DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES /// A WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF PUBLICATION
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DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES /// A WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF PUBLICATION
WELCOME
WE ARE IN A
E
ngineering is not just about
science and technology, but
CONTENTS
04 THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL
Skyscrapers are being completed at a rate of nearly
16
350 a year. What can we expect from this new
high-rise generation?
THE SKY AND OTHER LIMITS
The many challenges of planning skyscraper cities
GLOBAL AGE experience. We have been
designing iconic, efficient tall buildings for
OF TALL AND more than 50 years, and it’s that
26 FAR WEST SIDE STORY
How a Manhattan railyard became the US’s biggest
SUPER-TALL experience that makes us unique. Around
ever real-estate development
the world, we are combining the latest
BUILDINGS. IT’S tools and technologies with an in-depth 32 AN ICON FROM EVERY ANGLE
understanding of how tall buildings behave
IMPORTANT TO to create the next generation of towers.
One World Trade Center has rewritten the rulebook on
tall building design
CONSIDER ALL OF In this magazine, we discuss many of
THE IMPLICATIONS the engineering and architecture
challenges, but also speak to architects,
planners, developers and clients for a more
complete overview of the requirements
Ahmad Rahimian
Ahmad Rahimian
42 THE RISING CONTINENT
The Asian-inspired skyscrapers transforming
Australia’s skylines
Director of Building Structures, USA
and economics of tall buildings and what 48 THE VERTICAL SOCIETY
they will mean for cities. Preparing for a future of living, working and playing
Many of these discussions took place in at great height
the WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff host room
at the 2015 Council for Tall Buildings and 56 RETURN TO SLENDER
Urban Habitats conference in New York. Structural gymnastics meets Art Deco grace in
We would like to thank everyone who Manhattan
spoke during the event, and the many
attendees who came to join us over the 64 SECRETS OF THE MEGA-TALL
two days. We have tried to distill the best China is leading the way on 500m-plus towers –
of the content here – we hope you will find and the hidden systems that make them work
it interesting.
Kamran Moazami
Kamran Moazami
Head of Building Structures, UK
Editor: Julie Guppy, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff
Copy: Wordmule
Inhouse photography: Nicola Evans, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff
Design and production: Supreme Creative Ltd
AS MORE AND MORE OF THE
RENAISSANCE
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL ///
WORLD’S POPULATIONS MOVE “WE ARE LIVING AT THE CROSSROADS OF
TO CITIES, THOSE CITIES ARE TWO SIGNIFICANT TRENDS: URBANISATION
EXPANDING EVER SKYWARDS.
BUT THIS GENERATION OF
AND CLIMATE CHANGE. CITIES ARE
TOWERS WILL BE NOTHING RESPONDING BY REACHING FOR THE SKY.”
LIKE THE LAST. WE EXPLORE DAVID COOPER, WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
FIVE OF THE KEY TRENDS
This high-rise boom is intimately
related to urbanisation. In 2014, more
than half of the world’s population lived in
urban areas, but by 2050, this is predicted
to rise to two-thirds, with 2.5 billion
new city dwellers – the equivalent of
constructing five cities the size of Beijing
every year until then. And with this growth
comes an increasing share of the global
economy: according to analyst McKinsey,
60% of global GDP is generated by the
top 600 cities.
“We are living at the crossroads of two
significant trends: urbanisation and climate
change,” says David Cooper, president of
buildings at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff.
OF TALL
“Cities are responding by reaching for the
sky, as a more sustainable forward path
than continuing horizontal expansion.”
With so many new urban dwellers
needing space to live and work, cities can
either grow outwards or upwards, and
they will inevitably have to do both. The
advantage of vertical expansion is that
it minimises the distances and travelling
times between homes, jobs and essential The current boom is not just producing
amenities, and maximises the value of taller versions of 20th-century towers, but
prime central sites. breaks with the past in several important
ways. A striking difference is where
But that’s not the whole story. Tall these new towers will be located. While
buildings also exert a powerful emotional urbanisation is a global trend, 90% of new
force that familiarity seems to do little to urban dwellers will be living in Africa and
diminish. Their sheer size in relation to the Asia and more than a third in just three
human scale and the views they afford countries: China, India and Nigeria. Since
from the top continue to inspire a sense 2000, China has built 43% of all the world’s
of awe and wonder. They are a show of
THE
new towers. On the other hand, India and
strength, demonstrating mastery of the Nigeria have barely started.
elements, wealth and power. Expanding
cities build landmarks to signal their Then there’s the kind of towers being
ambition and communicate their arrival built. Before 2000, two-thirds were
on the world stage. Established cities build purely commercial. Since the turn of the
he next golden age of millennium, just under half have been
T skyscrapers is upon us. 2015
them not to be outdone.
The symbolic role of high-rise buildings
apartments or hotels, and a further 19%
was a record-breaking year mixed-use. Iconic architecture, high-
for high-rise completions, with 338 new was demonstrated in the hours after the quality construction, pioneering structural
buildings over 150m, but this will quickly terrorist attacks on Paris in November systems and state-of-the-art mechanical
be beaten by the 342 expected in 2016. 2015. As the lights of the Eiffel Tower were and electrical services are revolutionising
The race is on to build high, with a frenzy extinguished in mourning for the dead, the concept of high-rise living. From
equalling that of northern American cities world cities lit up their own landmarks with our homes to the public services we
in the 1920s. Except that, this time, it’s on the colours of the Tricolore. The Auckland use, to where we spend our leisure time,
a global scale. Between 1924 and 1934, Sky Tower, One World Trade Center in life is shifting from a predominantly
49 buildings over 150m in height were New York, the Oriental Pearl Tower in horizontal plane to a much more vertical
completed, all in the US. Between 2006 Shanghai and Calgary Tower in Canada one. Over the following pages, we look
and 2016, there will be a total of 2296, with were among those glowing blue, white at the features that will define the next
new towers on every continent. and red. generation of high-rise buildings.
04 05
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL ///
“MILLENNIALS INCREASINGLY WANT
A DENSE URBAN QUARTER WITH A REAL
MIX OF USES – AREAS THAT ARE BUZZING
AND ACTIVE AT ALL TIMES”
ANDREW CANTOR, RELATED
A city’s skyline is its signature. But it’s This blurring won’t just be a lifestyle
what happens at street level that defines choice, it will be a necessity, he adds.
its soul. Previous generations of towers “As space becomes more and more
were predominantly places to work. They precious, shared amenities that have a
were hives of activity by day, and dark and higher utilisation will be more important,
silent by night, set in downtown areas that compared to lots of individual amenity
became ghost towns after working hours spaces or private spaces. Strategies
and at weekends. The new tower is a far that increase the utilisation of space
more sociable place, buzzing well into the will be important, whether that’s shared
night, if not 24/7. It plays a more active atrium spaces, hotel lobbies that serve as
role in the local community, and perhaps restaurants or office lobbies that serve as
even functions as a community itself. meeting areas.”
High-rise buildings are increasingly Older towers provided little at ground
combining a mix of different kinds level beyond hostile, high-security
of space, at least some of it publicly entrances and high winds. Today,
accessible. The taller a building is, the more planners are demanding much more,
likely this is. According to the database of and developers are increasingly aware
the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban of the value of a high-quality experience
Habitats, 17% of buildings over 150m are at ground level. Even pure commercial
mixed-use. But this rises to nearly half of all towers are likely to include some food
super-tall towers over 300m, and three- and beverage or retail space at their base.
quarters over 500m. Or they may be just one component of a
Mixed-use makes sense for economic more varied development, as at Hudson
reasons – there’s a lot of space to fill in a Yards, linked by a shared plaza or publicly
mega-tall tower and selling residential units accessible podium.
can help to finance the rentable elements “In our rekindled love affair with
– and also practical ones, because higher skyscrapers and the city, we need to
floorplates tend to be smaller and so less think about the spaces and communities
suited to commercial use. we’re creating at ground level,” says
But it also makes sense because life in Ken McBryde, principal at HASSELL
24-HOUR
cities is changing. The new generation in Sydney. “The skyline of a city is
TOWERS
of workers are returning to urban areas, predominantly an abstract thing – it exists
rejecting suburban lifestyles in favour in the digital or photographic realm but
of vibrant neighbourhoods with a range you never actually experience it unless
of amenities. Millennials already make you’re in a helicopter. We need to address
up half of the US workforce, points out the challenge of creating meaningful
Andrew Cantor, vice president at Related, and memorable public domain, as
co-developer of the Hudson Yards that’s what will determine whether the
regeneration scheme in New York. “By building becomes an important social and
the time that it’s complete, they’ll make commercial asset to the city.”
AS CITY LIFE CHANGES, TALL up 75%. They’re looking for a mixed-
BUILDINGS CAN’T JUST BE PLACES use experience in their neighbourhood.
Millennials increasingly want a dense urban
TO WORK. THEY NEED TO BE PART quarter with a real mix of uses – areas that
are buzzing and active at all times, and
OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD where the lines between your office, your
hotel, your restaurant or your residence
are blurring.”
06 07
China Zun Tower, Beijing A high-rise building not only changes The ability to respond to fast-changing One of the most significant challenges
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL //
Image courtesy of KPF
the skyline today, it also forms part of the workplace trends is also key to maintaining that all buildings will face in the relatively
legacy that we leave to future generations. the longer-term value of a building. near future is the impact of climate
Conventional real estate wisdom gives a Technology is already removing the change – a moving target as the century
commercial building a lifespan of around need for large support spaces, points out progresses. How will buildings and their
30 years. But the sheer scale of high-rise Andrew Cantor, vice president at New surroundings be affected by much heavier
structures and the quantity of materials York developer Related. “There will be rainfall or more frequent droughts, what
and energy that go into them means they no need for large file rooms or storage toll will more frequent extreme events
will be around for much, much longer, rooms as there has been in the past, and take on structures and façades, and how
with lifespans measured not in decades even servers have diminished in size or to maintain comfortable conditions
but in generations. been moved off site into the cloud. So the for building occupants when average
amount of space each person needs to temperatures could be much higher
Super-tall and super-slender buildings
work is smaller and there’ll be more people than today? “The challenges that climate
need to be extremely strong. Elements
on each floor, putting pressure on elevators change will pose need to be considered in
such as cladding or mechanical and
and washrooms.” every building, but particularly those that
electrical systems may be upgraded, but
The challenge is not just to size building will be around for a long time,” says David
their immense structures are effectively
systems for potentially greater loads but to Symons, director of Environment & Energy
permanent features of the urban
keep structural elements as unobtrusive as at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in the UK.
landscape. In this way, today’s state-of-
possible, with no columns on the floorplates “In 50 years, peak summer temperatures
the-art towers have more in common with
and floor-to-ceiling windows so that spaces in London are forecast to be 6.5°C higher
medieval cathedrals than with their low-rise
can be reconfigured any way a tenant than they are today. By 2100, they could be
contemporaries. “In the history of the
wants. The same goes for residential towers around 10.5°C higher. Our research shows
world, only four buildings taller than 150m
– internal columns interrupt views and limit that today’s building design codes are
have ever been demolished,” says Bill Price,
buyers’ options. wholly inadequate to address these future
director at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in
temperatures. Over 80% of Londoners
London. “For a large building in an urban The economic challenges of mega-tall
already claim their flats are too hot in
setting, studies show that it will cost more towers mean that they may sometimes
summer, with newer homes having
more of a problem.”
To address hotter temperatures,
mechanical and electrical engineers
“IN 50 YEARS, PEAK SUMMER TEMPERATURES could just design larger cooling
systems. “But that will create massive
IN LONDON ARE PREDICTED TO BE 6.5°C extra energy demand – for cities
and for building owners. That’s
challenging when energy prices are
HIGHER THAN THEY ARE TODAY. BY 2100, forecast to be about 30% higher in
the UK by 2030. So energy bills will
THEY COULD BE AROUND 10.5°C HIGHER” be much higher too.” The alternative
is to use emerging techniques
DAVID SYMONS, WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF that use fresh air from outside and
the thermal mass of buildings to
maintain comfortable temperatures.
“That becomes even more of an
and take longer to take it down than it did undergo drastic changes of use even when option in a future world which is anticipated
to put it up. That means that when we’re the design is well advanced – keeping to be purely electric. By 2050, some cities
designing and constructing a tall building, building systems engineers on their toes. will be all electric for heating, for power,
we need to remember that it’s essentially Now under construction, 528m China for travel. At a stroke, that transforms
going to be there forever.” Zun Tower in Beijing was originally air quality and reduces noise levels.” In
planned as a mixed-use development temperate climates today, windows remain
Price suggests that designers should
providing 380,000m2 of offices, hotel shut against the noise and pollution of city
think more carefully about how a building
FUTURE
accommodation and serviced apartments. streets, and because buildings are designed
might eventually be demolished from
The biggest challenge for the services to rely on air conditioning systems. “But
the start. But more immediately, they
READY
engineers was always reconciling the unique why would you do that into the future? You
need to make sure towers can adapt to
form of the building – flared at the base could imagine a world in which there’s no
change, and consider a range of interlinked
and the top – with the demand for services reason not to open the windows.”
technological, social and environmental
factors that will impact on the built and vertical transportation created by its Driverless cars promise to change
environment. mix of uses. Then the decision was taken to patterns of land use in cities too: “At the
STRUCTURES AND SERVICES OF There are good commercial reasons
convert the whole building to commercial moment, quite large amounts of valuable
space. “This dramatically increased vertical space are given over to car parking,” says
SUPER-TALL BUILDINGS MUST BE for designing flexible spaces too. Office
transportation requirements, but the Symons. “In the future, at the very least
buildings need to be able to accommodate
ABLE TO ADAPT TO CHANGING different occupier groups to make them as
construction was already fixed, so it wasn’t
possible to make any changes to the
you could have much tighter parking
spaces because the cars park themselves.
USES, AND A CHANGING PLANET lettable as possible. Because corporates
are increasingly seeking more locations
available space in the core,” says Vincent At best, you don’t have car parking at all
Tse, managing director of building systems in the building – if you do drive yourself
that offer more diverse experience for
for WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in China. to your tall building, the car then goes
their workers, they need to attract novelty-
“Our solution was to add more sky lobbies, off and parks itself on some cheap land
seeking millennials and to spur cross-
so there are now three double-decks somewhere else and comes to you
disciplinary thinking and innovation.
spaced throughout the building.” when you need it.”
08 09
school and public space
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL ///
and no fewer than 16
skyscrapers.
“When you provide
mass transit access to a
neighbourhood, it spurs
“I THINK THERE ARE SOME VERY BRIGHT DAYS tremendous development
opportunities,” says
IN FRONT OF US IN TERMS OF HOW CITIES ARE Kelly. “The absence of
access really limited
BEING PLANNED AND DEVELOPED, ACROSS that neighbourhood for
a very long time. After
THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD” the decision was made
to extend the subway,
development naturally
GREG KELLY, PRESIDENT & CEO, WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
followed.” WSP | Parsons
Brinckerhoff is also
involved in similar railyard
projects elsewhere, such
as the 22-acre Atlantic
Yards site in Brooklyn, now
Traffic congestion and pollution were In many places, towers are being renamed Pacific Park, and
almost defining characteristics of the deliberately sited on top of or next another project in Boston.
20th-century city. Urbanisation has been to existing transport hubs, he notes, For best results, the interfaces between
traditionally accompanied by an increase while investment in new infrastructure infrastructure and buildings are considered
in car travel, choking roads and bringing is creating opportunities for high-rise at the earliest possible stage, says Kelly.
movement to a near halt for significant development. London’s Shard is right next “That’s vitally important. Obviously you
portions of the day. The most valuable to a major interchange for overground don’t want to preclude future options to
development sites were ones that could and underground trains and buses, while maximise the overbuild that could occur
be easily reached by car from the suburbs San Francisco’s future tallest building, the over a subway station, but it’s also about
and had ample room for parking. 326m Salesforce Tower, will be part of the creating successful communities. You
As more and more people move to new Transbay Transit Center complex. This have to look at the pedestrian flows, how
cities, the challenge of mobility is only includes more than 6 million ft2 of office the traffic interacts with the pedestrians
becoming more acute. UN HABITAT space, 4,400 homes, a hotel and retail and how that knits together with the
estimates that by 2050, city dwellers space, as well as a 5.4-acre rooftop park. high-rise development. The sooner you
could travel three or four times as many Developers are also looking afresh can bring those two together, the more
passenger-kilometres as in the year at previously unappealing sites close to efficiently you will be able to incorporate
2000, and that freight movement could transport hubs. Areas that were once both parts of the development and the
rise more than threefold over the same blighted by their proximity to rail lines or better the outcome will be. With little or no
period. Without investment in sustainable left as underused expanses of industrial additional cost you can enhance what that
alternatives to cars, the places where three- space are now prime opportunities for neighbourhood looks like.”
CONNECTED
quarters of the world’s population live, work high-rise development. They are able The integration of transport and high-
and play will simply be unable to function. to support sustainable high-density density development is good news not
“Higher-density cities won’t work development, and the potential returns only for those components but for the
without investment in transport,” says Peter from building tall mean that overcoming success of cities themselves, believes Kelly.
Weingarten, principal at Gensler. “As the the challenges of such sites becomes an “I think the industry is getting very smart
world is getting flatter and there’s a war economically viable proposition. at how we plan cities. It goes beyond the
for talent, people will migrate like they’ve “These transport nodes do present transit infrastructure. We’re looking also at
never migrated before. Cities that don’t technical challenges, because you have how we plan the environment, at how we
have good infrastructure will lose out to to keep a railroad running while you’re power cities, I think there are some very
places that do.” building around it,” says Kelly. “That takes bright days in front of us in terms of how
One of the major themes of 21st-century time and may involve additional cost, but cities are being planned and developed,
urbanisation will be investment in systems by being in that location, there’s a greater across the US and around the world.”
such as metros, light rail and bus rapid long-term value that’s created. People may
transit, as city planners search for more have been a little bit reluctant in the past,
sustainable ways to support growth. The but I think they now truly see the value of
population of a super or mega-tall tower it and they’re moving forwards with these
THE DENSE FABRIC OF 21st-CENTURY can easily rival that of a small city in itself, so types of project.”
it needs to be integrated closely into these This is the story of the US’s largest
CITIES MEANS THAT TOWERS NEED TO networks. “Mass transit links are critical to ever real estate project, now underway at
BE CLOSELY INTEGRATED INTO PUBLIC successful high-rise development,” says
Greg Kelly, president and CEO of WSP |
Hudson Yards in New York. The extension
of the subway to the western edge of
TRANSPORT NETWORKS Parsons Brinckerhoff in the US, Central & Manhattan has suddenly opened up the
South America.. development potential of a neglected
industrial site. Over the next ten years,
it is set to become a 28-acre mixed use
development of office, residential, retail,
10 11
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL ///
The Shard, London Halvorson says this has partly been Many more towers also combine a mix
driven by advances in building core of uses, which is giving rise to innovative
construction, specifically mechanisation hybrid structures. London’s Shard, for
which reduced the amount of labour example, features a highly unusual
involved and made concrete or composite combination of both steel and concrete
structures more economical than pure floors around a concrete core. The first 40
steel. “But an even more important driver storeys are offices, supported by steelwork
is that architects, owners and occupiers spanning from the core with steel columns.
The typical 20th-century skyscraper was wanted more glass and more windows As the floorplates shrink, the use switches
most likely to be an office, and probably without those big structural obstructions to hotel and luxury apartments and the
built out of steel. It’s much harder to on the perimeter.” A concrete core frame to post-tensioned concrete, before
characterise the 21st-century model. provides a strong but discreet backbone reverting to steel for the spire. Using
Encompassing a diverse range of uses for the building, while protecting essential concrete for the middle section enabled
and a multitude of unusual shapes, every services and means of egress and the addition of two extra storeys within the
one of today’s towers is a prototype, concealing key structural elements such as overall height.
demanding constant innovation. outriggers on plant floors.
Structures need to perform better than In New York’s new super-slender
ever before, but also be less obtrusive. Halvorson thinks hybrid structures will residences, high-strength concrete cores
The structural engineering of skyscrapers continue to evolve, as engineers keep and frames maximise strength without
was a source of pride and wonder in up with the computer-aided ingenuity restricting internal layouts or blocking
the early 20th century, proudly flaunted of an ever more ambitious architectural views. But for the most extreme aspect
on steel column façades. Now the profession. “If you look back to the 1980s or ratios, strength alone is not enough.
engineer’s greatest feat is to keep well earlier, buildings were rectangular and they Engineers cannot keep adding structure
out of sight, creating super-strong were largely prismatic – they were constant indefinitely – they have to think laterally.
structures that betray no trace of the from top to bottom or they had a constant A key innovation of recent years is the
massive forces at play. slope or regular setbacks. Geometries were use of dampers, which function in a similar
very simple. Now we’re trying to develop way to the shock absorbers on a car to
This requirement for hidden strength structural concepts for buildings that taper
has contributed to a radical shift in what help buildings perform better under wind
and slope, that have 3D curved or irregular and seismic events. “We used to design
towers are constructed from, says Bob surfaces, or large openings through them.
Halvorson, executive vice president structures that were basically passive,” says
The biggest challenge we have is adapting Halvorson. “Today there are a lot more
at Halvorson and Partners. In 1984, structural tools to more creative, taller and
Halvorson wrote a paper on the structural options open to the engineer for ‘active’
thinner architecture.” buildings with dynamic elements that
solutions most commonly used for tall
buildings. “If you looked at all the tall Another major factor in the shift modify their behaviour in positive ways.”
buildings up to that point, particularly from steel to concrete is the increasing As towers get taller and thinner, the
office buildings, they were structural steel. proportion of towers designed wholly or biggest challenge for the engineer is
They’d have either diagonal bracing or partly for residential use. Concrete is the not making them sufficiently strong and
closely spaced columns and a moment natural choice for apartment buildings, resilient, but cost-effective, says Silvian
frame round the perimeter, and that because it offers better acoustic and Marcus, director of building structures,
seemed to be the way of the future.” But fire separation between apartments and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in New York:
when he repeated the exercise 20 years enables shorter floor-to-floor heights “Any engineer can design a structure that
STRUCTURES
later, the world had completely changed. so developers can fit more storeys will stand. The brilliant part is to do it in an
“The tallest buildings were either concrete within a constrained building envelope. efficient way.”
or of composite construction using both “Apartments are always going to be
steel and concrete, and the structural concrete-framed,” says Mark Hennessy,
systems had almost universally switched director of structures at WSP | Parsons
from the perimeter of the building to Brinckerhoff in Melbourne. “Floor-to-floor
structures hidden in the core.” heights can be pretty lean and mean,
whereas steel just doesn’t work from that
point of view.”
HYBRID
“NOW WE’RE TRYING TO DEVELOP
TODAY’S SKYSCRAPERS NEED TO BE STRONGER THAN STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS FOR BUILDINGS
EVER BEFORE – AND WHILE THEIR ARCHITECTURE IS THAT TAPER AND SLOPE, THAT HAVE 3D
INCREASINGLY STRIKING, THE STRUCTURES CURVED SURFACES, OR LARGE OPENINGS
THEMSELVES MUST BE CLOSE TO INVISIBLE
IN AND THROUGH THEM”
BOB HALVORSON, HALVORSON AND PARTNERS
12 13
Salesforce Tower, San Francisco
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE RENAISSANCE OF TALL ///
Image courtesy of Hines In tomorrow’s denser cities, people will There is also a powerful business Maximising fresh air in office spaces
spend a much greater proportion of case for better environments that can also requires a different approach to the
their lives in tall buildings. But having a boost workers’ productivity – staff costs façade – as a permeable skin rather than
connection to the outside will be more can account for as much as 90% of a an impenetrable barrier. Simply opening
important than ever. Traditional office company’s outgoings, so even a small the windows is not an effective ventilation
towers are sealed against the elements improvement can make a big difference. strategy for buildings with deep floorplates,
and use building systems to create a Studies have found that office workers says Nick Offer, director at WSP | Parsons
comfortable environment, but the next with a window seat sleep an average Brinckerhoff in London – the air current
generation will be far more permeable, of 46 minutes longer per night and will either be too strong by the windows or
a trend driven by both employers and that doubling the supply of outdoor too weak further in. “What we need is an
workers themselves. air to an office reduces short-term sick equivalent to openable windows, without
“One of the most important things we leave by 35%. In 2014, the World Green actually opening them. We need to link the
can do as buildings get taller and higher Building Council brought a growing building to the façade, floor by floor. Then
and further from the ground is let the body of evidence together in a landmark we can channel air in through the façade,
occupants keep in touch with the outside, publication called ‘Health, Wellbeing & into rooms on each floor, and then push
so they can understand what time of day Productivity in Offices, the next chapter that fresh air through the floors or ceilings
it is and what’s it like before going out, for green building’, which received to service the space.”
says Ken McBryde, principal at HASSELL enthusiastic backing from industry clients The Salesforce Tower in San Francisco
in Sydney. “That’s a real challenge in tall including Tishman Speyer, British Land and will be ventilated with outdoor air for
buildings, because if you can’t open the Grosvenor. 80% of the time, supplied from under
windows, you really lose touch with the There’s even a new certification, the the floor. It has been pre-certified LEED
environment.” WELL Building Standard, which focuses Platinum, making it one of the world’s most
Quality of life has taken on much exclusively on human health and wellbeing. sustainable tall buildings. In temperate
greater importance among the millennial In March 2015, the developers of 425 Park climates, using outside air also reduces
generation – and as they spend so much Avenue committed to build New York’s the energy that a tower consumes, which
time in the office, that means quality first WELL-certified office tower. Cooper will make it an increasingly appealing
of the working environment. “It’s becoming says that clients have begun to ask strategy as energy costs rise in the future
about much more than temperature,” about the standard, and a couple have and targets on carbon emissions become
says David Cooper, president of the requested that their buildings comply, tougher. In most parts of the world, it is
US buildings division at WSP | Parsons but it’s still some way from achieving possible to completely ventilate a building
Brinckerhoff. “It’s about total environmental widespread adoption. using external air for 70-80% of the year,
comfort – access to natural light, glare In a tall building with a huge population, says Offer. “There is a great future in
control, air motion and humidity, the creating a healthy environment starts thinking differently about how we design
freshness and quality of the air. This is with the building envelope. “The envelope true low-energy buildings.”
absolutely, increasingly important to a is the critical juncture for thermal Introducing higher levels of fresh air
successful occupancy.” performance, access to daylight and views, makes denser working environments
glare control, and all of those things really possible – typical occupation densities
affect comfort,” says Cooper. “There have fallen from 10m2 per person to 8m2.
are many opportunities, depending on “Because of changes in screen and lighting
the climate – dynamic façades, operable technology, we are able to squash up
façades, triple-wall façades, dynamic and and people accept it because they like
static shading. That’s where engineering collaborating and working together,” says
and architecture meet.” Offer. “But they also need access to other
PERMEABLE
types of great space, so they can break
away from their desks and meet other
people or find a quiet place to work. It’s
about the building giving something back
other than office space.” Green spaces
make vertical cities much more pleasant
places to be, just as they do horizontal
ones: Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest
SPACES
building at 632m and one of its greenest,
has winter gardens at the edge of every
floor, open spaces with trees and planters.
“IT’S ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN From a developer’s point of view, this is a
significant space sacrifice, which is why the
most advanced buildings are typically one-
AS PEOPLE SPEND MORE TIME FURTHER FROM TEMPERATURE. IT’S ABOUT ACCESS TO off landmarks or constructed for owner-
THE GROUND, ENVIRONMENTAL COMFORT occupiers, says Cooper. “Most innovation
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. THAT MEANS NATURAL LIGHT, GLARE CONTROL, AIR happens in owner-occupied buildings,” he
says. “But then it catches on and becomes
BRINGING THE OUTDOORS IN MOTION AND HUMIDITY, THE FRESHNESS something that other tenants are looking
for because they see the advantages, and
AND QUALITY OF THE AIR” developers follow suit.”
DAVID COOPER, WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
14 15
THE SKY
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE SKY AND OTHER LIMITS ///
very week,
E 1 million people “IT’S A FANTASTIC CHALLENGE, LIKE RACING A
AND OTHER
move to cities – if
all of that growth happened
in one place, it would create
12m YACHT. YOU’RE ALWAYS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND
a new city the size of Dublin,
New Orleans or Adelaide.
THE RULES AND WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE.”
But in reality, a considerable DAVID PENICK, HINES
LIMITS
proportion of these new city
dwellers will be looking for
space to live, work and play For developers, the Penick welcomes the In New York, getting a
in places that have been challenge is to carve out viable complexity that the city’s project off the ground is not
established for hundreds schemes from a constantly detailed planning guidelines just about finding the right
or thousands of years. The diminishing supply of land. bring. “An exciting thing about site – the vertical space above
densification of historic New towers must be woven developing in New York is that it is just as sought-after. To
cityscapes will be one of into an already complex there is a great set of rules. make 53W53 possible, Hines
the defining challenges tapestry of existing buildings, It’s not a matter of going to also had to negotiate the
of the 21st century. much-loved landmarks, public City Hall and saying ‘Gee, transfer of air rights from
spaces and transport and utility I wish I could do this’. Every neighbouring buildings that
IN ESTABLISHED CITIES, NEW TOWERS ARE NEVER BUILT For city planners, the
networks. If buildings define neighbourhood is precisely had not consumed their full
challenge is one of balancing
IN ISOLATION – THEY ARE INTIMATELY SHAPED BY THE the interests of many different
a city, they are themselves
shaped by all of the forces in
zoned, and for each plot, it says
how big the building can be
entitlement, says Penick.
“Then there are other air rights
stakeholders, enabling cities to
BUILDINGS AND SPACES AROUND THEM. DEVELOPMENT thrive and grow without losing
that city. and what its use can be. It’s a transfers within the project to
fantastic challenge, like racing a allow for the intended uses to
IS A COMPLEX JIGSAW OF ZONING RULES, VIEWING what makes each one unique. The profusion of sculpted,
chiselled or staggered forms 12m yacht. You’re always trying occur at their correct locations
In a fully globalised economy
CORRIDORS AND AIR RIGHTS. BUT IT’S A CHALLENGE where skills, jobs and capital now cropping up in established to understand the rules and
what the possibilities are, and
within the building. It’s a very
demanding process.”
urban cores is not only an
THAT DESIGNERS ARE MEETING HEAD ON are increasingly footloose,
the fiercest competition for expression of the whims of then someone comes up with a The plans also had to be
architects or the quest to create clever new idea that everyone signed off by a number of
resources is being fought
‘iconic’ landmarks. It’s also learns from.” parties including the Museum
not between countries but
between rival cities. High-rise because in the most congested One of the most striking of Modern Art, which will
buildings play an important role cities, attempts by city planners features of 53W53 is its high occupy the lower floors, the
not only in accommodating to protect rights to light or height-to-width ratio – a Landmarks Preservation
newcomers but in attracting signature views often impose feature of many new towers in Commission and the NYC
them in the first place – very restricted, contorted Midtown. As developers seek Transit Authority because of
expressing a city’s personality envelopes into which buildings to achieve the greatest possible the nearby subway tunnels.
and marking it firmly on the must fit. value from very narrow, yet The project will be occupied
map as a destination for talent It didn’t take New York very expensive plots, advances in 2018, 11 years after Hines
and investment. planners long to notice that in structural engineering are originally purchased the land.
its new skyscrapers were enabling increasingly slender New York is already
overshadowing the streets forms. But 53W53 also lies in renowned as a skyscraper
below and to restrict building three different zoning districts, city, but London is only now
massing at certain heights, each with its own permitted becoming one. Around 70
at a stroke prompting the densities and shapes. Architect buildings above 20 storeys
distinctive setbacks of many of Jean Nouvel’s design is an are under construction, and
the city’s Art Deco landmarks elegant solution to a complex almost 200 more have been
from the 1920s and 30s. geometrical problem, with proposed. But even while some
Since then, as approaches to different parts of the building Londoners may feel uneasy at
planning have become more tapering at different angles what seems like untrammelled
sophisticated, the challenge for as it rises from 53rd and 54th development, there is a well-
developers has only become Streets. defined set of rules governing
more complex. “Government the placement and form of
approvals are a huge piece of towers, intended to preserve
what we do,” says David Penick, views of the city’s landmarks
managing director of Hines, from surrounding public
developer with Goldman Sachs spaces. As these new towers
and Pontiac Land Group of take shape, London’s planning
the super-tall 53W53 tower rules are being writ large on
above New York’s Museum the skyline.
of Modern Art. “To create
a project like this, we spend
a tremendous amount of
time getting everything in
place so we can proceed with
construction.”
16 17
“DEVELOPING IN LONDON IS QUITE
DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE SKY AND OTHER LIMITS ///
A CHALLENGE BECAUSE THERE’S A
VERY HISTORIC STREET PATTERN AND
BLOCK SIZE, AND A LOT OF PROTECTED
VIEWS. IN THE RECENT PAST, A LOT
OF BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN SHAPED TO
DEAL WITH THOSE CONSTRAINTS”
GEOFF HARRIS, TH REAL ESTATE
18 19DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE SKY AND OTHER LIMITS ///
The protected view of architecture to be defined by
St Paul’s Cathedral from Fleet this requirement. Our focus
Street is one of the biggest was on creating a group of
reasons why the 220m-high simple, well-proportioned
Leadenhall Building tapers elements which work on the
at a 10° angle, earning it the skyline. The Fleet Street view
nickname ‘the Cheesegrater’ requirement was handled
and why its future neighbour by working a set of terraced
A model showing the available envelope in which 40 Leadenhall Street had to sit.
at 52 Lime Street, ‘The set-backs into the overall
Below is Make Architect’s terraced design Scalpel’, leans back in the composition, which also
opposite direction. In this way, enhance the workplace with
both remain hidden behind external amenity spaces.”
the cathedral dome. This There is a long history of
same view was also a key city dwellers giving irreverent
consideration in the design nicknames to new buildings.
of 40 Leadenhall Street, a Now with an array of irregular
910,000ft2 development of forms rising above their
between seven and 34 storeys hoardings and a constant
that sits to the east of The stream of proposed towers
Scalpel. coming to market, Londoners
But here, developer TH have gone into overdrive.
Real Estate wanted to take a Within minutes of a building’s
different approach, as head launch, there will be a heated
of development Geoff Harris competition on social media to
explains: “Developing in coin an appropriate name. The Toronto skyline
London is quite a challenge In future, London’s towers
because there’s a very historic may be less easy to name as
street pattern and block size, architects and developers take
and a lot of protected views. a more understated approach.
In the recent past, a lot of Gwyn Richards, the City of
buildings have been shaped London Corporation’s head
to deal with those constraints. of design, said in a recent
We were looking for a building
that is beautiful, unique and
distinctive in its form, that
interview that he wanted to
see “less iconic buildings, less “IS EVERY BUILDING SUPPOSED TO BE AN
takes us back to 20th-century
US tower design – a building
provocative buildings, fewer
buildings which might have
nicknames”.
EXUBERANT TOP OR SHOULD SOME BE
that expresses its verticality,
mixes solid and clear and
But that hasn’t saved
40 Leadenhall Street from
MORE CONSERVATIVE? ”
uses terracing.” JAMES PARAKH, CITY OF TORONTO PLANNING DIVISION
becoming known as “Gotham
Working with Make City”, a name originally coined
Architects, Harris’ team by Richards’ predecessor Peter
completed 58 separate design Rees. Harris says he doesn’t
studies, modelling all the mind. “Actually, I quite like it. It’s
constraints in 3D to produce an Developers themselves the UK. “They’re more blasé. Toronto Planning Division. San Francisco has the Golden
interesting because we were
envelope in which the building may now come to market In London, it’s a relatively new “We think very hard about Gate Bridge and the bay. Hong
aiming for that 20th-century
had to sit. But rather than with a brand already formed, phenomenon but in time the the role of each tall building Kong has Two International
US architecture and that has
shaping the building to fill that as WRBC has done for The novelty will wear off here too.” on the skyline,” he says. “That’s Financial Centre, Victoria
come through. But we won’t be
Scalpel. This is partly a way of Harbour and The Peak in the
“WE ENDED UP WITH A space, they considered it from
the inside out, looking at how
form could follow function.
writing ‘Gotham City’ on our
hoardings.”
heading off any less flattering
suggestions. But naming these
Few cities are densifying
as rapidly as Toronto, which
has more than double the
really important. Is every
building supposed to be
an exuberant top or should
background. Rio de Janeiro is
instantly recognisable for its
TERRACED BUILDING THAT “We ended up with a terraced
building that is arranged in
Sometimes a building’s
owners may adopt a
giant buildings also makes
them relevant on a human
number of high-rise buildings
under construction than New
some be more conservative?
Not every building can be a
statue of Christ the Redeemer
and Sugarloaf Mountain.
IS ARRANGED IN SLICES. slices,” he says. “It deals with
all the constraints, but it’s
nickname officially, as Sellar
Property Group did at The
scale, and somehow less
threatening.
York, with as many as 180
tower cranes complementing
landmark.”
Parakh has noticed some
Toronto’s official plan
identifies centres in which
IT DEALS WITH ALL THE still a very clean form that is
rectilinear.”
Shard – originally coined by
conservation body English
Heritage as an insult. If it does
“People don’t do this to
the same degree in New
a burgeoning forest of
skyscrapers. Over the last
common characteristics among
the most successful global
growth will be concentrated,
on which streets the tallest
CONSTRAINTS” “40 Leadenhall has to be
unseen from Fleet Street,
stick, a nickname can be a
badge of genuine landmark
York because it’s already an
established high-rise city,”
decade, its skyline has been
transformed under the close
skylines: “Very often, there is
a series of buildings, and then
buildings should be located,
and sets viewing corridors
GEOFF HARRIS, TH REAL ESTATE by sitting behind the dome points out Bill Price, director at eye of James Parakh, urban one landmark that’s different, to protect landmarks such
status: few would recognise the
of St Paul’s Cathedral in the WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in design manager at the City of and then a natural feature.” as the dome of the Rogers
Gherkin by its official name of
same way as The Scalpel,” 30 St Mary Axe.
adds James Taylor, partner at
Make. “But we didn’t want the
20 21DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE SKY AND OTHER LIMITS ///
10,000 people there when it’s HASSELL recently won front. “We reorganised the
finished and they all need food a competition to design streets, we replanted it and put
and drink,” says Harris. “The 60 Martin Place in Sydney, seating in, and we lifted the
City of London is a busy area a 32-storey tower due for building up 9m so that a public
so offering good amenities is completion in 2019. The design street can run through the site
very important.” team have tried to integrate it underneath. Rather than the
‘Placemaking’ has become into the cityscape in a range of building lobby occupying the
an important pastime for ways, opening up a previously middle of the site, it connects
developers in recent years, not obstructed view of St Stephen’s the square and the street. You
only to satisfy planners but also church, and connecting the can walk through there, sit
because they recognise the building with the surrounding down, get a drink of water and
commercial benefits of making spaces at several different no one will stop you.”
a location more ‘sticky’. After levels. They have also created EPA is now applying this
all, potential office tenants a generous ‘civic room’ that concept to a much larger
or apartment buyers have an invites the public into the project: No 1 Undershaft,
increasing choice of rooms ground plane, including a a super-tall tower opposite
with a view, and an attractive publicly accessible roof space the Gherkin. Though the
neighbourhood at ground on the podium level that will 294m-high project will be the
level can be a crucial point of contribute to the night-time tallest building in London’s
differentiation. activity of Martin Place and financial quarter, the starting
Macquarie Street. point is the human scale. “In
“As these buildings get
larger and more and more Get the city-making agenda a city like London, you’ve got
dominating, I think it’s incredibly right and asset values can to understand how people
important that we talk about climb, says McBryde – the move. We carry out pedestrian
this more,” says Ken McBryde, challenge is to create spaces studies to map that movement,
principal at HASSELL in that genuinely feel as if they and the challenge for us is how
Sydney. “To make our cities belong to the public on what is to change it.”
habitable, buildings need to really private land. The scheme will see the
“SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE IS UNIVERSALLY work on a community level.”
For McBryde, ‘groundlines’
This interface between
private and public will
continue to test project teams,
redevelopment of an older
tower completed in 1969,
a 118m-high block inserted
RECOGNISED BUT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL THING are as important as skylines,
and it is a building’s presence
at street level that determines
especially as tall gives way to
super-tall. “As buildings get
clumsily into the winding
street pattern. EPA wants the
IS THE GROUND PLANE. IT’S REALLY BUZZING” whether it is a successful
addition to a cityscape. He uses
bigger, their cores become
more demanding,” says Nick
new building to work more
harmoniously with the existing
KEN McBRYDE, HASSELL the example of the Sydney Jackson, director at Eric Parry city, and restore some of the
Opera House, a world-famous Architects. “The segregation of older connections between
landmark. “It’s universally uses and of entrances becomes the surrounding spaces. “There
recognised as a symbol of the more of a problem and security are two 16th-century churches
city, but the most successful is a much bigger factor. That that probably haven’t seen
thing is the ground plane, makes it very difficult in terms each other for 300 years,” says
Centre stadium. It’s designed style, and even though they committee, which is working on
the podium and the way it of how you land a building. Jackson. “We want to remove
to preserve the integrity of the are dwarfed by tall buildings, a publication about the spaces
sits in the city. At all times of One of the problems we see that blockage and replace it
skyline as the city develops, there has to be some balance. surrounding tall buildings, due
the week, this place is really as we look at many of the tall with a more delicate footprint.”
but the way buildings integrate Thinking about one without out in 2016.
buzzing.” buildings going up around the A super-tall giant that treads
into the city at ground level the other is not making a great This is also a theme for 5 Aldermanbury Square, London world is that they can be very lightly on its surroundings:
is an equal focus for Parakh: city.” Richards at the City of London He thinks that’s also why
aggressive and alienating at perhaps that should be a model
“You can’t ignore how these Toronto’s first super-tall Corporation. To gain planning Londoners have embraced
ground level.” for high-rise development
buildings meet the street. project has just been approved, approval, he says, new towers The Shard, even though it’s
We’ve spent a lot of time on an unprecedented scale To create more permeable everywhere.
the Mirvish+Gehry proposal will ideally have some public
thinking about the scale of the for the city. “The success of spaces, designers may need
for twin residential towers, at space at the top, and definitely
individual in relationship with
the tall building.” Buildings
82 and 92 storeys. “It’s going to
play an important role on the
at the base. Accessibility and
permeability at street level is
The Shard is that it’s not an
impenetrable tower, it’s actually “WE LIFTED THE BUILDING UP to think radically about what
happens at ground level.
must fit within their context
and transition down to lower-
skyline, but approval was based
on preserving heritage and
a must. At 40 Leadenhall, for
example, the ground floor plate
highly permeable. There’s a
whole range of mixed uses 9m SO THAT A PUBLIC STREET When it was completed back
in 2007, EPA’s Stirling Prize-
nominated 5 Aldermanbury
scaled buildings and open
space. Wind-tunnel testing
is mandated on all projects.
getting adequate separation
distances, adequate light and
has been set back to leave
more pavement and retail
that the public can explore at
multiple levels, starting with
the transport interchange. It’s
CAN RUN THROUGH THE SITE Square was pretty tall for
London. As well as designing
“Parks and historic landmarks
are very much part of our
privacy.” He is also chair of the
Council on Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat urban design
space, and there is a restaurant
on levels 13 and 14. “If you just
take this building, there will be
access to the public that makes
this a well-loved building.”
UNDERNEATH” the 20-storey office building,
the practice also completely
NICK JACKSON, ERIC PARRY ARCHITECTS transformed the square in
22 23DESIGNING SKYSCRAPER CITIES ///
THE SKY AND OTHER LIMITS ///
PUBLIC SPACE IN PRIVATE
TOWERS: THE INVISIBLE
SERVICES CHALLENGE
BY DAVID HEALY, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR,
WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF
There’s a proliferation of The shapes of many The Shard’s façade is meant
public space at the top of
tall buildings in London, as a
London towers are influenced
by viewing corridors to
to resemble pieces of broken
glass leaning together, so rather
“THERE IS ONLY
requirement of many planning
approvals. For a building
St Paul’s Cathedral. But
this also determines the
than having a standard band
of louvres to get air in and out
ONE VERTICAL
services engineer, the impact
of that space on the building is
internal layouts of a building,
and even its ventilation
of the building, we had to do
something a little bit different.
SIDE ON THE
absolutely huge.
When I was working on
philosophy. When buildings
lean, that has a significant
As the ’shards’ overlap to
create fractures, that creates an CHEESEGRATER,
The Shard, this was a major
challenge because of the shape
effect on the mechanical and
electrical services. There is
only one vertical side on the
opportunity for winter gardens
on the office floorplates, which
are naturally ventilated, and
WHICH ALMOST
of the building. The floorplates
shrink as the building gets taller Cheesegrater, for example,
which almost dictates where
on the plant levels we could
use them to get air in and out
DICTATES
but there are massive peaks
in occupancy at the mid-level
restaurant and the viewing
the core has to go. The public
space at the base and the
of the building. Just one of
the impacts of that is that you
WHERE THE
gallery at the top – so the
greatest concentration is where
need to keep that free of
columns impacts the structural
need to designate a particular
fracture for bringing air in or
CORE HAS
the floorplates are smallest. If
we had followed standard fire
engineering, and that pushes
the core further to the back of
out because you don’t want to
cross-contaminate it. It may TO GO”
escape provisions by using the building. Once you offset not be immediately obvious
multiple stairs, there wouldn’t the core, that creates a little to everyone else, but there’s
have been much room left for bit of lower value floor space. some real gymnastics to get
anything else. Our solution was So instead of a ventilation this to work.
that some of the lifts would be strategy where there are central
used in a fire or emergency. air-handling units at the top
That too had a massive knock- and at the bottom, feeding up
on effect, and introduced a through risers, you end up with
range of constraints because on-floor handling units serving
we needed to provide each tenant separately.
pressurised lobbies where
people can wait for lifts, and
install an independent cooling
system for the lift motor rooms
and other elements that would
ensure the lifts could be safely
used in an emergency.
“THE SUCCESS OF THE SHARD IS THAT
IT’S NOT AN IMPENETRABLE TOWER,
IT’S ACTUALLY HIGHLY PERMEABLE”
KEN McBRYDE, HASSELL
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