Diagrid Structures

A study on diagonal grid structures and its impact in Architecture.

 Aim
• Study the potential of diagrid structures for future constructions to
improve aesthetics and functionality of structures.
• Study the limitations and scope of employing diagrid structural
frames in buildings.
• Study the steps involved in constructing Diagrids.

Objective
• To find out the advantages of employing diagrid frame in structures.
• To understand the potential of diagrid structural frame in future of
skyscrapers.
• To conduct literature and live case studies and analyse the diagrid
application in each of them.
• To study the different possibilities of diagrid in architecture.
 Scope And Limitations
• Diagrid is used in large span and
high rise buildings, particularly
complex geometries and curved
shapes.
• The intense pressure on the
available land is a reason for opting
super-tall structures.
• The improvement in structural
stability and efficiency of high rise
buildings can be achieved through
diagrids.
• The design possibilities and
parameters for a diagrid system are
not explored .
• Proper structural analysis has to
be conducted and its a complex
process.
Methodology
Diagrids

Types of Diagrids Structural Details Case Studies

Based on material Nodes Literature

Steel Hearst Tower in

Frames
New York City
Concrete
Module Geometry
Wood 30 St.Mary
Foundation Axe,London,Uk
Based on use
Live
High Rise
Al Dar
Headquarters,Abu
Bridges
Dhabi,Uae
Sculptures.
Capital Gate, Abu
Dhabi,Uae
 Introduction
• Consists of diagonal members and
horizontal spanning beams that meet at
nodes
• A series of trusses with pin connections.
• Transfers both gravity and lateral loads
through the system without the need of vertical
columns.
• Able to resist both tension and
compression loads.
• Floor edge beams are usually tied to the
diagrid in order to complete triangulation.
• Handy for constructing buildings of complex
geometry and curving shapes.
• The diagrid was the brainchild of Russian
mathematician and engineer Vladimir
Shukhov who lived between 1853 and 1939.
• Usually a pile foundation is located at each
point on the ground where two sloped columns
meet at the grade level of the building.
History and Emergence
• Invented by Vladimir
Shukhov in the late 1800s.
• Contemporary formal
structural language for tall
buildings only started in
2000s

• Norman Foster started work

on two high-profile projects.
• same system, expressed in
the same pattern of triangular
external struts, gave each its
effect; promises a new kind of
structural stability in tall
buildings.
 Types of Diagrid
Based on Function.
High Rise Structures.
-Eliminates the use of interior
columns
-Allows the freedom to design
with open spaces.
Bridges
-Design of a diagrid system
takes on the characteristics of a
truss, commonly used to design
bridges.
-Can be built vertically with the
same strength allowing for fewer
intermediate supports.
Sculptures
-Can be designed to be open
and lightweight.
- Allows for wind loads to not
affect these designs as
significantly as others.
Based on Material.
Steel Diagrid
-Most common and popularly
used.
-Quickly erected and cost of
labor for the installation is low.
Timber Diagrid
- least used
-lesser material strength.
-Can be found in interior design,
ceilings and canopies.
Concrete Diagrid
-Precast and cast in-situ.
-Protects from fire damages.
- Adds more to the dead load.
 Parameters Of Diagrid Modules
Node
•Section connected to each other by the nodes.
•Designed for two types of loads, vertical load Module Dimensions
and horizontal shear.
•Joined to the other sections by welding or Height :depends on the number of
bolting floors stacked in one module of diagrid
Commonly 2 to 6.
Deflection And Diagrid Angle.
•Optimal angle is dependent of building height. Base of module:depends on the height
•Normal building is 90 degree and for the and the optimal angle of the diagrid.
diagonals for shear rigidity is 35 degree
•Optimal angle falls in between the both.
Usually 60 -70 degree.
•As the diagonal angle increases, the lateral
structural weight decreases.
•The optimum angle for a 60-story building
would around 72 degrees.
 Comparison between Conventional and Diagrid structure

• Big differences between shear forces and bending moments between those two systems.
• While we have constant values through all beams for both shear and bending moments in a
conventional building, in a diagrid building values are oscillating from beam to beam.
• From below values we can conclude that most stress is applied on exterior columns and less stress
is applied on interior columns in diagrid type of construction.
 Literature Case Study
Hearst Tower New York, USA
• The Hearst Tower in located in Midtown
Manhattan, New York City.
• The original six-story structure was built in
1928 and was meant to be the base of a
skyscraper expansion.
• The new addition is made up of 856,000 ft2
• Tower is 600 ft tall and incorporates two
underground levels.
• The Hearst Tower became the first LEED
Gold Skyscraper in New York City.
• Existing building cost $2 million
• Only the facade of the existing building was
saved
• One bay of the original steel frame was kept to
keep the limestone stable.
• Tower addition cost $500 million.
• triangulated steel frame was designed to use
21% less steel than traditional buildings of it's
type.
• 90% of the 10,480 tons of steel used is derived
from recycled material.
• Frame eliminates the need for 2,000t of steel
that a conventional frame would employ.
• The steel framework is visible both inside the
building and on the street.
• The Hearst Tower is designed to be 26% more
energy-efficient than a standard office
building.
• The diagrid system is inherently highly
redundant by providing a structural network
allowing multiple load paths. Earthquake
resistance is high.
• The office zone starts at from the 10th
floor to the top of the building
• Composite steel and concrete floors
with 40 ft interior column free spans.
• Three sides of the building face streets
and views .The service core zone was
placed asymmetrically toward the west
side of the tower as only side of the
building that is not open to the
surrounding streets.
• Heat conductive limestone paves the
atrium floor, covering polyethylene
tubing that circulates water year round
to help control the ambient temperature
of the building.
• Roof collects rainwater in a 14,000gal
basement reclamation tank, then
replaces water lost to evaporation in the
office air-conditioning system and feeds
into a pumping system to irrigate
plantings and trees inside and outside
of the building.
• The ‘Icefall,’ a two-storey waterfall that
chills the ten-storey atrium, drawing off
warm-season heat using rainwater from
the roof.
Soil sharp drops in elevation of bedrock varied up to 30 feet Spread footing used on half the building on top of
rock Caissons used on the other half and embedded into rock
 Analysis

• The building has achieved energy

efficiency through the frame - as the
material required was lesser.
• Also the glass facade helped
achieve abundant day lighting so the
energy saving during morning hours
were maximized.
• Around 2000t of steel was reduced
through the application of diagrid
frame.
• This helps establish the fact that its
a better solution for sthigh rise
structures.
 30 St Mary Axe, Swiss Re Headquarters
London UK
• Informally known as The Gherkin
• A commercial skyscraper in London
• It was completed in December 2003
and opened in April 2004.[
• With 41 floors, it is 180 metres (591 ft)
tall
• London’s first ecological tall building
• Recognisable addition to the city’s
skyline.
• This headquarters was designed for
Swiss Re.
• It provides 46,400 m2 net of office
space
• an arcade of shops and cafés accessed
from a newly created piazza.
• At the summit a club room that offers
360-degree panorama across the
capital.
• The total weight of steel used is
approximately 11,000 tones.
• The aerodynamic shape directs the
wind around the building
• improving pedestrian comfort at street
level and reducing lateral loads on the
structure.
• The tapering at the crown allows
sunlight to reach down
• Circular floor plans increase in
diameter up to the 17th floor and then
decreases to the 38th.
• One full diamond is four-stories tall.
•Form responds to the constraints of the
site: the building appears more slender
than a rectangular block of equivalent
size and the slimming of its profile
towards the base maximises the public
realm at street level.
• Light wells in between, maximize daylight penetration.
• The facade design with advance glazing technologies, ventilated cavities and blinds ,
provides up to 85% solar protection.
• Gas is the main fuel used hence it will only generate half the carbon emission.
• Overall energy serving is up to 50%.
• 750mm diameter concrete piles are driven into the soil.A total number of 333 piles
are used.Average length of piles is 27 m.Because of site restrictions and in order to
create a monolithic foundation, all piles and pile caps were poured in one day.
• The skin of the Gherkin is
double glazed and the space
created between the glazing is
part of the ventilation strategy
to enhance natural cooling
and maintain thermal comfort
inside the building. The tower
has six shafts that form into a
series of break-out spaces
spiraling up the building. The
shafts pull warm air out of the
building during the summer
and warm the building in the
winter using passive solar
heating
• Each floor is rotated five degrees
causing the six light wells to spiral
upward.
• Efficient use of natural ventilation
by pulling air upward and
releasing it at the crown.
• The light wells act as terraces and
encourage movement between
floors.
• Total of 360 nodes are present in
the structure.
 Live Case Study
Al Dar HQ Abu Dhabi UAE
Architects: MZ Architects
Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: ARUP
Silver LEED rating - Green Building Council ( USA )
Building comprising two circular convex shaped
facades linked by a narrow band of indented
glazing.

The circular building has a structural diagrid made

of steel. It is designated for commercial offices, and
it was completed in 2010. The building is 110
meters high and the extent by which the circle is
rooted in the ground follows the golden ratio.
A vortex is created on narrow edges of glass where
the wind spirals around itself. Strong suction force
occurs here
Hence to tackle this issue the glass here was made
thicker and frame was made stronger.
The curved shape of building was acting like a
sail.Hence, ‘Wind Tunnel’ tests were done on the
building to check the stability of the foundation.

Fully glazed structure is completely circular in

elevation and curved in all other directions.

Concept inspired by shell and the base

positioning and calculations done by the
golden ratio rule.
• 400 Concrete piles were driven • Two separate pieces of concrete
into the ground that works in 2 acted as backbone for the
ways. building. They transferred loads
• Half of these piles work on to the piles.
friction with ground to secure • These cores were heavily
structure to sand
reinforced with steel and were
• Other half piles are driven deep bound together closely. It was a
into the ground to transfer
heavy mesh design specified by
immense load of the building to
the engineers.
the ground.
• Raft slab was casted on the piles
to make the foundation more
strong.
• Triangular pieces were used as a module of
glass façade.
• They had an advantage of being able to pivot
on three sides to give desired curve.
• These triangular pieces had to withstand the
wind pressure.
• A glass factory was setup on site to
manufacture these special type of glass and
also to speed up the construction process as
it minimized the transportation time.
 Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi
Capital Gate Tower

• Designed by - RMJM
• Adjacent to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition
Centre within ADNEC’s Capital Centre.
• World's most leaning manmade structure.
• Designed to incline 18° west.
• 160 meters (520 ft) tall, 35 stories high
organic shaped tower.
• Multiuse building- Capital Gate houses the 5-
star Hyatt Capital Gate hotel as well as
approximately 20,000sqm of premium office
space.
• About 21,500t of steel is estimated to have
been used.
• The diagrid of the entire building is
approximately 8,500 structural steel beams.
• Each diagrid weighs about 15t and is divided
into 722 elements.
• innovative sun shade for tower itself, the splash also
provides a new treatment for the roof of the existing
Grandstand canopy in the adjoining Abu Dhabi National
Exhibition Centre Grandstand.
•Structure made of structural steel “I-beams” fixed to the main
building structure.
•The 16 lower floors with 15,000m2 is used for offices,
•The upper 16 levels house Abu Dhabi’s first Hyatt International
five-star hotel and occupy 25,000m2
•The 728 custom-made glass panels fit the curvature of the
building and form diamond shape.
•The glazing system, called Cardinal C240, is made of two
silver coatings which are transparent, increasing its light
transmission.

The Capital Gate floor plates are

stacked vertically up to the 12th
storey after they are staggered
over each other by between
300mm to 1400mm
•Constructed on a 2m-high concrete raft. The
raft in turn is positioned on 490 piles, drilled
30m underground to withstand wind, seismic
and gravitational forces caused because of its
inclination.
•The basement densely reinforced and
required a concrete pour of more than
6,000m³.
•The core, deliberately built slightly off
centre, (Pre Cambered) has straightened as
the building has risen, compressing the
concrete and giving it strength, and moving
into (vertical) position as the weight of the
floors has been added.
• The core contains 15,000 cubic
meters of concrete reinforced
with 10,000 metric tons of steel
• uses vertical post-tension and
was constructed with a vertical
pre-camber.
• This pre-camber means the core
was constructed with a slight
opposite lean.
• A composite floor system is
used, spanning from the main
core to internal and external
diagrids.
• Floor beams are connected to
the concrete core via embedment
plates already casted in the core
walls.
• The structure has two diagrid
systems i.e. an external diagrid
and an internal diagrid
• linked to the central core with
eight pin jointed structural
members.
• The diagrid within a diagrid
is used to create a central
atrium space 60m high for
the Capital Gate.
• This permits the floor system
to be spanned between the
diagrid tubes.
• Double-glazed façade greater energy efficiency
with waste air being pre-cooled between the inner
and outer façades, before being expelled.
• façade glass is of low emissivity and is the first
time it has been used in the UAE.
• It keeps the building’s interior cool and eliminates
glare, while maintaining transparency.
• The stainless steel „splash‟ is a shading device that
eliminates over 30 percent of the sun‟s heat
• thereby saving on the need for cooling within the
building.
• The external grid carries the weight of the floor
while the internal diagrid connects with the external
and transfers the load to the core,eliminating the
need for columns in the floor.
• A cantilevered tea lounge overhangs the tower’s
exterior, 80m above the ground. Provides a great
view of Abu Dhabi city from the hotel lobby floor.
 Inferences

• The foundations used at both projects varied due to site conditions.

• The Hearst already had a base structure. The foundations were later added when tower construction started.
• Each form was generated to address different concepts.
• Aerodynamic considerations drove the design concept of Swiss Re .
• Light wells in Swiss Re makes it more energy efficient and defines its external appearance.
 Inferences

• The foundations used at both projects considered the desert soil conditions hence used pile foundations,but in
Capital gate the inclination plays an important factor.
• It was crucial to change the lengths of the piles to provide more anchorage when the tower pulls the foundation
against the leaning side.
• Facades both contained triangular modules of glasses but in Al Dar building the convex surface gave rise to
complications.Also the top portion due to wind curling needed reinforcement.
 Inferences
Pros
•Behaves like a membrane, structurally and
aesthetically effective
•Eliminates vertical columns allowing diagonal
members to carry gravity loads as well as lateral forces
•Minimize shear deformation since structure carries
shear by axial action of the diagonal members
•Provides bending & shear rigidity
•Spans greater distances compared to traditional steel
structures
•Amount of steel used is reduced compared to
ordinary steel structures.
•Materials used for construction are lightweight but
provide high level of strength
•The structural system remains stable and distributes
static as well as dynamic loads due to the lateral
stiffness of the diagrid structures
•Since the structures are usually cladded with glass,
they maximize natural lighting.
 Inferences
Cons
• Designing the diagrid can be very complicated
due to the complex computer models and
construction methods
• It is difficult to predict the which approach will
regulate the global stiffness demand or
member strength demand due to the design
variables such as diagonal angle and bending
shear flexibility ratio
• The height limits for concrete diagrid and steel
diagrid are 60 and 100 stories respectively
• In case of a concrete diagrid, the vast form
work required to construct such a structure
raises the construction costs.
• In the case of steel diagrid, the prefabrication
of the complex design increases the costs.
 Comparitive analysis between -
A diagrid and A Conventional frame structure

DIAGRID FRAME STRUCTURE CONVENTIONAL FRAME STRUCTURE

• Triangulation increases stability

• The combination of gravity and lateral
load bearing systems provide potentially
more efficient structures.
• Provides alternate load path during the
event of collape (redundancy).
• Reduced use of structural material
resulting in environmental savings.
(about 1/5th reduction compared to
conventional)
• Reduced weight of superstructure.
• Ability to be adapted into a variety of
non rectilinear geometric forms.
• Columns are present and reduces
interior space.
• Top storey displacement is more in
conventional structure as compared to
the diagrid frame building.
• Less efficient than Diagrids in loaand
material efficiency.
• A better solution for lateral load resisting
system in terms of lateral displacements,
steel weight and stiffness. It is stiff
enough to resist wind forces upto higher
heights
 Conclusion
• The diagrid structural system has unique properties that are both modern and
economical.
• Although the role of a structural system is the same, carrying loads to the foundation
and beyond, the diagrid has components that make this role more efficient.
• Diagrid structures are more stable compare to conventional framed structures.
• In the future, diagrid system might be explore into more possibility shape and integrate
in both low and high building.
• Diagrid system will assists Architect's achieve design intention and engineer's
construction solution.
• More extensive study has to be conducted in this field of structures as they have a
potential for future cities and structural marvels.
• Current examples existing show more advantages both economically and aesthetically
than conventional steel framed structures

• The examples of Swiss Re Tower and Capital Gate Tower showed the unique design
possibilities that can be achieved through diagrid system.

• Considering the decrease in steel in construction and the energy efficiency achievable
through glass facade ,it is deemed as an ecological method for high rise buildings