High Rise Developments

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HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENTS.

THE IMPACT OF TALL BUILDINGSON URBAN DESIGN.

submitted by

CHUKWUJINDU K.ESRM School Of Architecture And Interior Design, chennai India.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..3

PURPOSE OF STUDY...4

CHAPTER ONE : HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

WHAT IS A TALL BUILDING...6CRITERIA FOR MEASURING HEIGHT8

THE URBAN DESIGN CONTEXT...11

CHAPTER TWO:THE DRIVING FORCE

THE FACTORS..13 CHAPER THREE: THE IMPACTS.17

CHAPTER FOUR : THE PROSPECTS..25

CONCLUSION.28

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INTRODUCTION

Recent trends in the building sphere, embraces high rise constructions as

a means of land conservation and landmark punctuation. its effects

have even been used as a means of expression of citys technological

and economic viability.

Whatever the case seems, it is always of considerable impact on the

overall city perspective ,and when it is properly handled, forms an

integral part of the picturesque view.

This paper reviews the influence such high rise developments have had

on cities around the world using a few cities as casestudy.

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Purpose Of The Study

The study aims at achieving the following;

To Explain the concept of high-rise buildings in the urban design context.

To understand the reason for the drive towards high rise buildings in developing

countries.

To highlight the IMPACT of these tall buildings on the urban development of a

city.

To highlight how this growing trend can be used to the merit of the entire citys

perspective.

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CHAPTER ONE

HIGHRISE BUILDINGS.

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1.1 What Is A Tall Building?

There is no absolute definition of what constitutes a tall building. It is a building that

exhibits some element of tallness in one or more of the following categories:

1.1.1 Height Relative To Context : It is not just about height, but about the context in

which it exists. Thus, whereas a 14-story building may not be considered a tall

building in a high-rise city such as Chicago or Hong Kong, in a provincial European

city or a suburb this may be distinctly taller than the urban norm.

FIG 01; blue building tall or not in varying contexts.

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1.1.2 Proportion : A tall building is not just about height but also about proportion.

There are numerous buildings which are not particularly high, but are slender enough to

give the appearance of a tall building, especially against low urban backgrounds.

Conversely, there are numerous big/large footprint buildings which are quite tall but their

size/floor area rules them out as being classed as a tall building.


1.1.3 Tall Building Technologies :

If a building contains technologies which may be attributed as being a product of tall

(e.g., specific vertical transport technologies, structural wind bracing as a product of

height, etc.), then this building can be classed as a tall building.


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1.20 CRITERIA FOR MEASURING HEIGHT.

1.2.1 Height to Architectural Top: Height is measured from the level of the lowest,

significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires,

but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This

measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and

Urban Habitat rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

The council for tall buildings and urban habitat(CTBUH) recognizes tall building height in three

categories:


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http://buildingdb.ctbuh.org/http://buildingdb.ctbuh.org/


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1.2.2 Highest Occupied Floor:

Height is measured from the level1 of the lowest, significant,2 open-air,3 pedestrian4

entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.


1.2.3 Height To Tip: Height is measured from the level1 of the lowest,

significant,2 open-air,3 pedestrian4 entrance to the highest occupied floor within the

building.


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1.30 Supertall Versus Mixed Use Buildings

The CTBUH defines supertall as a building over 300 meters (984 feet) in height. Although

great heights are now being achieved with built tall buildingsin excess of 800 meters

(2,600 feet)at the mid-point of 2011 there are only approximately 54 buildings in excess of

300 meters completed and occupied globally.

single-function tall building: is defined as one

where 85% or more of its total floor area isdedicated to a single usage.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more

functions (or uses), where each of the functions

occupy a significant proportion7of the towers

total space. Support areas such as car parks and

mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-

use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH

Tallest lists in descending order, e.g.,

hotel/office indicates hotel function above

office function.FIG 07; shows,building usage in percentges.

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THE URBAN DESIGN CONTEXT

A lot has been documented about reforming tall buildngs as

an architectural object, but very little about rethinking its urbanism;

The concious assemblage of towers towards a coherent urban

form, their positive role in street forming, their combination with

other building typologies to reshape the city in urbane and

contextually appropriate forms are issues that need adress.

How these tall buildings urbanism can be employed to foster a rich

urban development also needs to be highlighted.

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CHAPTER TWO

THE DRIVING FORCE.

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In recent years tall buildings have been emerging round the world especially in the

middles east and parts of Asia.

This is due to fluorishing economic conditions, increased governement supported

projects, oil wealth in the middle east, increasing cost of land, advances in building

technology, and the need for landmark or culturally significant buldings.

We shall consider each of these factors with an example of a city to drive home the

points.

2.1 THE FACTORS.

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2.1.1 Oil Wealth:

The revenue made from the oil boom in the middle east eg:

dubai,kuwait,Iran, have been responsible for this drive towards investments in high

risebuildings either for hotels,offices,residence or mixed use developments. The

attraction the oil creates also results in foreign investors trooping into such areas

which invariably results in economic viability of such areas.

2.1.2 Advances In Building Technology:In jeddah,Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has just announced plans to build the Kingdom

Tower, a more than 3,280-foot structure that will eclipse Dubais Burj Khalifa as the worlds tallest

building. By the time its completed in 2013, the towerwill feature a Four Seasons hotel,

apartments, Class A office space, luxury condominiums and the worlds highest observatory.

Beyond the towers impressive size is a design that features a host of smart technological

advancements such as For instance, the buildings tapered wings allow for an aerodynamic

shape that reduce structural loading due to wind vortex shedding. And a high-performance

exterior wall system minimizes energy consumption by reducing thermal loads.

Such ideas would not be conceived if there were no technology available to achieve them.

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http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/2625-feet-solar-power-supertower-to-rise-over-arizona-video/7954http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/-8216supertruck-big-rig-design-doubles-fuel-efficiency/7549http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/-8216supertruck-big-rig-design-doubles-fuel-efficiency/7549http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/-8216supertruck-big-rig-design-doubles-fuel-efficiency/7549http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/-8216supertruck-big-rig-design-doubles-fuel-efficiency/7549http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/2625-feet-solar-power-supertower-to-rise-over-arizona-video/7954


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2.1.3 Increase in cost of land:

Tall towers drive up land prices by their increased densities on small sites.

Toronto's new Official Plan downgraded traditional zoning, which controlled thevalue of land. Higher land costs now encourage the proliferation of more tall

towers. The end result is increased housing costs for Torontonians.

2.1.4 Need For Landmark Icons And Culture Preservation:

The Taj Mahal Building (India): The crowning jewel of India, the Taj Mahal is a testament toone mans love for his wife. It looks like a palace, but it was actually built as a tomb for the

Emperors favorite wife.

Empire State Building(new York): Once the tallest building in the world, no film or television

show set in New York is complete without including a shot of the grand Art Deco skyscraper.

The Burj Al Arab(UAE): In a city famous for its architecture, the Burj Al Arab defines the Dubaiskyline. The newest building on a long list of architecture built on a grand scale,

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http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-city-skylines.phphttp://www.toptenz.net/top-10-city-skylines.php


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2.1.5 Increase in urbanization:

The increase movement of people from the ruaral area to urban areas ,also

pushes developers and investors to embark on high rise developments in order to

cater the housing need of these people. An example of this is seen in some african

countries like Nigeria and in Asia eg India.

FIG 08; shows high-Rise apartment building;Sai grandeur apartments, India.

FIG 09; shows high-Rise apartment building;Hong Kong, photo: Jennifer Cheung/Corbis.

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CHAPTER THREE

THE IMPACTS.

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3.1.0 Do tall buildings have any impact on the urbanspace

A question, the answer of which remains on the mouths of many scholars

and observers as the upsurge of tall buildings around the world continue;

According to vinayak bharne,in his paper titled humanising high rise urbanism,

presented at the ctbuh convention 2011, from a global standpoint, the high rise city

remains a negotiated territory, a juggling act betwee private interests,political processes and public

good, but while private entities might be entitled to seek their advantage in the urban fabric, the

shape of the city should eventually be a collective decision.

One realizes that in the long run, the citys survival(aesthetic and

functional),is largely affected by the building typologies it generates over the

years.

Thus in this chapter we shall highlight the influence of high rise buildings on this so

called urban fabric.

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3.2.0 What are the impacts?

3.2.1 They Act As Signifiers,urban Hubs And Beacons:

kevin lynch in his book titled the image of a city, explains that a citywould be

perceived by the dwellers in five ways; the pathways, the edges,the nodes, the

landmarks, and the districts. If this idea were anything to go by,we would see how

the tall buildings of today have relieved the ancient edificees as the landmarks of

cities and in their stead assumed same status.

An example is in china,which has become an economic power house n the

last five(5) years, and home to many high rise developments, the shenzhen

development area looks towards shagzhou and beijing via a new railway which is

expected to shape the citys design. This led to the linear development along the

shennan road where Several towers have been erected and more are underway.

One of such is the kingkey tower designed by TFP which was the tallest in shenzhen

upon its completion in 2010.

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The intent of such development

was to conote the wealth of

shenzhen as well as to highlight the

shennan road as a business hub of

the city.

The building is a landmark building

in china to this day.

FIG 10; shows kingkey financial tower,shenzhen,china.

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3.2.2 They Define A Citys Skyline And Roofscape:

The term city skyline refers to a profile of buildings that forms the cityscape in daytime and

the silhouette at night (Lim and Heath 1993). It comprises a group of tall buildings against the

undulating backdrop of mountains enwrapping in a natural

setting. City skyline registers unique characteristics of a citys landscape shaped by planning

controls, topographical conditions, commercial considerations, building design parameters,

and environmental concerns.

The cities of New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Shanghai, and Toronto are among major

metropolitan cities in the world with uniquely identifiable skylines.

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3.2.3 They Constitute Visual Obstruction:

The perception of the city dwellers about the physical form of the city, their

collective mental image of the city formed by many works of architectureseen together along with the roads, open spaces, trees etc. constitutes the

vocabulary of urban form.

As Kevin Lynch, in his book titled The Image of the City contends that there

are five basic elements that people use to construct their mental image ofthe cityPathways, Districts, Edges, Landmarks and Nodes.

Upon this basic framework hangs a tapestry of embellishing characteristics

such as landform, scenic capacity, climate, aspects of the urban form such

as shape, size, density, pattern, grain, texture, urban spaces, open spaces

etc.

It is a fact that the upsurge of high rise developments,clustered around

central business districts, provides very little opportunity for the passer by to

appreciate the city in these ways.

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FIG 11; shows two IFC Building in Tsim Sha Tsuin East,china.

It is a fact that the upsurge of

high rise developments,clustered

around central business districts,

provides very little opportunity for

the passer by to appreciate the

city in these ways.

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3.2.4 ENVROMENTAL NEGLECT: The huge dependence on technological

means for the fuctioning of high rise buildings also poses an environmental threat as

more energy is utillised an d more environmental unfriendly proceedures come into

play.

Also the obvious height competition which ensues in such cities as

beijing,shanghai,dubai,chicago ,newyork etc. results largely in the neglect of the

immediate ambient environment. This leaves such cities without open spaces tocater for the public needs,because all attention and interest has been focused on

the height and posture of the emerging buildings without making reasonable plans

for the environment that holds them.

The impacts of tall buildings discussed above, are not exhaustive but are the

core of any other social,political,economical and environmental results.

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CHAPTER FOUR

THE PROSPECTS.

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4.1.0 HOW CAN WE MAKE TALL BUILDING WORK FOR US

4.1.1 SPECIFY GUIDELINES TO REGULATE HIGHRISE URBANISM : The collectivearrangement of high rise buildings towards something bigger and more identifiable

than their individual selves is equally important along side its contribution to the

urban skyline. High rise buildings can be composed to create conscious urban

spaces.

Stuart cohen in his analysis of chicagos

michigan avenue notes how four independently

designed skyscrapers have formed a specific

figural urban space. This explains that

consciously organising the erection and position

of high rise buildings would turn them into

invaluable elements of urban space definiton.

FIG 11; shows the four sky scrapers on michigan avenue,chicago.

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4.1.2 BALANCE EMPHASIS ON HEIGHT WITH ENVIRONNMENT.

Similarly, regulations should be enacted stipulating codes which would

encourage environment friendly developments a well as urban skyline highlighting. This

can be seen in form based codes which are being adopted in the U.S,as alternatives to

conventional zoning.

These graphic regulations visualize the inter-related physical characteristics of streets,

buildings and open spaces.

The areas highligted in such regulations are ; urban corridors, neighborhoods of various

densities, block by block, street by street or lot by lot regulations on building placement,

parking placement, and building profile.

This would go to ensure a predictable urban form with an open end architecturalcharacter.

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4.1.3 INTEGRATE HIGH DENSITY AND MASS TRANSIT.

Accoding to vinayak bharne, Manhattan, Chicago and Shinjihhu, work today

because of their interdependence with an efficient and widely distributed

transit system. This helps balance street capacity and reduces transit volume

preventing traffic jams.

Therefore the specific location of high rise buildings and the synergic relationship

with existing or proposed,mass transit,is critical to the success of high rise places.

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CONCLUSION.

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When one thinks of a city, the first thing that comes to mind is perhaps the citys skyline,

important cities have always had symbolic skylines made up of palaces and ancient city

halls. But all that changed with the end of the 20th century.

The 21st century has seen many tall buildings pierce its skylines from various cities around the

world. some of these cities were examined in this study, such as the burj al Arab building in

Dubai, the two IFC building in China, the kingkey finance building ,china; the empire state

building, Newyork. Etc.

High-rise buildings find applications for various uses, ranging from office, to apartments to

commercial like hotels and often mixed use spaces are provided. The height competition

noticed in some developing cities such as shanghai, shows that there is a drive towards use

of tall buildings as landmarks and signifiers of city wealth and achievements.

However this should not be over emphasized to the detriment of environment and

urban space.

In order to achieve this appropriate regulation schemes should be pre-developed for cities

before these tall buildings emerge and they must be forced to adhere to those guidelines in

order to maintain a well defined urban form.

Documents

High Rise Developments