented as experimental subject to
demonstrate the effects numerically.
This paper investigated the feasibility of using piezoceramic transducers embedded in the
concrete for structural health monitoring. One of the three piezoelectric based methods to
determine a structure’s condition, the vibration characteristic method, is employed. The
premise is that a healthy and damaged building will have a different transfer function. Thus,
by having a transducer generate a signal and by having others analyze the resulting signal
that arrives at other locations, it is possible to identify whether any damages (i.e. cracks in
the structure) are present, and how severe they are. Judging from their experimental results,
the authors concluded that their method is superior to the traditional methods using C-scan
and X-ray in terms of ease of use, speed, accuracy, sensitivity, and cost. While it is not
possible to apply this method for existing buildings, this is a very attractive method that
should be implemented for the new ones.
Given the recent understanding and popularity in fiber-reinforced polymers, builders have
started to use FRP laminates to strengthen basement walls which are under lateral stress
due to soil and ground water. Compared to steel, FRP composites are much lighter and
cheaper in terms of raw materials. However, there is the problem of creep, where the mate-
rial deforms under long term stress. This is already observed in concrete and even more
so in polymers which forms the matrix of the composite. The creep performance would
depend on the orientation and type of reinforcement used. For most applications this was
extrapolated from previous tensile tests on the materials which is not specific and may
not be accurate thus the motivation for the researchers to conduct their own tests. Their
tests showed that deflection due to creep of FRP strengthened walls were much higher
than those reinforced with steel. It was also noted that this is strongly affected by type of
polymer matrix used thus more tests has to be conducted for different systems. Although
more expensive and heavier, the steel reinforced concrete may still be the more sensible
method for now.
High performance concrete of high compressive strength has many practical applications in
the construction of high rise buildings such as core walls and columns. Its properties in-situ
differs from its properties under normal conditions due to the load it bears and the ambient
conditions. It is known that core temperatures in-situ can rise to about 70◦ C. This can affect
the strength and cure rate of the concrete. Knowledge of its in-situ strength is important to
ensure safe usage of these new materials. In this paper, the researchers considered Portland
Concrete with and without treatment of Silica Fumes subjected to high in-situ temperature
conditions. It is seen that under different curing regimes such as curing in water and at
standard temperature, the concrete mixtures behaved differently mainly due to the rate of
evaporation of the water content. While high temperatures may hasten early evaporation of
water, it does little to increase the strength of the concrete over a year and in some cases
even regressed compared to those cured at standard temperatures. However, it may be asked,
how the experiment may vary when conducted in a tropical climate such as Singapore?
Wilkie, C A and Nelson, G L (2006) Fire and Polymers IV: Materials and Concepts
for Hazard Prevention, American Chemical Society, Washington.
Although this book does not make a direct reference to tall buildings or skyscrapers, it does
bring in concepts that are relevant to the materials used in the construction of high-rise.
Various experimental methods such as photoelectron spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) have been employed, and this is mentioned in the book. Laboratory
procedures involved in the analysis are included as well. Using the experimental results
obtained, the authors analyzes chemical compounds such as polymers in great details, in
particular the physical properties of the molecules. This piece of information acts as one of
the ways where details on the thermal stability of materials can be obtained. In addition,
the book provides information on flame-resistant and fire-retardant chemicals. Since fire
safety is one of the main concerns when designing tall buildings, this book can be used as
a reference for the planning of the construction of high-rise where fire-resistant materials
play a big role.
Cold-formed steel refers to steel that has been shaped while cold into the shape required
which are usually sheets, strips or plates. This is only possible due to the unique ability of
metals or in this case steel to deform without breaking. This property is termed ductility.
While usually weaker than hot-formed steel members, the ability to composite with other
materials and complementary use has allowed engineers to use cold-formed steel in applica-
tions such as roof and floor decks, wall panels, partitions and many more. This book takes
a more technical approach to allow designers to understand the state-of-the-art regarding
cold-formed steel, its properties and how to best apply it in design including its joints and
connections. It also discusses design standards and specifications including latest research at
that time. Many recommendations are given to the designs and proven methods are shown.
It is more useful for the designers and structural engineers but given the constant advances
in technology, the technological data may no longer be relevant, however the practices and
recommendations should still provide a good guide for designers.
Nanoscience
Beck, A, Popp, G, Emmerling, A, and Fricke, J (1994) Preparation and character-
isation of SiO2 two-step aerogels. Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, 2:
917–920.
Aerogels are well suited as transparent insulation materials in solar architecture and collec-
tor systems. Those with densities beyond 80 kg m−3 can be prepared at room temperature
through an easy one-step sol-gel method followed by supercritical drying. For ultra-low
density SiO2 aerogels, it can be produced through hydrolysis and condensation in a two
step process. To optimise optical properties and reduce scattering coefficient, the paper
modifies the pH-value of the initial sol-gel solution and macroscopic density, and examine
the effects of such parameters. Spectral light scattering such as small angle X-ray scattering
(SAXS) measurements were used to determine nanostructures. Silica aerogels are found to
have high transmission coefficient and low thermal conductivity, attributed to high porosity,
making them ideal materials for insulation. Ammonium hydroxide was used to catalyse the
gelation process. Increased pH levels will result in a strong decrease of scattering coeffi-
cients. It is also noted that the fractal dimension is independent of catalyst concentration.
In conclusion, this paper elaborates on the preparation of silica aerogel that can be ideal
material for insulation in high-rise buildings.
Uchino, K (1992) Piezoelectric ceramics in smart actuators and systems. In: B. Cul-
shaw, P. T. Gardiner, A. McDonach and European Optical (Ed), First European
Conference on Smart Structures and Material, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 177–180.
Piezoelectric and electro-strictive actuators have become widely-used in micro-positioning
in precision engineering and optics. Several investigations have been done on the improve-
ment of ceramic materials for actuators, designs of control devices and characterisation
of actuators. Interestingly, this paper evaluates piezoelectric and electro-strictive actuators
in relation to smart systems. There are four categories of smartness: “passively smart”,
“actively smart”, “very smart” and “intelligent” materials. Passive damper application of
lead magnesium niobate (PMN) based ceramics can reduce noise vibrations. It can be noted
that when piezo-electricity and semiconductor effects are superimposed, a bending defor-
mation can be observed in a total ceramic plate. This property can be made beneficial in
which undesirable bending in certain building components, for example, can be controlled
and remediated. Latching relay and mechanical clampers can be created with very smart
materials, like monomorphs of piezoelectric materials and shape memory alloys. Piezoelec-
tric ceramics can be designed to be intelligent materials are those which can sense, actuate,
drive and controls. This paper could have propelled research and discoveries towards piezo-
electric materials, which are well abundant and relatively well understood nowadays.
Safety
freshly cast slab on a number of lower level slabs, which may or may not have attained their
full strength. Currently, the multi-level formwork shoring procedure and slab construction
cycle times for buildings with post-tensioned slabs are selected based on the requirements
for conventionally reinforced slabs. As such, cycle times of 4 or 5 days are common. This
paper proposes, however, that due to the inherently different behaviour of post-tensioned
slabs, it may be possible to shorten slab cycle times, reduce formwork and shoring materials
and improve construction safety.
Structure
Aveni, M (2001) Tall building to use wind power for energy efficiency. Civil Engi-
neering, 71(2): 10.
This report presents an insight into the latest technologies and ideas implemented into a
super tall building. Set to be the tallest in the world when completed, London’s Citygate
Ecotower is a fine example of the latest technologies combined with the ideology of sus-
tainable development. The author reports that the structure, standing at 112 levels, will be
able to produce 60% of the energy it consumes. Interestingly, the ability of this building to
produce energy has another side effect – reducing its susceptibility to wind loads. Ingenious
In the Sciences 119
designing has allowed the shape of the building to direct wind into turbines which generate
electricity through a central channel built into the core of the building. Furthermore, this
building provides an insight into the implications super tall buildings may have on existing
infrastructure and networks. In order to integrate the transport system to the new building, a
subway is to be attached to the building. These and other considerations such as the depth of
the building’s foundations require either much adjustment of existing underground transport
routes, or to locate the building in a less densely populated area. Indeed, these abovemen-
tioned factors are set to be the key factors considered in future projects of this scale – energy
efficiency, the building’s strength against strong forces of nature, and the its impacts on the
existing networks in the city.
Baker, W (1990) Sizing techniques for lateral systems in multi-storey steel build-
ings. In: L. S. Beedle, D. B. Rice and Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(Ed), Tall Buildings: 2000 and Beyond, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, 545–554.
This paper is on the sizing of the members of the lateral resistance system for steel buildings
so as to achieve efficient and economical buildings. The sizing technique employed in this
paper uses energy considerations for both axial and flexural members. The crux of this
investigation is to find the minimum volume structure which can effectively resist wind
load. The mathematical analysis of optimization is presented. Six different types of frame
structures are shown and each discussed to illustrate when this analysis is useful. Even as the
analysis fails, some variations are suggested to overcome the disparity. The study suggests
that the trend of high-rise is to make use of minimal resources to build buildings. However,
this study seems to be over simplified as minimizing the volume is only one segment of
reducing cost and using lesser materials. Other factors that can be considered may be the
type of framing, the type of materials used and the geometry of the building. This would
make the study more comprehensive.
as it allows more accurate analysis to be made, which can improve economic efficiency as
well as safety of a building.
Beckmann, P and Dunican, P (1967) The use of shear walls in high buildings. In: A.
Coull and S. Smith (Ed), Tall Buildings, Pergamon Press, London, 101–118.
This paper is based on a few specific examples of applications of shear walls in the practical
design of structures. The ideal situation occurs when necessary shear walls not only have
the structural function of carrying loads, but also the non-structural function of dividing and
enclosing space. This leads to a system of cross-wall construction. The advantages of the
structures and the problems of some of them are highlighted. A lot of cross referencing was
done between structures to address how each problem faced could have been solved using
another building’s structure. The authors conclude by suggesting that much of the design of
structures for buildings are based on compromises and uncertainty, which actually decreases
as height of building increases. This paper is useful as it shows how each factor of building
stability is weighed and balanced. However, the authors could have made the weighing
process more prominent and give more explanation to how the compromises come into
place. There seems to be some attempts at discussing the progress of structural systems
through time but this was only dealt with briefly. More discussion on this aspect could have
also made the study more helpful.
High rise buildings in a tropical climate such as Singapore face a unique challenge given its
climatic conditions. The high humidity and temperatures coupled with sudden changes in
temperature due to rain and cloud cover can provide a very hostile environment. Pollutants,
albeit relatively lesser, and high salt content in the air close to the coasts of Singapore still
pose a significant problem. External repairs would incur high costs and if left unattended,
they might prove a hazard as well as an eyesore. Many methods are used to prevent rain pen-
etration, including applied finishes, suspended cladding, curtain walling and many others.
Through the use of specific case studies, different methods are studied to determine its pros
and cons. It is found that many of these methods are still unsatisfactory though there are
methods shown to minimize its effects. The search continues to look for the ideal methods
and materials in order to build a weather-proof external wall that is serviceable and possibly
maintenance free.
Chai, W and Feng, M Q (1997) Vibration control of super tall buildings subjected
to wind loads. International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 32(4): 657–668.
In this study, the authors model tall buildings and wind that such buildings are subjected
to. Initially, the wind was modelled as ‘white noise’ which is essentially equally distributed
random wind, and the buildings were modelled as a simple shear structure (one that could
deform laterally). However, a more realistic wind load was later used as well as a building
model that more reasonably represented real buildings. Thus, building vibrations due to
wind alone could be examined with respect to parameters of each system, for example
whether a mass damper was present and what materials were utilized in the construction of
the building. Thus, using numerical methods, the optimal values for each parameter were
obtained. Additionally, ‘mega-sub control systems’, essentially control systems integrated
into the structure of the building itself, were implemented and tested in the model in place
of conventional mass dampers and found to be more effective in reducing deformation of
the building and the lateral acceleration. Thus, it is concluded that such control systems may
well be the replacement for mass dampers in future super tall buildings. Indeed, this may
be one way to proceed for the industry if taller and taller buildings are required.
Chan, C (2001) Optimal lateral stiffness design of tall buildings of mixed steel and
concrete construction. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings, 10(3): 155–177.
This paper presents an optimal sizing technique for the lateral stiffness design of tall steel
and concrete buildings. The minimum structure cost design problem subject to lateral
drift constraints is first mathematically formulated and then solved by a rigorously derived
122 In the Sciences
Optimality Criteria (OC) method. The emphasis is particularly placed on the practical appli-
cability of the optimization technique in engineering practice. Once the structural form of
the lateral load resisting system of a building is defined, the optimal steel and concrete
element sizes are then sought while satisfying all serviceability lateral stiffness and practi-
cal sizing requirements. The effectiveness and practicality of the optimization technique is
illustrated through an actual application to the preliminary design of an 88-storey building
in Hong Kong, which when complete, will be 420 m tall and become the tallest building in
Hong Kong.
Chu, S and Argiris, L (1990) The application of inelastic analysis of high-rise struc-
tures. In: L. S. Beedle, D. B. Rice and Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(Ed), Tall Buildings: 2000 and Beyond, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, 529–544.
This study presents an overview of the current state of inelastic analysis techniques for
steel structures of buildings. The inelastic analysis of high-rise structures is carried out with
five models, each with progressively more factors than the previous, with the fifth model
being a second-order inelastic analysis with provisions for accounting for local or torsional
bucking of members. This technique of incremental analysis is believed to give the designer
a better understanding of the behaviour of the structure. The authors also highlight several
issues which need to be considered when applying this technique. The codes governing
such an analysis and their relevance are also discussed. The study ends off with a case
study. However, all processes are not mapped out and shown – only a brief description
of the issues and process of analysis are given. For any detail into the analysis, including
how each of the models help to provide the designer with a better understanding of the
structural behaviour, the references may have to be used instead. Therefore, it is useful only
in providing an overview of how the analysis is carried out.
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Committee 3 (1995) Structural Sys-
tems for Tall Buildings, McGraw-Hill, United States of America.
This book gives a detailed description of the various systems which governs the stability
of tall buildings, with specific projects discussed for each type of system. It starts off with
describing the composite steel floor system and concrete floor system. The main section is
about the lateral load resisting systems: braced frame and moment resisting frame systems,
shear wall systems, core and outrigger systems, tubular systems and hybrid systems. Other
topics briefly discussed include fire protection of structural elements. The book ends off
In the Sciences 123
with a section on the future of high-rise. The trend, as the authors suggest, is an increased
usage of mixed systems and materials, high-strength concrete, and active and passive damp-
ing systems. This book is useful to see the progress of construction of high-rise buildings,
how the systems used have evolved and changed due to the invention of prefabrication pro-
cess as well as the high-strength concrete. The good range of projects discussed provides a
better understanding for the concepts and systems raised. However, as this book is published
by a legislative body, it would be more helpful to discuss the measures taken to help ensure
safety during the construction as well, and not only on the final building structure.
Daniels, K (2002) Building systems. In: J. Eisele and E. Kloft (Ed), High-Rise Man-
ual, Birkhäuser, Basel, 162–181.
This study begins with a description of the human perception of comfort, and describes
systems which aid in providing these comforts. Systems for ventilation, heating and cool-
ing, as well as for lighting, energy supply and power distribution, were discussed. The term
“Sick Building Syndrome” (SBS) was defined and described together with possible ways
to prevent it. The different types of ventilation are described with respect to the changes in
season. Each of the systems was discussed and the installation space needed was provided.
Different possible systems of each of the functions of heating and cooling, lighting, etc,
were described and compared. This study is useful as it suggests different systems which
allow the building to function and for the occupants to perform their duties well. However,
the systems introduced seem to be only for point blocks. Blocks of different geometry may
require different types of systems to govern them efficiently. Therefore, a study on the influ-
ence of building shapes on these functionality systems as well as how these systems have
evolved would make this study more useful.
Eisele, J (2002) Construction and design. In: J. Eisele and E. Kloft (Ed), High-Rise
Manual, Birkhäuser, Basel, 96–105.
This is a study on the design of buildings – the form and the systems within the building.
While design is largely dependent on form, the author suggests that material used also con-
stitutes a large part of the design. However, design is not solely attributed to the aesthetics,
it is also about the functionality of the building as well. Several load bearing systems and
structures are discussed, namely, skeleton systems, panel and shear wall systems and tube
systems. Others such as support, cantilever, and suspended systems also contributed to the
design of the building. Combination of mega structures with these essential systems makes
up the design of high-rise. Some trends were noted: that there is a race to be the tallest and
there is also a fascination with twins – Petronas Towers and Marina City Twin Towers are
examples of this trend. Another trend is the ecological design, as buildings more towards
self-sufficiency. This study is interesting as it shows how the design and functionality of
the building are inter-related. Some designs also necessitate certain structures to ensure the
building’s stability. Thus, this building is useful as it fuses the aesthetic, functionality and
the stability of the building. The use of numerous examples helps to make the concepts
easier to understand. Probably more emphasis can be placed on describing the ecological
design of buildings, and how it would be different from the previous buildings in terms of
structural requirements.
were carried out on a full scale multi-storey building in Cardington, UK. From the experi-
mental results, a numerical analysis model is designed to predict the behavior of buildings
in a fire. The model agrees closely with the experimental data allowing us to extrapolate its
predictions to other buildings. The model predicts that the restraints to thermal expansion
of the floors are important to the understanding of structural failure during a fire. Knowing
this and other factors can help designers improve fire safety in buildings. Although more
tests other than the two stated in the paper may need to be carried out to test the reliability
of the model, the economic costs of such a test may make it difficult to carry out.
Ellefsen, R (2001) Mapping and measuring buildings in the canopy boundary layer
in ten U.S. Cities. Energy and Buildings, 16: 1025–1049.
This study is a compilation of categorization of characteristics of buildings with a focus on
the surface construction materials. This categorization is necessary for studying acid rain
damage on buildings and others such as meteorological studies on conditions in the urban
canopy. A variety of cities have been included in the study, including Boston, Pittsburgh,
and Houston to name a few. The items recorded in the survey of the buildings included
dimensions, height, type of roof, venting, and building surface material. Thus, this paper
can be viewed as a consolidation of necessary information, which in turn allows studies
on building materials and meteorological impacts of buildings to be done. Only with such
input can future researchers and architects effectively evaluate past designs and concepts
and improve on them. As such, there is indirect impact on the advancement of technology
and thus, the ability to improve on tall buildings. Such works should not be marginalized as
they form the foundation for other studies.
Fang, J Q, Li, Q S, Jeary, A P and Kiu, D K (1999) Damping of tall buildings: Its
evaluation and probabilistic characteristics. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings,
8(2): 145–153.
This paper describes randomness of damping and its probabilistic characteristics in build-
ings based on full scale measurements. Amplitude dependent behaviour of damping at dif-
ferent amplitude level is presented and discussed, and probabilistic characteristics of the
damping at high amplitude plateau are analysed. The obtained probability density function
(PDF) of damping shows that the PDF of damping at high amplitude can be well represented
by the normal distribution through statistical analysis using a stochastic probabilistic model.
The building used for obtaining actual measurements was only 120 m tall, however, so the
data collected may be on the conservative side. It would have been interesting to explore if
the formula could be applied to a wider range of height.
intensification of global warming concerns requires that more attention be placed on this
field, to either improve current cooling systems by eliminating undesired leakages or finding
alternative methods of cooling.
Hart, G C (2005) The structural design of tall and special buildings. The Structural
Design of Tall and Special Buildings, 14(5): 473–486.
This paper presents some of the oral discussion by the author and others at the 2005 Annual
Meeting of the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council. It also includes
additional opinions added by the author after the annual meeting. These opinions address
the development of a new building code for tall buildings and where the non-structural
engineering decision makers can and must make contributions. It also addresses the very
important topic of quality control. Some of the key topics covered include the design life or
exposure of buildings, the maximum load a building should be designed to subject to, and
design approaches in earthquake- and hurricane-prone areas.
as well. This has wide applications in the structural planning of tall buildings in future.
This paper is rather comprehensive and has sufficient mathematical and physical backing.
However, more examples of applications to increasingly complicated structures are desired
and may be the basis of extensive usage of the FS method in the industry.
Iyengar, H, Zils, J and Sinn, R (1993) Steel exoskeleton defines architecture. Civil
Engineering, 63(8): 42–45.
This paper gives an insight into the optimism of the building and construction industry
prior to the terror attacks on New York City, and somewhat at the earlier stages of the
steel revolution in construction methods and materials. It reports the development of exte-
rior steel frames which are both aesthetically and structurally sound based on the fact that
fire-engineering calculations have made it possible to omit fire-proofing on these exterior
frames. Particularly, the Hotel de la Artes in Barcelona, Spain, is studied for its ability to use
an exposed frame against the exterior wall. Comparisons to the Sears Tower and the John
Hancock Centre are also made. However, the studies of the reliability of steel structures
128 In the Sciences
in the event of fires had yet to be complete and all-encompassing, although they were
sufficiently rigorous for ensuring building stability apart from unexpected events. Hence,
in effect, the paper can be seen as the record of landmark developments of that time.
Jappsen, H (2002) Elevator installations. In: J. Eisele and E. Kloft (Ed), High-Rise
Manual, Birkhäuser, Basel, 204–211.
This is a study on the elevator systems; an integral aspect of high-rise buildings. The laws
governing specifications of elevators are first mapped out and parameters describing the
efficiency of elevators are introduced, such as time lost at stop, and the five-minute handling
capacity. A major section of this work is attributed to the mechanisms of the elevator and the
structure of the elevator system. Structure of the elevator system is very important for high-
rise structures to efficiently transport people within the building. Short and long-distance
elevator groups reduce the number of stops for each elevator and therefore, shorten waiting
time. This will also allow upper floors to be served faster. This study of the elevator systems
is short and informative. However, it would be more useful if comfort of elevator is also
taken into consideration. The limits for human comfort with respect to speed and change
in air pressure can also be discussed, alongside the measures taken to ensure comfort and
safety, to make this study more comprehensive.
Jenkins, W and Harrison, T (1967) Analysis of tall buildings with shear walls under
bending and torsion. In: A. Coull and S. Smith (Ed), Tall Buildings, Pergamon Press,
London, 413–449.
This paper is on the analysis of tall buildings with shear walls under bending and torsion.
The authors begin with a list of methods which have been previously used by others to
analysis shear wall behaviour and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The authors
propose an application of the stiffness method to tall buildings with shear walls and an
energy approach to study the problem of torsion. A stiffness matrix is constructed for two
types of shear wall structure and solved using a digital computer, taking into account the
floor slab stiffness. The torsion is analyzed using polynomials. The results obtained are
tested using an experiment on two models. The stiffness matrix approach is found to be a
suitable method, but the torsion analysis proved to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, this study is
helpful as it also shows how methods proposed can be tested and proven inaccurate, which
is the spirit of experimentation. However, it could have been more useful if the authors
suggest some ways of modifying the method such that it corresponds better with the results
obtained.
In the Sciences 129
zone are presented. The relevant parameters that significantly influence the force transfer
mechanism and structural behaviour, such as the span to depth ratio of the transfer beam, the
span of the shear wall and the stiffness of the support columns, are highlighted. The paper
provides a very useful reference for the design of continuous transfer girders supporting
in-plane loaded shear walls in tall buildings.
the building obtained by using the measured damping characteristics were compared with
those computed by using constant damping parameters assumed by the structural designers.
It is concluded from the investigations that knowledge of actual damping characteristics
are very important in the accurate prediction of the dynamic responses of a tall building
when the major harmonic components of the applied loads overlap with the lowest natural
frequencies of the building. The design damping level for tall building structures currently
used by structural engineering practitioners appears to be high and not conservative.
Li, S J, Li, G C, Tang, J and Li, Q S (2002) Shallow cylindrical tuned liquid damper
for vibration control of high-rise structures. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings,
11(4): 295–308.
A new simplified model for the application of a shallow cylindrical tuned liquid damper
(TLD) in structural vibration control is presented in this paper. The dynamic properties
of a shallow liquid in cylindrical containers subjected to forced horizontal oscillation are
analysed directly from the continuity and momentum equations of fluids. Following some
practical assumptions, the nonlinear partial differential equations describing the wave move-
ment of a shallow liquid in cylindrical containers is established and a numerical procedure
for the solution of these equations is proposed using the finite element method. The formula
for determining the control force provided by the shallow cylindrical TLD is presented
and the effect of several parameters on the control efficiency of a shallow cylindrical TLD
controlled structure under wind action is investigated.
Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council (2004) The impact of the
1994 Northridge earthquake on structural engineering practice. The Structural Design
of Tall and Special Buildings, 13: 337–345.
Ten years had passed since the Northridge Earthquake but the impact and lessons learnt con-
tinue among the engineering practice. This paper looks at the impacts on the understanding
of seismic activity in the area, the structural engineering practice in terms of design and the
professional aspects of engineering disciplines. For example, it taught many engineers not
to use unjustified extrapolations of results and improved design in general. The advantages
of performance based design are also seen but its application remains problematic due to
difficulty in prediction of performance. There were also many advances in terms of technol-
ogy for the different materials for example pre-cast concrete was shown to have substantial
advantages in terms of structural efficiency and its ability to withstand an earthquake. High
strength concrete also gives the designers greater flexibility but the lack of understanding
In the Sciences 133
and overestimation of its properties may prove troubling. The importance of inspection dur-
ing fitting and construction was also emphasized as this is much simpler and more effective
than testing after the building has finished construction.
Motzko, C (2002) Site operation. In: J. Eisele and E. Kloft (Ed), High-Rise Manual,
Birkhäuser, Basel, 50–57.
This is a study on the construction process of high-rise buildings. With the advent of tech-
nology, construction periods have been shortened. Site facilities have to be properly planned
to ensure efficient progress of construction work. Crane use has to adhere to many consider-
ations, such as neighbouring buildings, operating speed, downtimes and external anchorage.
Site elevators and concrete pumps also play an important role in the vertical transportation
of materials. Construction waste disposal must also be included in the planning. This is a
qualitative study on the construction process. However, it lacks the study of the safety of
workers during the construction phase. Wind loading of the crane would be an important
factor in determining the safety of the work site. One component of construction process,
prefabrication, could have been discussed in detail as it also helps to improve the efficiency
and speed of the construction process. In addition, prefabrication also helps to ensure that
the quality of each segment of the building is consistent.
Müller, H and Schmitz, H (2002) Insulation and shading. In: J. Eisele and E. Kloft
(Ed), High-Rise Manual, Birkhäuser, Basel, 152–161.
This is a study on how sun radiation influences the thermal behaviour and energy consump-
tion of the building, as well as the effects on the surroundings. Densely-built tall buildings
may make daylighting impossible, which is detrimental to health. With adequate planning
and spacing between buildings, it is possible to allow daylight to reach ground level. Façade
134 In the Sciences
designs also affect the surroundings of a building, especially when glass is used, as it reflects
sunlight. A scale mass model is usually used to investigate shadow patterns in the surround-
ings. Glare is another common phenomenon, which may cause discomfort and even pose
dangers to road traffic. The use of light shelves and louvers help to deflect light and improve
luminosity. Solar energy can also be tapped and used. The major considerations of high-rise
are due to the greater temperature differential experienced and that due to the sheer size and
height, the impacts of its design and position are larger. This study could have been more
useful if there was more discussion on how to reduce glaring and make use of solar energy,
as well as the different materials and their reflectance, transmission and absorbance.
Naeim, F (2004) Impact of the 1994 Northridge earthquake on the art and practice of
structural engineering. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, 13(5):
373–389.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake has impacted structural engineering practice in several
very important ways. Since then people have learned to avoid unjustified extrapolations,
recognized to value and promote seismic instrumentation, improved codes and guidelines
and at the same time created a maze of various codes and standards which are confusing at
best, and started the long journey along the road of performance-based seismic engineering.
This paper provides an overview of the impacts of the 1994 Northridge earthquake on the
art and practice of structural engineering, and has several tie-ins with many other papers
covering similar areas on this notable natural disaster.
purposes, we have to account for the effect of temperature first, which could affect the
value of the vibration by as much as 6%. The authors acknowledged that the need for a
more extensive study involving different seasonal temperature is needed.
Ni, Y Q, Wang, B S and Ko, J M (2002) Constructing input vectors to neural net-
works for structural damage identification. Institute of Physics Publishing, Smart
Materials and Structures, 11: 825–833.
The authors discuss the formation of input vectors to neural networks as tools to identify
structural damage in specific locations on large structures, such as bridges and tall buildings.
Damage will inevitably occur at times and as such it is imperative that studies also be done
to enable the location of damage, to ensure the safety of the inhabitants of any building.
Neural networks have been known to be especially efficient since they adapt themselves
constantly to give increasingly reliable results, and in applying their use to aid in damage
location and rectification, the authors pioneer a method in which further improvements can
be made to damage rectification systems by advancements on the same path. The results are
verified by applying the neural network, with the appropriate input vectors formulated by
the authors, to a steel frame. Without a doubt, these results are valuable to this field since
the developed system, being based upon neural networks, has the potential to advance and
produce faster and more accurate responses to any damage that would potentially threaten
the structural integrity of a tall building.
Park, H S and Park, C L (1997) Drift control of high-rise buildings with unit load
method. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings, 6(1): 23–25.
The use of displacement participation factors obtained by the unit load method provides
an effective drift control tool for high-rise buildings. Structural sensitivity coefficients and
displacement participation factors for members in a structure with respect to the lateral
displacement to be controlled are computed and used for identifying active members and
their corresponding displacement components. The drift control method using the displace-
ment participation factors with a variable linking strategy is formulated into an optimization
problem to determine the amount of material to be modified. Using the drift control method,
a structural design model for a high-rise building is proposed and applied to one verify-
ing example and two moment resisting frames. Time consuming trial-and-error processes
related to the structural design of a high-rise building is avoided by the proposed structural
design model. As demonstrated in the examples, the maximum lateral displacements of the
examples are reduced significantly without changing the total weights of the structures.
structural model, thus limiting the use to newly constructed buildings or those which already
have a structural model available.
Robertson, L and See, S (1998) The practical design of tall buildings for wind loads.
In: J. D. Riera and A. G. Davenport (Ed), Wind Effects on Buildings and Structures,
Balkema, Rotterdam, 221–226.
This paper discusses the inadequacies of the Building Codes with regards to design wind
speeds, the unreliability of wind tunnel laboratories and the unrealistic criteria for the accep-
tance of building sway. The economical construction of high-rise is also discussed in view
of the issues listed. The author shows concern over the reluctance of code-regulating bodies
to update the regulations of wind loading of high-rise buildings, suggesting that there will be
severe economic consequences. By dissecting the terms used in regulations, the author talks
about how the values and numbers with regards to wind loading can be unduly conservative,
resulting in excess expenditure on materials for structures. The author argues that with an
improvement in technology, more accurate knowledge of the environment can be obtained
and thus, building needs should be based on these environmental factors. Therefore, the
authors argued that the regulations be changed to accommodate these advancements in
knowledge, such that construction of buildings become more economically feasible. This
paper is useful as it investigates the loopholes in legislation, which is an important aspect
governing the construction of buildings. By dissecting the calculations of wind load and
other factors, the importance of each factor to the stability of the structure is weighed,
giving a clearer picture of the factors which matter in high-rise research.
Rodellar, J (1998) Control theory sources in active control of civil engineering struc-
tures. In: J. Holnicky-Szulc and J. Rodellar (Ed), Smart Structures: Requirements
and Potential Applications in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Netherlands, 285–294.
This paper is essentially a listing of relevant references in the field of active control of
structures such as buildings and bridges (a total of 67 references; the paper consists of
4 pages of content and 5 pages of references). This paper focuses only on purely active
systems, as opposed to passive systems or hybrid systems that combine the two approaches.
The author discussed the overview of different approaches of active structural control, giv-
ing the relevant citations as he goes along. He divides the field into two broad categories:
model based approach, which seeks to model or approximate the structure mathematically,
and model-free approach, which is useful when little is known about the behavior of the
structure. The former arrives at the mathematical equations either from first principles (if
the theory is known) or from experimental results (if it is possible or feasible to obtain the
data) resulting in transfer functions. The latter uses techniques such as neural networks and
fuzzy logic to implement the control system despite the lack of theoretical model.
The stability issue of this method is addressed. A numerical example is used to investigate
the performance of the proposed method compared to the case with centralized control.
Ross, D (2004) HVAC Design Guide for Tall Commercial Buildings, American Soci-
ety of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta.
HVAC stands for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning. The invention of air-conditioning
has revolutionized architectural design and space usage of large commercial buildings.
Along with this, a series of other changes such as the evolution of energy-conserving build-
ing designs and the altered utilization of buildings also affected the design systems of the
building. Stack effect, which is the movement of air through the height of the building due
to the difference in pressure between the interior of the building and the exterior of the
building as a result of the difference in temperature, and the problems caused are discussed.
Different air-conditioning systems are compared with respect to first costs, equipment con-
siderations, and acoustics, among other criteria. Another aspect discussed which is rather
useful is vertical transportation. Some factors which will determine the number of elevators,
their positions within the building, their capacity and their speed are number of floors in the
building, population on different floors and location of facilities. Life safety measures such
as smoke management are also discussed. Perhaps lacking in this book is how the pressure
difference between the interior and the exterior of the building may affect the material cho-
sen for the exterior walls of the building. A discussion on how windows can be placed and
when windows become too dangerous due to the high wind speed at higher levels will also
be more helpful.
Schueller, W (1977) High-Rise Building Structures, John Wiley and Sons, New
York.
This book covers a wide range of topics involving high-rise structures. It begins by intro-
ducing the various types of loads which the building would face, such as construction and
wind loads. After which, the building structure is discussed with respect to dispersion of
vertical and lateral forces before the behaviour of the building under loading is discussed.
Additional design features which reduce building drifts are introduced. The floor structure
is also discussed and the book ends off with a chapter on other structures common in high-
rise buildings such as deep-beam systems and high-rise suspension systems. The section
on loading is particularly useful as it sets the basis for discussing about the stability of
buildings – without it, the stability of buildings would become a trivial matter. Thus, this is
useful for people who are not very familiar with the literature of building and construction.
The description of building response is qualitative more than quantitative which makes it a
friendly read. However, for readers which prefer a quantitative analysis, the author provides
a section where such responses are approximated with examples. Therefore, this book is
a rather comprehensive study of the high-rise building construction. However, it would be
more helpful if more attention is paid to describe the construction process, as the author
mentioned about the significance of construction loads which is usually neglected. The
inclusion of such a study would make this book more useful.
making assumptions to simplify the situation, which the authors think may often distort the
physics involved, the Monte Carlo approach is used where digital simulation of the wind
loads produced necessary response statistics in order to find the solutions to the problem.
The mega-sub building is found to effectively suppress wind-induced vibration; the demon-
stration of this ability may not be carried out using other available theoretical approach.
Therefore, this study is unique insofar as it managed a detailed study without reference
to a specific case study, which is the common tool used for investigation. However, the
study ended quite abruptly without explicitly explaining the Monte Carlo technique did not
use, nor actually deriving a mathematical structure to describe the general situation, which
would have made the study more complete.
In this paper, the author reports a novel way of building design that is supposed to have
great implications on minimizing structural damage in the event of strong vibrations. Fur-
thermore, the new design is able to utilize pre-cast concrete although present in seismic
zones, which was generally avoided prior to this, since concrete would crack under strong
vibrations, being more rigid and inflexible. The new design is actually a framing system,
used on a 39-storey building in San Francisco that is able to stretch elastically during earth-
quakes. Furthermore, it is able to restore the building’s columns and beams to their original
places, thereby effectively allowing rigid concrete to be used by providing the elasticity in
the frame. In fact, the system is superior to steel-framed buildings since steel structures are
able to withstand earthquakes but are inevitably damaged by deformation. In fact, it is also
economically viable as the use of pre-cast parts reportedly reduced the cost of the building
by several million dollars. This is probably a technique that can enjoy more widespread use
in future, along with other systems. Use of this technique for super tall buildings still needs
to be rigorously tested.
This book focuses on the effect of instability forces due to changes of temperature, shrink-
age and creep of concrete, settlement of foundations and dynamic action of loads, among
others, on stresses and deformations in structures. Mathematical formulation of the situa-
tion is difficult yet necessary. Thus, simplifying assumptions have to be made. The force-
displacement method used here as the formulation of a matrix has clear physical meaning at
all stages, thus, avoiding much error associated with the usage of assumptions in computing
a equation. The author illustrates the formulation of the matrix through geometry for specific
cases. Much of the discussion is of the two-dimensional analysis, to simplify computation.
In order to make the study more comprehensive, the author also highlighted the principles
with will govern the three-dimensional analysis of tall buildings. There are also analyses of
the floor systems and thermal stresses and deformations. The approach used by this author
is clear and helpful inasmuch as it takes careful considerations of the assumptions used
to map out each step of the construction of the matrix used in the computation. Although
each example provided is specific, the methodology used can be generalized. The force-
displacement method is particularly important in examining tall buildings due to its high
degree of continuity of joints critical to the buildings’ safety and stability. This book is
highly detailed and thus helpful. The author acknowledges that the book lacks rigour in
verification of the assumptions with the actual response of the structures, and that with
better understanding of the properties of the materials in actual environmental conditions,
closer solutions can be obtained. The use of experiments on specific buildings would have
helped to give this study more credibility.
In the Sciences 139
Soong, T T and Gupta, H (1998) Active structural control against wind. In: J.
Holnicky-Szulc and J. Rodellar (Ed), Smart Structures: Requirements and Potential
Applications in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Netherlands, 329–336.
This paper presented a method of controlling structural vibration due to wind forces, espe-
cially for tall buildings. The method is called Aerodynamic Flap System (AFS), and consists
of two flaps placed at the top of the building. The flaps can change the aerodynamic of the
building, and it will rotate automatically to achieve minimum vibration effects based on
a closed feedback loop control algorithm. The mathematical model underlying the system
and its effect is discussed and a method of designing a system for a particular building is
presented. The strong points of AFS include the ability of handling winds from all directions
(along- and across-wind), low energy requirement, and low-force actuators. This means that
AFS is a cost-effective general purpose solution. It is also an external device, meaning an
existing building can be fitted with it with minimal modification.
Subedi, N K and Coyle, N R (2002) Improving the strength of fully composite steel-
concrete-steel beam elements by increased surface roughness – an experimental
study. Engineering Structures, 24: 1349–1355.
More composite materials are being utilized to achieve properties that are impossible
through the use single material only. We have seen how concrete-filled steel columns can be
used to advantage. In this paper, they consider the use of steel-concrete-steel beam elements
and how to improve its strength by considering the interactions between the concrete and
steel. Since there are no surface bonds formed between concrete and steel, we look at either
the use of binders or surface roughness to increase the interaction between the two materials.
In this case the authors look at the surface roughness. They provide different methods to
increase the roughness of the surface which utilizes existing technology which would not
be difficult to adapt to this application. In the experiment, Expamet and Wavy Wire surfaces
provide the best solution. Thus the authors recommend the implementation of such surfaces
in construction to improve performances of the composite materials.
important to allow the designers to design buildings within elastic limits and prevent catas-
trophic collapse, we would still need to understand the ultimate strength of the component
and its failure in behavior to minimize damage in case of actual failure in extreme wind
or seismic activity. This paper focuses on understanding such properties firstly by refining
a previous model that predicts the mode of failure and ultimate strength into what they
term the total moment concept. The model is then compared against experimental data to
confirm the reliability of the model. However, this model and experiment is based on normal
Portland Concrete not high strength concrete which is more commonly used in tall building
construction. Thus a separate study may be needed for high strength concrete.
the methodology. In addition references to building codes are also made so as to give a feel
of the quantity in discussion. Thus, this book is a comprehensive study of the structures
of tall buildings. One section which is particularly useful is chapter eleven, which deals
with certain topics that are unique to the design of tall buildings. This book would be more
helpful if safety of construction processes, as well as the procedure of construction were
discussed. Perhaps, a discussion on the trend of construction methods would also be helpful.
buildings, the role which the damping force plays and its mathematical form are investi-
gated. The mathematical form used in this analysis is reversible, non-linear and symmetrical
with respect to the origin. The advantage of this method is that the time-variant properties
for the structure are considered, unlike other methods which tend to treat coefficients within
a series as constant. This report would have been more useful if read together with the
preceding one, as much of the details of the method was left out, resulting in an incom-
plete understanding of the hysteresis method. In addition, there was too little reference to
the high-rise building and its state and governing conditions such as geometry, height and
structures used in the construction.
Uy, B (1998) Ductility, strength and stability of concrete-filled fabricated steel box
columns for tall buildings. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings, 7: 113–133.
Concrete Filled Box Columns have been used in the construction of tall buildings but with-
out further research and understanding of its properties in a building, architects and design-
ers are unable to optimize their designs, often over engineering to prevent failure. This
paper studies the properties of the concrete filled steel box columns in detail to understand
its properties for the benefit of future engineers and architects. The author considers two
different types of steel namely mild structural steel and high strength steel and two different
types of concrete, normal concrete and high strength concrete. Each of these materials has
different stress-strain behaviors and when combined in composites the four different com-
posites would have drastically different performances and behavior. The author recognizes
that this is just a study using numerical analysis which may be meaningless if not backed
with actual data. Thus, research is underway to provide an accurate understanding of the
properties of concrete filled fabricated steel box columns.
Uy, B (2001) Strength of short concrete filled high strength steel box columns. Jour-
nal of Constructional Steel Research, 57: 113–134.
The author has published many papers advocating the use of concrete filled high strength
steel box columns and many numerical models that would predict their behavior and maxi-
mize the usefulness. In this paper, he presents experimental data of short concrete filled high
strength steel box columns which he utilizes to calibrate his model. Two different models
are presented. While the numerical model is more accurate at predicting the results, it cannot
cater for design unless a more complicated program is developed. The other approach, the
Eurocode 4, was more amenable for hand calculations for design but shown to be inconsis-
tent with the test results. The author then presents a compromise, a mixed analysis approach
which is amenable for design and more consistent with results. However, given the improve-
ments in technology and with better programmers, a more robust model may be developed
in the future which may not need to compromise accuracy for design.
In the Sciences 143
Uy, B and Das, S (1997) Time effects in concrete-filled steel box columns in tall
buildings. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings, 6: 1–22.
Use of concrete-filled steel columns had been steadily increasing possibly due to the cost
and material savings. In the construction of tall buildings, the high stress may lead to effects
such as creep and shrinkage leading to the shortening of columns of the building which
increases stresses on other structures within the building. On a short term, this may not be
easily observed and data needs to be obtained over a long period of time. Thus this study
utilizes numerical analysis and models to simulate the behavior of the these materials over
time. These calculations are simple and yet rigorous taking into account different stress and
strain rates across different levels. Their simplicity allows them to be applied to a multitude
of situations. However, the author believes more work needs to be done to gather actual
data without which these models may prove to be inaccurate. We must also consider that
concrete and steel have vastly different properties. Although they may be composited, the
difference in properties may cause complexities when they are put through strain.
Uy, B and Das, S (1997) Wet concrete loading of thin-walled steel box columns
during the construction of a tall building. Journal of Construction Steel Research,
42(2): 95–119.
Steel Box Columns filled with concrete are used in the construction of many tall buildings.
The advantages have been discussed in many papers before this one. This paper focuses
on the behavior the steel box columns while concrete is being pumped into them. In view
of efficiency it is best that we build the thin steel columns and pump in the concrete all
at once. However this is impossible especially for tall buildings as the thin steel cannot
hold the weight of the frame and hydrostatic pressure due to the wed concrete may cause
lateral deflections of the thin walls. Towards maximizing efficiency, the authors tried to
understand the loading on the thin steel walls on pumping of concrete to minimize the
number of pumping required but also maintain structural integrity with minimal steel wall
thickness. This is accomplished through the use of mathematical models such as the linear
folded plate finite element method under two different boundary conditions thus optimizing
the slenderness limit for the number of levels of concrete pumped. However, though the
models may have been rather reliable in other cases, an actual experiment may be needed
for verification.
Uy, B and Das, S (1999) Bracing of thin walled steel box columns during pumping
of wet concrete in tall buildings. Thin-Walled Structures, 33: 127–154.
It is known that thin walled steel box columns have to be able to withstand both the axial
loads of the frames above as well as hydrostatic pressures during the wet loading of con-
crete. This may lead to excessive lateral deflections and affect the safety and performance
of the building. It is ideal to minimize the thickness of the steel plates as they only have
to withstand minimal axial loads upon finish. Thus braces are used to minimize the lateral
deflections in the early stages and during pumping of concrete. In this study, box columns
are studied as they are the most susceptible to lateral deflections. The methods used are
similar to those used before, namely the folded plate finite element method with boundary
conditions. The authors considered different parameters such as wall thickness and height
of concrete pumped and number of braces used to determine the amount of lateral deflection
and recommended the optimal thickness of steel wall and amount of braces to use. However,
it must be remembered that this is still a numerical model and experiments need to be done
to verify the results.
144 In the Sciences
Uy, B and Patil, S B (1996) Concrete filled high strength steel box columns for
tall buildings: behaviour and design. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings, 5(2):
75–94.
This paper presents a study of the behaviour and design of concrete filled high strength
steel fabricated box columns for use in tall buildings. The many advantages that can be
attributed to the use of high strength steel in concrete filled steel box column constructions
are presented and discussed. A proposed design model is developed to calculate the strength
of short columns in bending and compression. A method for constructing the strength inter-
action diagram is presented. Furthermore, to study the ductility of this form of column
construction a cross-sectional analysis computer program was developed to consider the
moment-thrust-curvature response of such members. This has been undertaken using mild
structural steel and high strength steel. The study also shows that, by the use of the method
considered, savings can be made in the base column design of a tall building with a negli-
gible penalty in ductility. Finally, recommendations are given for further research into this
new method of column construction, which focuses on future experimental work.
Composite materials have been used in many industries such as aerospace and biomedi-
cal applications to achieve material properties that are superior to the individual materials
themselves. In terms of construction, we value properties such as load bearing strength and
stiffness while trying to minimize weight and cost. The high strength-to-weight ratio of
steel combined with the economies and stiffness of concrete composited together provides
us with the ideal construction material especially for high rise buildings. While composites
have been used in construction for individual components its use in the entire frame was
rather novel at that time. In this journal, the authors investigate the different methods of
utilizing concrete and steel to achieve a complete composite frame. The different types
of composite frames studied include composite tubular systems, composite core-braced
systems and frames with composite cladding. The authors considered the behavior of the
frames during construction to optimize building of the steel frame ahead of the concrete
casting to maximize construction efficiency. The results obtained advised construction com-
panies on an optimal method of construction. However, it is noted that above 50 storeys, the
efficiency may be reduced thus requiring other methods possible a pure steel framework.
Ventura, C E and Ding, Y (2000) Linear and nonlinear seismic response of a 52-
storey steel frame building. The Structural Design of Tall Buildings, 9(1): 25–45.
This paper presents the results of a study on the seismic behaviour of a 52-storey steel frame
building in Los Angeles, California, which has been subjected to ground motions from
several earthquakes, including the 1991 Sierra Madre earthquake and the 1994 Northridge
earthquake. Detailed time and frequency domain analyses of the recorded motions from
these two earthquakes were conducted to determine the dynamic characteristics of the
structure, while nonlinear dynamic computer analyses were then employed to investigate
the response of the structure during severe ground shaking. The results showed that by
performing a linear three-dimensional analysis, the response of the building during past
earthquakes can be reproduced with confidence. By further performing a nonlinear analysis,
the state and sequence of damage could also be predicted. These findings can help to analyse
the performance of existing buildings in potential earthquakes as well as to construct more
stable buildings in seismically active regions.
In the Sciences 145
Vrcelj, Z and Uy, B (2002) Strength of slender concrete-filled steel box columns
incorporating local buckling. Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 58:
275–300.
Buckling effects of concrete-filled steel box columns are of particular concern in the con-
struction of buildings especially before the concrete has been pumped in to increase the
stiffness of the steel box columns. In this study, the author considers local buckling effects
and how to predict and prevent them using numerical models. The model is calibrated
against independent tests and tests by other researchers to ensure reliability. It is then put
through parametric tests to understand the behavior of the composite sections under stress.
The results are compared against the specifications of Eurocode 4 and AS4100. The author
makes recommendations based on his models that the specifications be modified for slender
composite sections. High strength concrete is also considered as a solution to even more
slender steel walls. Both mild steel and high strength structural steel are taken into consid-
eration. Lastly, he provides an example for designers to understand how to incorporate his
model into the different design codes.
This paper points out a possible oversimplification in the use of the finite element method
previously mentioned above. The authors show that while in many dynamic analyses of
buildings the building is modelled as several discrete masses, this may affect the accuracy
of the dynamic properties obtained. As such, real buildings may react differently to vibra-
tions as compared to predictions based on the finite element models. Thus, they proceed to
illustrate the implications of such discrepancies. One of the major concerns is the failure to
sufficiently predict vertical vibrations as opposed to horizontal vibrations. Furthermore, the
behaviour of buildings with non-typical features such as the removal of some columns will
be inadequately predicted by such models. Undeniably, the authors point out a weakness of
using models to predict large, complicated, and often unique structures based on simplified
models. While modelling offers simple and efficient methods to aid in designing and imple-
menting safety measures, structural integrity and resilience of buildings against vibrations
has to be weighed against economic factors such as selecting suitable methods to predict
the possible structural problems. As such, it is necessary that a compromise be reached in
the industry.
The Northridge Earthquake of 1994 had a huge impact on construction industry in Los
Angeles and United States in general due to the widespread and unexpected damage seen
in buildings around the city. Studies were undertaken on pre-Northridge joints to determine
a possible cause of the damage. This paper considered the results of other papers as well
as conducted its own experiments to determine the problem and how it may be avoided
in the future. It was determined that the joints were all unsatisfactory and way below the
standards that were adopted after the earthquake. The researchers also tested some of the
connections to failure and attempted to repair them by welding to determine the viability
of repair instead of replacement. However, it is seen that even with repair, the connections
remain unsatisfactory and broke before achieving the results required. Thus, the researchers
advised replacing the joints entirely with new ones that conform to the current safety
standards.
146 In the Sciences
Wörner, J and Nordhues, H (2002) Structural dynamics. In: J. Eisele and E. Kloft
(Ed), High-Rise Manual, Birkhäuser, Basel, 106–115.
This is a study on how dynamic forces such as earthquakes, wind and other forms of vibra-
tion affect high-rise construction and design. As compared to standard buildings, high-rise
buildings may require other principles such as plan and elevation, material selection and
reinforcing systems. Regularity in elevation is a key feature in high-rise with regards to
dynamic loads. Some design features to ensure stability under dynamic forces include de-
tuning of the building to prevent resonance, inserting elements to damp oscillations. These
changes are made with occupants’ comfort in view. This study is helpful as it gives an
overview of how dynamic forces influence the design of the building, as well as certain
factors which are influenced by being a high-rise building. However, it does not provide
details on how to counter these forces, nor does it describe the elements used to stabilize
the buildings. Including a discussion on the practical systems which can be used would
make this study more useful and relevant.
buildings are elaborated by analyzing the case studies of countries with high-density living
such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Some papers emphasized on the importance of environ-
mental planning in the physical landscape of high-rise, and this can be seen in the case study
of Singapore when the idea of protecting the environment from the damages of construc-
tion is inherent in the process of designing tall buildings. In addition, the structural safety
of materials in events such as earthquakes is explained in detail as well. Fire-protection
materials such as gypsum and mineral fibre were elaborated in terms of the structure and
the properties which allowed them to display high levels of security during fires. In view
of rapid technological advancements, the authors have also displayed great confidence in
the future trends of high-rise. It is expected that the development of tall buildings would be
pushed to greater heights. In the book, the continued existence of high-rise is accredited to
the advancement of technology, which has allowed materials to be cheaper but of a better
quality.
Technology
Adeli, H and Saleh, A (1999) Control, Optimization, and Smart Structures: High
Performance Bridges and Buildings of the Future, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
In this book the authors explored the application of multiple computer-controlled electric-
actuators to improve the stability of structures in the face of externally applied forces. The
first half of the book focused on explaining the computer algorithm used to process the data
generated from using hundreds of sensors simultaneously, while the latter half discussed
some experimental results of applying the technique. Of particular interest here is chapter 7
and 8, which deal with multi-storey buildings (though not very tall – only up to 12-storey).
Actuators are installed along the beams of several floors to actively control the displace-
ment of each beam. Impacts of earthquake, wind loading, and bomb blast are considered,
with encouraging results. For example, using data recorded from a previous earthquake to
simulate the scenario, it was found that it is possible to reduce the maximum displacement
of the top of the building from the potentially dangerous value of 50 cm by 85%. Clearly,
this method can save lives and property by preventing collapse. However, the feasibility of
extending this method to taller buildings still needs to be explored.
While quantitative data analysis was the norms in construction industries, pluralistic method-
ology that involves qualitative data analysis has become more popular in recent years.
Many researchers now adopt computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS).
However, there was little literature that are critical on the usage of CAQDAS. The authors
attempt to set this straight by providing critical viewpoints on CAQDAS. The paper explores
a CAQDAS software called NVivo and suggested many critical issues involved, including
the lack of advantage in automation (it still requires continuous input from researchers),
capability to store more data invites researchers to increase the amount of data and may
compromise deep analysis with “superficial studies” using large amount of data, and the nar-
row functionality available and imposed on the researchers provide little avenue for broader
analytical approach. The author was concerned that usage of CAQDAS is portrayed as pro-
viding rigour while the converse might be true. Computer-aided analysis force researchers
towards a particular analytical approach instead of providing rigour and transparency. The
author hopes that such criticisms will benefit the maturity and further development in this
field.
This paper develops the method of detecting cracks using cable sensors for health monitor-
ing of large-scale concrete-based civil infrastructure. The method presented here is based
on the change in topology, or electrical structure, of a coaxial cable. It has been successfully
implemented in a full-scale reinforced concrete girder, approximately 15 m, under cyclically
increasing and decreasing load tension to induce the cracks. The authors concluded that this
method outperforms the current commercially available sensors in terms of sensitivity and
cost-effectiveness. However, there remains some challenges that must be overcome before
the use of coaxial cable sensor can become more widespread, which are signal loss issue due
to length of cable, non-uniformity leading to inability to detect some obvious cracks, and
deformation of the sensor due to repeated loading leading to inaccuracies. If more research
is done and these problems could be overcome, industrial production of cable sensors could
become a reality.
Chun, M and Fellows, R (2000) Intelligent building systems in Hong Kong offices.
Facilities, 18(5/6): 225–234.
The authors reviewed the intelligent buildings among some samples of high-rise offices
in Hong Kong. Concept of intelligent building includes “sophisticated telecommunications
facilities”, “building management” and “data networking services”. The development is
closely linked to information technology (IT). There has been a shift from being an innova-
tive technology to standard, traditional facilities management in recent years. Such intel-
ligent facilities have also increased in complexity as occupants require more advanced
yet more flexible technologies. They argue that appropriate provision during development
period will be an effective mechanism to keep intelligence systems flexible, thus increasing
the price of the buildings. The survey results of the Hong Kong’s office buildings indicate
wide diversity in “design and provision” of intelligent features as there is no mandatory rules
or criteria. There is also a problem of diverging requirements with multiple ownership and
occupation that is common in Hong Kong. The authors argue that availability in advance of
primary cabling and generous space for current and anticipated needs are important. They
argue that, contrary to popular perspective, intelligent buildings need not contain cutting-
edge technology, but rather must have provisions for adaptability to future IT needs of the
buildings.
In the Sciences 149
Ewing, S, Hayward, D, Hopkins, L, and Thomas, J (2003) The new social policy
and the digital age: a case study of a wired high rise public housing estate. Just
Policy, 29: 36–45.
A problem of ‘digital divide’ has risen in the past few years as a growing gap between those
with access to electronic information (in the form of Internet and the like) and those who
do not. The paper studies a social partnership called ‘Reach for the Clouds’ that provided
personal computers for tenants and connect it to the intranet, with potential to access the
Internet. This project represents a shift in social policy to that led by non-profit organization
and one that put an expectation in providing free technology to raise the level of social
networking and economic participation. This social partnership tries to bridge the digital
divide. This social partnership model proved to be successful as ‘Reach for the Clouds’
gains focus from other non-profit agencies and also support from politicians. Even so, this
effort is not without its problems. The agency needed to persevere through the early part of
the programme.
Finch, E (1998) Remote building control using the Internet. Facilities, 16(12/13):
356–360.
Modern buildings incorporate a vast array of complex devices (like pumps and fans). These
devices may come from different manufacturers and expertise is required to properly man-
age these devices. With the usage of Internet, this problem may be exacerbated by tying the
manufacturers to help in fixing problems that occur with the devices. Clients benefit from
expertise provided and manufacturers benefit as they can obtain value-added elements from
this service while getting useful feedback. The author introduced the importance of embed-
ded system in intelligent building. Many devices are equipped with some sort of embedded
chips. Such computer processing unit may provide information about the devices. At the
time of writing, such information is less useful because the information from each device
is not compatible with one another. This standardization is required in building automa-
tion. Open standards are required to clean up the vast array of data production and collec-
tion methods employed by different manufacturers. Once open standards become norms,
it would be easier to provide remote building control over the Internet. Security issues
in remote controlling may be reduced by using newer techniques such as virtual private
networks.
Finch, E (2001) Is IP everywhere the way ahead for building automation? Facilities,
19(11/12): 396–403.
Traditionally, building automation system was narrowly defined to become an efficient solu-
tion to energy management, environment control, and security. Currently, such tools have
become a lot more expansive as demands for it grow from facilities managers. As such,
an “open” system is required for data communication. The author suggests the potential
of Internet Protocols (IP) as integration solution for the wide arrays of automation sys-
tems. While concerns on reliability and quality of service abound, the author attempts to
redress the issue and consider whether it is possible to have IP-based embedded system
to be harnessed in building automation. Using IP allows for web-based remote access to
automation devices. Enabling both monitoring and management of such devices. While
introducing cable networks to support IP may be cost-prohibitive, recent advances allow
usage of wireless network, among others, to provide connectivity. Such usage of IP in intel-
ligent buildings opens up a lot of unexplored possibilities, while maintaining openness in
integrating intelligent systems.
The authors start by introducing the then new, powerful supercomputers, such as Cray,
Sequent, and Convex. As analysis becomes increasingly complex, such supercomputers will
offer significant improvements when parallel processing is utilized. The author provides a
discussion on finite element formulation and how such analysis may utilize parallel process-
ing to increase its performance. Such analysis was then tested on 16-processor supercom-
puters with complex high-rise frameworks to be analyzed. As expected, significant speed
increase is observed, especially during vectorization (the Cray’s processors are very power-
ful vector processor). As a conclusion, Cray’s parallel processing, termed microtasking and
vectorization, speeds up in parallel code is observed, suggesting that future use of parallel
process may become a powerful tool in similar analysis.
algorithm. In Biomimetics, Butler recommends research into spiders’ spin silk that proves
to be stronger than artificial synthetic substances, diatoms (microscopic phytoplankton)
responsible for 25% of the world’s photosynthetic activity makes glass from silicon derived
in seawater without smelting, abalone’s crack-resistant shells, derived from biomineralisa-
tion, that are tougher than ceramics, cellulose (a natural composite with a higher bending
power and stiffness that concrete or steel) produced by trees from sunlight, water and air,
and plant compounds that prevents fungal infection and pest infestation. Indeed, we have
much to learn from nature on solving our technological problems.
Hopkins, L (2005) Making a community network sustainable: the future of the wired
high rise. The Information Society, 21(5): 379–384.
Governments, private sectors, and other parties have put up efforts to establish opportunities
for the “underserved” to overcome the digital divide. The author studies the introduction
152 In the Sciences
Ikeda, M, Sekihara, Y, and Itoh, N (1996) Construction planning system for high-
rise buildings using and object-based model. In: Z. Turk (Ed), Construction on the
Information Highway, University of Ljublijana, Ljubljana.
Computer Integrated Construction (CIC) has gained recognition in the Japanese construc-
tion industry as a “highly effective tool in increasing productivity”. Its primary objectives
are “information sharing” and “cooperative work”. The authors followed up by describ-
ing position of CIC in Japan and steps that should be taken to adapt CIC. The paper
presents a case study on CIC framework in Fujita Corporation, a leading general contractor
in Japan. The paper further describes necessary software infrastructure in-house develop-
ments and their usage. The paper shows how integrated methods by using such softwares
have increased efficiency of high-rise building development. The authors concluded that
to propel future CIC, simply advancing integration of technologies and information within
the framework is not sufficient. There is also a need to reform building production systems
themselves to adopt a very systematized construction process from procurement, transporta-
tion to prefabrication of building components.
Keogh, P M (1996) Understanding the options for cabling and networking. Facili-
ties, 14(3/4): 33–37.
In intelligent building, the needs of the organization/occupants must drive the building
design in every aspect; this includes business management, space management, and build-
ing management needs. The implementation of facilities to satisfy this need often requires
networks and extensive cabling. Such systems must address problems such as integration,
security system, and access rights for occupants (and removal of such access to previous
occupants). In intelligent building, networking between systems is necessary to enable sys-
tems to work with one another efficiently and intelligently (feedback from one system may
In the Sciences 153
affect how other systems behave). Thus, facilities managers must understand how cabling
for such networks will affect the buildings. Some important cabling aspects are feeds to con-
trolled devices and sensors and feeds to desks. In the future, systems would be addressable
at low cost and provide structured cabling with easy integration between modules.
and critical paths of flow between each activity. The simulation uses these constraints to
work out the schedules and differences in durations of a cycle depending on working hours
entered. Planners could then review whether the conditions in the worksite (such as delays)
will demand the time savings from applying the more aggressive working hours scenario.
While scheduling and simulation of the schedule is generally compiled separately, the
authors saw that combining the two into one friendly process can be pursued as interesting
further study.
lifetime and suggested using layout analysis egress model that utilizes computer-aided
design plans for the building. As a conclusion, the usage of computer modeling could suf-
ficiently model an accurate mass movement for highly-populated building (while sparsely-
populated building depends more heavily on each individual’s movements and resulted in
less accurate prediction.
Mita, A and Takhira, S (2003) A smart sensor using a mechanical memory for
structural health monitoring of a damage-controlled building. Smart Material and
Structures, 12: 204–209.
The authors set out by explaining the need for easy to use and practical sensor to survey
the damage caused by, say, an earthquake. Most traditional methods are slow, costly, or
troublesome. They developed a smart sensor that could record the maximum strain (or other
damage indicators) the location has experienced. The sensor requires no power source to
record the data; it is done by a purely physical phenomenon of elastic buckling of a thin
wire. The data could be read using a small power source that is only activated when needed,
and it could even be transmitted wirelessly, removing the need to dismantle the wall panel.
Despite the obvious drawback of only able to give a single data (the maximum value), there
could be some use for this system. For a building that is not too high or complicated so as
to require real-time tracking of the strain, this could provide a cheap and convenient way of
assessing damage after a disaster struck.
facilitate performance prediction for each indicator. However, evaluating of these prediction
to choose the best design needs human involvements. The paper goes on to discuss the
development process of BDA and its features. While, at the time of writing, the software
was targeted for research and teaching aids, the author hopes that this tool will be used in
professional practice in the future. This includes plans such as expanding the BDA working
environment to include additional simulation tools, user interface elements, among others.
whether to close down a bridge or evacuate a building. However, to gather data during the
event itself, a wireless technology is needed. At the point of writing (early 1997), the sensor
technology is not so well developed, so in the first part of the paper they lamented how
the choices available to them was limited. That is followed by a description of a complete
remote sensing system, which is constructed using only commercially available components
and is low cost. They mentioned that future works will involve completely automating the
system. Considering the many future researches that deal with precisely this idea, they are
right on the mark.
Sato, T and Toki, K (1992) Predictive control of seismic response of structure tak-
ing into account the soil-structure interaction. In: B. Culshaw, P. T. Gardiner, A.
McDonach and European Optical (Ed), First European Conference on Smart Struc-
tures and Material, Institute of Physics Publishing and EOS/SPIE, Bristol, 245–250.
This paper aims to improve the existing algorithm for active control of a structure in
the event of an earthquake by considering the unique interaction between the structure
In the Sciences 159
foundation and the soil. They first develop the continuous-time mathematical model of the
situation and subsequently digitizing it to form the discrete-time formulation that could be
applied. By adjusting the parameters, the feedback and feedforward levels, control efficien-
cies can be maximized. This paper has a good balance of theoretical (highly mathematical)
and experimental (simulation) result. Unfortunately, the simulation they performed only
involved a three-storey building, so further investigations on the applicability of their results
to high-rise buildings are needed, especially since tall buildings probably has different foun-
dation design and thus, different soil-structure interaction.
Internet also means utilization of open standards, minimizing development costs in the
future. The authors hoped that building systems will standardize its wide array of com-
munication technologies and Internet protocol could certainly help the manufacturers.
Swift, J (2000) IT: useful tool or nemesis for facilities management? Facilities,
18(10/11/12): 456–458.
The paper provides viewpoint on IT and facilities management (FM). The article discussed
IT as an enabling technology, both in term of computational speed and connectivity. The
author discussed how IT has been used by commercial institution to improve their efficiency
and how other businesses that fail to embrace IT as swiftly has suffered and lagged behind
(think bookshops versus amazon.com). The author argues that facilities managers should
change to reflect the new demands of IT. They have to increase their competency and keep
in pace in the fast-changing world of IT or risk lagging behind in a sort of Darwinian
selection process.
Tseng, K K and Wang, L (2004) Smart piezoelectric transducers for in situ health
monitoring of concrete. Smart Material and Structures, 16: 1603–1613.
The authors explained the need for in situ structure health monitoring system for large
concrete structures (such as high rises) as other methods of inspection (manual, machine
In the Sciences 161
assisted, or machine automated) will be far too tedious, expensive, and often unreliable
given the scale involved. They also criticized the other method, the vibration method, as
being unable to detect small damages in the structure and as hard to apply without detailed
data of the building. In contrast, the method of electromechanical impedance utilizing the
coupling property of piezoelectric materials (PZT in this case) promises a cheap, sensitive,
and robust (even when the building is characterized wrongly, it would still work) health
monitoring system, with the ability to point out the location and extent of the damage accu-
rately. Their experimental results indeed validated their claims that this system is superior
in those aspects.
being developed are mostly used to increase efficiency in administrative duties of the town
council. Such systems must also be able to cope with the amount of information available
in a high-rise estate consisting of many households. While not directly related to high-rise
development, the development of IS system in the town council level provides a crucial
link between the intelligent high-rise buildings built in Singapore and the administrative
measures of the town councils.
Unpublished Works
Abdul Rahman, R (2006) Significant usage of slab and wall form technique in
industrialised building systems (IBS) for low cost high-rise apartments construction.
Unpublished Masters thesis, University Teknologi Malaysia.
The Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) concept was adopted and applied during early
1960s in Malaysia to enhance the development of low cost housing project for the lower
income group. This Masters project studied the basic concept, application and the signif-
icant usage of slab and wall form technique and assessed its benefit in high-rise low cost
apartment construction. Methods adopted for the study include literature review, interviews
and surveys, evaluation of ongoing and completed projects and elemental cost analysis and
simulation. The study concluded that the slab and wall form technique is a feasible alter-
native construction method of the low cost high-rise apartments that can greatly benefit the
building industry in various aspects such as reducing the construction cost, better planning
and design coordination, speed of construction, minimising manpower on site, better quality
construction, environmentally friendliness, and improved site safety.
buildings. Negative aspects include limitation of number of storeys to three to five and
fire risks. The paper suggests future research into fire resistance, assembly and construction
time, costs, damp-open wall construction and reduction of total floor weakness. It concludes
that the Massive Timber System provides good structural integrity while guaranteeing com-
fort for its occupants.
Boey, C P (2000/2001) Correlation of indoor air quality (iaq) and energy con-
sumption in buildings. Unpublished Bachelor dissertation, National University of
Singapore.
Through the experimental data obtained, the fact that more energy is expended in cooling
the environment when ventilation rates are raised is highlighted in the paper. This is justified
experimentally by the author, who shows that there is a less than proportional decrease in
energy required to cool the surroundings with respect to a drop in the provision of fresh air
into the room. In addition, the author establishes and elaborates on the positive relationship
between ventilation rates and indoor air quality (i.e. larger ventilation rates leads to better
indoor air quality) with the help of several literatures. However, it is observed that only
one building was selected for further analysis, out of the 5 buildings that was involved in
previous research papers. The small sampling size used may lead to inaccurate conclusions
since the findings do not reflect the entire population. Although the author did attempt to
create a link between indoor air quality and energy consumption for cooling of a building
via ventilation rates, the idea was not clear enough. Nevertheless, information provided in
this paper will help those interested in optimizing the use of energy to enhance indoor air
quality to a certain extent.
suitable approaches to implement such system. Two approaches were proposed, the inside
out and the perimeter reinforcement approach. Costs considerations are also discussed in
the dissertation. Process mapping is used to highlight how WiFi WLAN system can aid
in improving these processes. The study concludes that WiFi WLAN system is capable of
integrating and emulating other forms of individual IT systems. WiFi WLAN system also
proved to be much cheaper to implement.
Deakin University (2007) Nature key to high rise residents’ health. Unpublished
article, ScienceAlert.
Deakin University has found that health of the occupants living in high-rise buildings is
connected to nature. With the growth of apartment living since 1996 compared to detached
houses with backyards in the past, residents of high-rise living now have limited opportunity
to access natural environments. “This could result in a diminished quality of life as exposure
to nature has been found to enhance psychological wellbeing, increase immunity to disease
and improve productivity”. In the study that was conducted, 221 high-rise residents in the
inner city of Melbourne, Sydney and Parramatta were surveyed. Participants surveyed var-
ied in gender, age, socio-economic status and included owners, private and public housing
tenants. The study found that a range of factors have impacts on inner city high-rise resi-
dents’ health and well-being both indirectly and directly. Hence, this study agrees that the
availability of greenery and nature for public housing tenants enhance residents’ health and
quality of life significantly.
structure in the cheapest way possible – either in terms of energy or money”. According
to the paper, biomimetics have been used in the design of the Victorian Crystal Palace and
the Eiffel Tower. In 1851, botanist Joseph Paxton incorporated ribbed iron support in his
construction inspired by the underside of a water lily’s leaves, Victoria amazonica. Gustave
Eiffel based his design on femur research done by an anatomist, Hermann Von Meyer, and
an engineer, Karl Cullman. It was discovered that ridged lattices coupled with the head
of the femur made the shape ideal for supporting off-centre loads. The Beijing Olympics
stadium, shaped like a bird’s nest, has cultural significance. Biomimetic ideas proposed
include shovel inspired by moles, bioluminescent lighting, windows based on compound
apposition insect eyes, taproots inspired by carrots, air filtration from cells and domestic
counter current heat exchange by learning arteries.
Ellis, P, Frechette III, R E and Suchomel, J L (2007) Learning from Pearl River
Tower: high performance energy strategies for healthcare facilities. Unpublished
white paper, International Conference and Exhibition on Health Facility Planning.
To be completed by fall 2009, the Pearl River Tower (309.6 m with 71 floors) designed
by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in Guangzhou, China, would be the world’s
first net zero-energy supertall office building. This paper recommends the application of
energy-saving concepts in healthcare design. According to the US Department of Energy,
US residential and commercial buildings account for 40% of total energy use, 71% total
electricity consumption, 50% of sulphur emissions, 25% of nitrogen emissions, 35% of
carbon dioxide emissions, 40% of processed materials, 55% of virgin wood consumption,
25% of landfill content. The colour of a butterfly’s wings is due to nanostructures that refract
light instead of dye or pigment. Temperature fluctuations inside African termite mounds are
kept to minimal even when surrounding temperatures fluctuate drastically from day to night.
Eastgate building in Harare, Zimbabwe uses natural ventilation inspired by termite mounds.
Many SOM high performance buildings apply “sponge philosophy”. A sponge absorbs
light, captures the current, absorbs and uses solar energy, captures and uses rainwater, treats
and reuses wastewater. In order to achieve optimal performance, the paper recommends four
strategies: reduction, reclamation, absorption and generation. Radiant slab and displacement
ventilations using underfloor chilled air can lead to financial payback within one year and
significantly reduce operation and maintenance cost. High performance glazing and shading
systems comprise 450 mm wide systems with a 300 mm cavity in between two layers of
glazing. Other systems include “low flow or no flow” fixtures, demand-based ventilation
(DVC), high efficiency heating/cooling plant, high efficiency lighting, daylight responsive
lighting controls and occupancy sensors, integrated photovoltaics and wind turbine gener-
ators. The building also has an aerodynamic design. Advanced modelling simulations like
Ecotect (building physics, daylight), eQuest (energy), Fluent CFD (wind flow and radiant
heat) and Virtual Environment (sun cast) are used. Throughout the design and construction
process, the planners have been committed to the “path of zero energy”. Ultimately, this
paper elaborates various specifics to achieve “zero energy” buildings.
Español, E (1993) Actions you can take to reduce lead in drinking water. Unpub-
lished article, Environmental Protection Agency.
Lead contamination in drinking water can lead to serious health problems. Having too much
lead in the human body can cause serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system and
red blood cells. Hence, it is important that precautions are taken by residents living in high-
rise buildings to reduce and prevent lead contamination in drinking water. Some precautions
include using only water from the cold-water tap as hot water is likely to contain higher
levels of lead. It is important to have the household water supply tested by a competent
laboratory for the amount of lead present in the water supply, especially for residents living
in high-rise buildings as flushing, which is one of the precautions that can be taken by
166 In the Sciences
low-rise residents, “may not be effective in high-rise buildings with lead-soldered central
piping”. Since lead contamination of household water supply may lead to serious health
problems among residents living in both high-rise and low-rise housing, it is crucial for
other suitable materials to be used for plumbing instead of lead in the two types of housing.
Ger, J F (1990) Inelastic response and collapse behavior of steel tall buildings
subjected to 3-D earthquake excitations. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of
Missouri.
The thesis examines the behavior of steel tall buildings in an earthquake through the obser-
vation of real world data from five steel buildings of the Pino Suarex Complex at the site of
the 1985 Mexico earthquake and uses this data to compare with hysteresis models to deter-
mine the behavior of the building during the earthquake. The author was very thorough,
considering ground conditions of the area and obtaining real world data via observation,
literature review of other studies on the buildings and going to the original designer for
the engineering design data of the buildings. The thesis is rich in information for anyone
who wishes to replicate the model and results. Where applicable, graphs, equations and
pictures were provided to aid in understanding of the thesis. It provides a good method for
researchers to understand how to go about investigating the cause of collapse of a building.
Goode, M G (2004) Fire protection of structural steel in high rise buildings. Unpub-
lished article, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
This is a comprehensive report produced by the National Institute of Standards and Technol-
ogy (NIST) summarizing its findings, recommendations based on its study on fire protection
of steel in high rise possibly due to the blame on fire for the collapse of the World Trade
Centre. It has a few objectives. Firstly, it provides a clear overview of state-of-the-art in
fire protection as well as potential materials for use in the future, giving both pros and cons
to allow designers to make their own decisions. Then, they also educate on what is the
requirements and standards currently and the rationale behind these performance require-
ments. Lastly, they defined how any tests should be conducted to ensure reliability and
conformance to the performance requirements. Each of these objectives is carefully dealt
with in full consideration of the possible implications of cost which is paramount to most
developers. While the entire report may not always be relevant to all studies, the information
inside serves as a good guide regarding fire safety for any building.
Greig, L (1980) Toward an estimate of wind induced dynamic torque on tall build-
ings. Unpublished Masters thesis, University of Western Ontario.
This paper aims to propose some tentative guidelines for the estimation of dynamic torque
by reviewing available aeroelastic torque data. As the focus on buildings is shifting to
being aesthetically pleasing, the shapes of buildings become increasingly asymmetrical and
complex. This makes the buildings aerodynamically more susceptible to torsional loading.
This can cause discomfort for occupants. The three factors found contributing to dynamic
torque are building geometry, asymmetrical wind caused by upstream structures and cou-
pled vibrations due to asymmetrical distribution of mass and stiffness within the building.
When investigating building geometry, it is usually assumed that wind flow is homogeneous.
The result found shows that sharp corners get the largest mean torque values. The upstream
structures are found to increase turbulent flow, resulting in increased torque. The effect of
coupled vibrations is found to be minimal and thus, is treated as negligible. The author came
up with a quantifiable methodology to estimate the dynamic torque on tall buildings. Equa-
tions with which to estimate wind speed and building dynamics such as shape factor and
radius of gyration are formulated. This paper is useful as it takes into account much of the
building dynamics in the investigation, including a method of quantizing such properties.
The methodology of measuring torque is helpful for engineers who need such information
to ensure building stability.
firefighting lifts with enhanced fire and water protection, evacuation by elevators is safer.
The evacuation scenario is equivalent to heavy down-peak traffic. Consider a typical office
building, being designed to have 13% up-peak handling capacity and down-peak of 20 to
34%, and assume a hypothetical 100% down-peak takes five minutes to clear. A typical
office will be fully evacuated in 17 to 24 minutes. The paper suggests that an effective
down-peak call allocation algorithm would be able to handle an evacuation well. In addition,
a combination of stairs and elevators can improve egress time. An observation worth noting
from the simulation is that a bottleneck is formed at the shuttle group operating between the
sky-lobby and ground floor.
Hart, G (1999) Job demand analysis. Unpublished analysis, Human Effort Evolu-
tionary Health.
The tasks that fire fighters are involved in putting out fires that occur in high-rise buildings
are physically demanding. In a high-rise fire, fire fighters are required to move equipment
such as rescue gear, axes and high-rise packs to the fire floor. As the lift cannot be used in
a high-rise fire, fire fighters will have to carry the heavy load and climb up the stairs all the
way to the fire floor. This lifting, carrying and climbing of stairs in full turn out gear with
equipment will in turn place metabolic stresses on the energy system of the fire fighters.
Structural stresses will also be placed on the musculoskeletal system of the fire fighters,
leading to injuries which include burns, blunt and sharp trauma on parts of the body. As
a result, if a fire occurs in a high-rise building, fire fighting will place extreme stresses
on nearly every element of human function. To reduce these stresses, muscle strengthen-
ing exercises could be implemented to lessen the risk of injury as it looks like high-rise
buildings are here and will be here to stay.
Hess, J E (2002) Urban green spaces and social well-being methods, findings and
recommendations from a Danish pilot study. Unpublished study, The Danish Town
Planning Institute.
Urban green spaces bring about many benefits to not only the social well-being of the
residents, but have positive effects on their health too. For many years, researches have
shown that urban green spaces like parks, trees, gardens and flowers in and surrounding
high-rise buildings are not just for decoration purposes. Not only are these green areas
pleasing to the eyes, they contribute to the fulfilment of fundamental needs like the need
for daylight “which is a precondition for our health and social well-being” as green spaces
inspire people to spend time outdoors. Daylight helps in the adjustment of our biological
clocks, “which controls many of our hormones in relation to the time of the day and the
season”. People who spend more time outdoors usually sleep better as well. On the other
hand, the absence of urban green spaces will lead to a lack of daylight which will disturb
our biological clocks and may result in depressions. Getting enough daylight is of special
importance to the elderly as the ultraviolet light present in daylight stimulates the production
of vitamin D, an important element in the prevention of osteoporosis. Thus, it is important
to include green spaces in urban planning of high-rise buildings which has a positive impact
on the health and social well-being of the residents.
the survey is not random as there is a large proportion of the respondents in the age group 21
to 30. This may lead to inaccurate representation on the number of people who display sick-
building syndrome symptoms. The sampling style of the surveys may not reflect people’s
concept of sick building syndromes accurately as well, which is one of the objectives of the
survey. Perhaps due to constraints on time and resources, only a limited range of indoor air
pollutants were analyzed. Common pollutants like benzene and ozone were not considered,
which is significant because there may be other indoor air pollutants which play a greater
role with respect to the sick building syndrome. Hence, there are certain findings that are
unable to reflect the relation between ventilation and indoor air quality accurately.
the battery life, so they suggested powering the sensor only for a certain interval. The central
processor should be highly reliable. The transmission of signals through wireless network
need to be adjusted so that it is as efficient as possible, as it is very power consuming.
Lau, C H (2006) Construction technology for high rise buildings in Hong Kong.
Unpublished project paper, University of Southern Queensland.
This paper covers the common difficulties and irregularities facing technologies in Hong
Kong’s construction industry. Discussion involved the procedure of construction works,
site formation works, foundation works, excavation and lateral support works as well as
superstructure works. It was mentioned that the Hong Kong government produces a lot
of code of practice (COP) and guidelines to control the construction. In order to have a
better control, many regulations and ordinances have been set up to ensure the construction
works run smoothly. Specification, practical notes, guidelines and drawing were produced
to ensure works are completed safely and at high standard. Owing to misconduct and
mistake produced by workers, however, many tests were used to ensure good quality and
In the Sciences 171
workmanship. A general procedure of construction works and main point of COP was also
introduced in this report, and common irregularities highlighted for reader’s attention.
A rather different field study is conducted in this paper with its objectives distinct from other
research papers. Generally, researchers tend to investigate the influence of environmental
changes (e.g. decline in indoor air quality) on people. In this case, the author analyzes the
effect of different indoor air pollutant levels on people’s awareness of their environment.
Through the experimental data obtained, it is noted that people’s perception of the environ-
ment they are in depends significantly on their exposure levels of their surroundings. For
example, a larger proportion of people are able to feel hot at higher carbon monoxide levels,
which leads to them feeling as if they are experiencing unacceptable indoor air quality. It is
also observed that higher concentrations of indoor air contaminants worsen the symptoms
of the sick building syndrome experienced by people. Although the ideas presented in this
paper are unique, people in building industries should not rely too much on it as it would be
disastrous if they were to assume that poor indoor air quality can be ignored by adjusting
the environmental parameters (e.g. temperature of the room) to “alter” people’s perception
of their surroundings.
Loh, W S (1993) Development of algal resistant surface coating for external wall of
buildings in the tropics with particular reference to the buildings and environmental
conditions in Singapore. Unpublished PhD thesis, National University of Singapore.
This thesis focuses on the deteriorating external facade of high-rise buildings in Singapore,
in particular, the paint on walls. Factors leading to the degradation of the paint on walls,
including paint quality, climate, detailing of buildings and microbial growth on painted
surface, are identified. In order to come up with a feasible solution to tackle the declining
conditions of painted buildings, chemical contents of paints are analyzed with the help of
various literatures. For example, functional groups of polymers and chemical properties of
compounds such as alkali metal salts are studied in detail. Laboratory methods that were
used to conduct certain tests are illustrated clearly in the thesis as well. Results of the field
tests conducted on paints (both old and newly-formulated) on buildings such as HDB flats
are shown in the thesis. In addition, several photos are used as evidence to display the
decline of building facades. Photos are also used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new
prototypes of paints on maintaining the external features of high-rise. Through his thesis,
the author managed to formulate a new type of paint that displays minimal degradation,
which is significant for high-rise buildings, in particular to Singapore.
The paper presented the preliminary result of the application of wireless modulus mon-
itoring system (WiMMS). Using modular system has the advantage of being cheap and
relatively hassles free. This system is essentially the same as a normal active control sys-
tem, consisting of sensors, actuators, and a computing core (where the control algorithm
is applied). The major difference is that each of the modules communicates with each
other wirelessly. The system was put through the standard earthquake test, and its seismic
response control capability was ascertained. The authors also claim that we should be able
to embed the control algorithm inside the sensor itself, thus turning it into a fully distributed
system that is very flexible. Wireless technology is a necessity in a damage mitigation sys-
tem, as there is no guarantee that the wiring works would survive intact in a disaster, and
protecting meters of wire is not cost effective.
Menon, R (1997) Tuned liquid column damper for vibration control of tall struc-
tures. Unpublished thesis, National University of Singapore.
The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to determine the effect of non-linear term in gov-
erning the equation of motion of the tuned liquid column damper (TLCD); secondly, to
compare the results from the time domain approach and the frequency domain approach;
thirdly, to determine the effectiveness of TLCD when equipped on different structural forms
for uniform and non-uniform buildings and; lastly, to determine the sensitivity of TLCD’s
performance due to variations in structural period, damping ratio, and the number and cor-
responding positions of dampers. The results obtained showed that the non-linear damping
term is negligible in most cases; the effectiveness of buildings with regards to acceleration
and displacement reduction when damping ratio of building is increased is decreased; the
TLCD’s performance is highly sensitive to its position for purely flexural building and rather
insensitive for a shear building and; when higher modes of vibration are signification, the
use of more than one damper effectively stabilizes the building. This study is important as
the optimal position and number of dampers used is discussed and is of importance to the
construction of buildings.
Milko, R (1985) Indoor air quality. Unpublished article, Ministry of Supply and
Services.
This is a research paper written to discover more about the sick building syndrome, since
any information available on this subject then tend to be rather vague. In this research,
sources of indoor air pollutants such as formaldehyde and radon are uncovered. Further ana-
lytical tests which are done on the indoor contaminants provide more information on these
chemical compounds. For example, the composition of tobacco smoke and their impacts on
the heath of people are illustrated. The author has also used several case studies to draw
inferences and illustrate the severity of the sick building syndrome through these examples.
Ways to control the sources of indoor air contaminants and alleviate the problem are sug-
gested in this paper. It is interesting to note that the solutions are targeted at the commercial
176 In the Sciences
sector (e.g. selecting good fan locations to allow better ventilation) as well as the lifestyle
of people (e.g. removing footwear at doors since it brings in street dirt, which is a mixture
of chemical and biological wastes). This paper will be beneficial in allowing people to have
a better control over indoor air quality, thereby improving the environment of buildings.
Mu, H M (2002) Development and validation of coaxial cable sensors for damage
detection of reinforced concrete structure. Unpublished PhD Thesis, The University
of Missouri-Rolla.
This thesis addressed the possibility of using coaxial cables as a sensor for a structural health
monitoring purposes. The coaxial cable is embedded in the reinforced concrete column,
and the resulting variation of the reading for healthy and damaged structure can be read
to ascertain the damaged location. This method is more sensitive compared to commer-
cially available sensors under applied loads. However, the design is based on the change in
geometry, which can only achieve incremental improvement in sensitivity unless a special
design of cable cross section is introduced. The author did validate his theories with the
experimental results.
Neil, M A (1979) The effect of natural aggregates on the physical and chemical
properties of cement mortars. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of London.
Cement is a common material used in many different buildings, including high-rise and
skyscrapers. This paper analyzes the materials used in concrete with the aim of obtaining
the best performance for cement from natural sand by optimizing its functions. To review
the chemical properties and reactivity of the aggregates, literature reviews are used to pro-
vide information to allow readers to understand concepts better. The author investigates the
physical and chemical properties of these aggregates of cement using experimental methods
such as electron probe micro analytical techniques. Chemical reactivity of the aggregates of
cement such as oxidation and solubility is studied as well. For example, reactions between
alkali and silica, as well as between alkali and carbonate are highlighted to show possible
chemical weaknesses of the aggregates of concrete. Attempts to ensure the reliability of
results obtained can be seen in this paper. For example, experiments are conducted in a
way that only the variable of interest will change while other variables are made to be held
constant (as much as possible at least).
The aim of this study is to derive a simple method to solve the lateral load and free
vibrational analyses of general shear wall-frame multi-story structures on rigid or flexible
foundations. This study is on the static loading of the structures. The continuum approach
is adopted in the idealization of shear wall-frame structures as a shear-flexure beam. The
resulting governing equations are then solved using Galerkin’s method involving displace-
ment shape functions. Galerkin’s method is found to be accurate, economical, versatile and
efficient. This method is also useful for foundations with translational, rocking and torsional
degrees of freedom. The interaction effect of the core and the frame is found to be highly
dependent on factors such as relative stiffness and height of building, and is compounded
by effects of soil-structure interaction. However, despite the numerous parameters involved,
the method can still provide a simplified solution to the situation. This study would have
been more helpful if more reference to the eventual stability of the building could be made,
and how lateral load could be minimized.
Rutgers (2006) Project summary. Unpublished project, The State University of New
Jersey.
Rutgers concluded that the “design and construction of ‘sustainable buildings’ has dramati-
cally increased over the last decade” as the purpose for the construction of sustainable build-
ings is to “reduce resource consumption, energy consumption, and release of pollutants and
waste”, leading to better human productivity and health. Sustainable buildings should not
just focus on using energy and materials more efficiently, but it should be ‘self-sustaining’
as well to produce own and all energy in the building. As such, the implementation of
self-sustainability is suitable for high-rise buildings. However, a question remains: whether
this type of buildings can provide what they have promised and whether the other needs of
the owners are met. Thus, in this project, a preliminary framework will be developed for the
analysis of a self-sustaining high-rise building and to educate the public of the emergence of
this type of high-rise building. With the construction of self-sustaining high-rise buildings,
the impact that high-rise buildings have on the environment will thus be reduced.
often due to mold” that is found in the indoor air quality of high-rise buildings. Other factors
found in the indoor environment of high-rise buildings which include water intrusion and
elevated temperatures create an environment for molds to grow rapidly. Sewer back-ups
found in the surroundings of high-rise buildings and the presence of bird droppings also
increase the possibility that bacteria are involved in contributing to the growth of molds.
As a result, there is a need to identify and correct any mold related problems to restore
the indoor air quality of high-rise buildings and reduce the health effects from molds such
as “Stachybotrys, Actinomycetes, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria, and
many more”. The approach to correct mold-related problems includes an initial inves-
tigation, actions for clean-up control, remediation and litigation support. Likewise, this
approach can be applied to similar situations in other housing types other than high-rise.
Shu, K K (2005) High rise building movement monitoring using RTK-GPS (case
study: Menara Sarawak Enterprise). Unpublished Masters thesis, University
Teknologi Malaysia.
With the great number of high buildings nowadays, it has become very important to monitor
them to ensure they are still under stable condition. Recently, the Global Positioning System
(GPS) especially Real Time Kinematics (RTK-GPS) has emerged as a survey tool for many
deformation applications. This study highlights the concept and methodology of the con-
tinuous RTK-GPS and its potential application for high rise building monitoring surveys by
studying the ability and efficiency of this method in high rise buildings’ deformation detec-
tion. A MATLAB program was developed to perform the movement monitoring analysis
on the observed data to classify the stability of the building, and results indicate it was able
to provide 1 cm and 2 cm accuracy for horizontal and vertical respectively. This method
was used successfully to show that the Menara Sarawak Enterprise building in Malaysia is
stable, with displacement distance around 0.5 cm and 1 cm detected respectively.
Sohn, H and Law, K H (1999) Flexibility based extraction of ritz vectors and their
application to damage diagnosis. Unpublished article, Proceedings of the Second
International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring.
Ritz Vectors is a useful method that can be used in the mathematical modeling of structures
to predict the health status of buildings. However, despite its superiority in damage detection
to other methods, it is rarely used, as it is difficult to extract the relevant values from the
experimental data (vibration response of the structure). In this paper the authors showed a
procedure to extract load-dependent Ritz vectors using a flexibility matrix constructed from
measured vibration test data (this uses high level mathematics). The authors successfully
tested their technique experimentally, using a small scale bridge model. The fact that Ritz
Vectors method can now be utilized means that a computationally more efficient model,
with better predictive power, is now available for structural health diagnosis.
temperature change and due to defects. The model is then tested on a real bridge, the Alam-
osa Canyon Bridge. While it is successful, the authors are careful to state that it was only
one environmental condition. Tests should be carried out at different locations throughout
the year to fully validate the model. Furthermore, other environmental parameters also have
to be investigated.
Tan, H M (1992/1993) Indoor air quality and sick building syndrome in commercial
offices. Unpublished Bachelor dissertation, National University of Singapore.
The author focuses his research in the context of air-conditioned office buildings in Singa-
pore. Background details on the related health effects arising from the various indoor air
contaminants such as carbon monoxide are given in the paper. This allows people to under-
stand the significance and importance of maintaining suitable indoor air quality. It might
seem mediocre that such background information is provided here. However, it is quite
significant if we take into account the year that this paper was written, since information on
this field is extremely limited then. Findings of the study conducted reveals that occupants
in the air-conditioned buildings generally are contented with their working environment,
even though there was some forms of dissatisfaction raised (e.g. odour issues). It would
be important not to ignore such seemingly small complaints as it may translate into bigger
problems for the company (e.g. higher absence rates and lower productivity). The author
also points out that sick building syndrome has many contributing factors other than indoor
air pollutants, such as ergonomics and lighting control. Hence, it would be more accurate if
researchers were to investigate on the sick building syndrome based on several parameters
rather than solely on indoor air contaminants.
Tan, S L (2005) The disappearing image of concrete a study of the image and the
limits of the use of a material. Unpublished Masters thesis, University of Singapore.
Concrete has always been an important material to construction. However, it has increas-
ingly seen use on the façade of buildings, gradually changing its image from one of struc-
tural support to one of exterior design. The author looks deeply into the preconceptions
people have about concrete in comparison with its actual properties to observe how con-
crete has transcended traditional views to become a hyper-material. Through the use of
many interesting examples and photos, the author shows us how concrete has exhibited
certain characteristics and brought it with them into a building like the strong nature of
concrete, its plasticity and even its texture. He also looks to the future, which challenges
the traditional qualities of concrete with examples such as ductal which is stronger yet
In the Sciences 181
much lighter than conventional concrete, challenging its character of weight and litra-con a
translucent concrete which challenges its character of opaqueness.
Wan, R (2002) Advanced dry mortar technology for construction industry. Unpub-
lished article, Hong Kong Productivity Council.
Lime-based and gypsum-based mortars have been in use in construction for many years.
However with the ease of availability of Portland cement, cement gradually replaced the
182 In the Sciences
use of such mortars in many worksites. Cement, sand and water are mixed at the worksite
in the appropriate ratios for applications. However this simple cement was not sufficient
for many high quality constructions. Liquid dispersions and plasticizers were added for
better properties but the lack of skilled workers made it difficult to ensure the quality and
proportion of the mixture. Thus dry mortar which just needed addition of water was created
to solve the problem. While much of the world has been using this technology, Hong Kong
has been slow on catching on. Thus, this paper aims to explain the processes and advantages
of dry mortar to encourage its use. New dry mortar includes many different chemicals other
than cement, sand and water which drastically improve its properties. This paper clearly
demonstrates how through the use of better material knowledge, we can achieve better
results in a more effective manner.
Wang, Y (2007) Wireless sensing and decentralized control for civil structures: The-
ory and implementation. Unpublished PhD thesis, Stanford University.
This thesis covers the implementation of wireless sensors, and then going one step further
by going completely decentralized. Hardware and software interfaces are designed so that
the wireless sensing units are capable of processing real-time sensor data, making control
decisions, and commanding structural actuators. In the decentralized model, each unit will
make a decision based on the result of its neighbours. This frees up the need for a central
nervous system, and could lower the cost for structural health monitoring systems signifi-
cantly. Interestingly, the author investigated the use of the system in tall building (up to 20
storeys) and noted that the distributed system might perform much better than a centralized
one due to not having a delayed transmission.
Wong, W S (2007) Analysis and design of curtain wall systems for high rise build-
ings. Unpublished project paper, University of Southern Queensland.
Curtain wall system technology has developed over the years into a proliferation of highly
engineered design. More than just an assembly of glass, aluminium, steel, screw and sealant,
curtain wall system functions as an external enclosure to protect the building from weather
and to achieve pressure-equalization between the outdoor and indoor environment. It is
now commonly used for new high-rise buildings, and has become a major investment in
both construction and long-term success of the building. This dissertation focused on the
design and analysis of unitized curtain wall for high-rise building, using finite element and
structural analysis programme. Design considerations such as structural integrity, weather
tightness, thermal insulation and sound transmission were given major attention, and several
case studies on wind pressure calculation and glass design were also provided. The author
believed that curtain wall is one of architecture’s most provocative metaphors, but attention
had to be given to ensure its structural integrity.
Zhou, H C and Spelling, D (2001) Traffic emission pollution sampling and analysis
on urban streets with high-rising buildings. Unpublished study, Institute of Trans-
portation Studies.
In this study, data was collected on traffic flows, second-by-second carbon dioxide and nitric
oxide ambient concentrations from urban streets surrounding high-rise buildings to charac-
terize the extent of air pollution in Shanghai, China. The data was sampled and compared
with CAL3QHC modelling results as the state-of-the-practice models do not accurately
characterize the extent of air pollution at the many types of intersections and other roadside
‘hot spots’ of urban streets. The results found that the intersection hot spot emission concen-
trations were primarily caused by the queuing activities of motor vehicles. Due to complex
dispersion processes near high-rise buildings, the air quality concentrations were difficult to
predict. In addition, screening models that were used such as the CAL3QHC were prone to
large errors in dense cities with mixed traffic and high-rise buildings. As such, suggestions
were made for better improved models that are relevant and can screen accurately the air
quality concentration in dense high-rise developing cities, allowing one to better access the
air quality concentration found among high-rise living.
Zhou, Q (1994) Dynamic response of frame-core wall tall buildings to wind load.
Unpublished Masters thesis, National University of Singapore.
This is a study on the response of tall buildings to wind. The author starts with providing
the governing equations for the frame shear wall building by idealizing the whole struc-
ture as a shear-flexural cantilever. After which, the effect of axial deformation in frame is
incorporated and solved by Galerkin’s technique. With the equations formulated, the along-
wind, cross-wind and torsional response are discussed based on the free vibrational analysis
and the results are compared with other conventional methods. This proposed method has
proved to be accurate enough for practical purposes and it is more efficient and simple to
use. The author acknowledges that the study lacks the investigation of the effects of axial
forces on the overall stability of the structure. Overall this study is useful in suggesting
a new method to analysis building stability, which in turn helps to simplify and reduce
unnecessarily tedious computations for building analyses. However, the study would be
more useful if it suggests how this technique holds even as the assumptions made within
this study are changed, and how it is affected by the unavoidable simplifying assumptions.
Zuraimi, B M S (2002) VOC emissions from buildings, occupants and their activ-
ities, and ventilation systems. Unpublished Masters thesis, National University of
Singapore.
The concept of the sick building syndrome is of interest here. The author centers his research
on volatile organic compounds (VOC), which has been hypothesized to be a contributing
factor to the sick building syndrome. It is observed that the mass balance model is of great
focus in this paper. In addition, the author illustrates an alternative method to assess sources
of such pollutants. An evaluation of the emission rates conducted through the mass balance
model method is carried out as well. Using results from this evaluation, the author looks at
the sources of VOCs in 3 particular buildings and analyzes its relationship with different
aspects such as the building materials used, ventilation system and activities carried out
in the building. The research methodology such as analytical procedures and instruments
like gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer follows closely to the different specializations of
Chemistry. This paper will be useful for researchers interested in the chemical environment
in high-rise, in particular the indoor air quality. It is important to note that this study is con-
ducted in Singapore and certain results as well as findings are only applicable to Singapore,
or countries with tropical climate.