Archinect - News

Supertall swaying could soon be a thing of the past

2021-09-28T20:18:00-04:00

Although far from soothing, advances in materials science and construction technology, along with experience, are starting to help residents’ day-to-day comfort levels climb along with buildings’ heights. Experts are constantly refining ideal structural shapes, masses, and weights, as well as more obscure features like the multiton machines known as tuned mass dampers, which are designed to limit a building’s sway.

Residents of Rafael Vinoly’s billion dollar 432 Park tower have begun to pursue legal remedies against the property developers over the building’s annoying sway and a host of other abject failures. Case studies, in addition to advancements in building science could mean a future with fewer problems. Bloomberg CityLab has more on the nauseating lessons of supertall developments here.

China bans construction of skyscrapers over 500 meters tall, citing safety concerns

2021-07-08T12:09:00-04:00

China’s National Development and Reform Commission has implemented an outright ban on the construction of buildings taller than 500 meters, following mounting safety concerns over the quality of some tall projects. The move is seen as a formal ratification of an in-principle ban on new buildings taller than 500 meters announced last year.

The ban follows concern over quality problems and safety hazards for tall buildings in China, stemming from inadequate oversight. In May, we reported on the evacuation of the 291-meter-tall SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, following concerns over mysterious wobbling and swaying felt within the building. The South China Morning Post also notes that the ban is fueled partly by an oversupply of office space in Chinese cities due to three decades of intense skyscraper construction.

Previously on Archinect: Panicked evacuation after mysterious wobbling is felt in Shenzhen skyscraper

In addition to a structural height cap of 500 meters on new buildings, local a...

Panicked evacuation after mysterious wobbling is felt in Shenzhen skyscraper

2021-05-21T15:32:00-04:00

Thousands of shoppers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen fled the vicinity of a 957-foot (291-meter) skyscraper Tuesday, after it inexplicably began swaying. Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed crowds running from the wobbling building, with some screaming and looking back over their shoulders. The weather was fine at the time and there were no reports of an earthquake in the region. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Approximately 15,000 people were inside the SEG Plaza when it began to shake, according to the official newspaper of the Shenzhen Municipal Community Party Committee. Everyone inside was evacuated within 90 minutes, said local authorities.

剛剛中午時分，位於深圳華強北，樓高73層的賽格電子大廈突然搖晃，原因不明也沒地震！樓宇內人群和樓下人群紛紛逃命！ pic.twitter.com/aoixkH6OeY
— 風再起時【香港挺郭后援會3】 (@dZnJUCdo4FlZqgd) May 18, 2021

Authorities investigating the cause of the shake said in a statement that no abnormalities in the building or the surrounding area were found. There were also no earthquakes in the area.

As noted by The Guardian, Chinese media have reported, through a preliminary investigation, that the wobbling was vertical rather than horizontal and that it was likely caused by a combination of winds, underground rail lines beneath the building, and the stretch of steel caused by rising temperatures.

The 21-year-old building is named after semiconductor and electronics manufacturer Shenzhen Electronics Group. It is located in th...

The not entirely untroubled life in supertall luxury towers

2021-02-03T13:28:00-05:00

Less than a decade after a spate of record-breaking condo towers reached new heights in New York, the first reports of defects and complaints are beginning to emerge, raising concerns that some of the construction methods and materials used have not lived up to the engineering breakthroughs that only recently enabled 1,000-foot-high trophy apartments.

The New York Times on complaints about substantial "leaks, creaks, breaks" in NYC's preeminent supertall ultraluxury condo tower, and briefly also tallest residential building in the world, 432 Park Avenue.

Previously:

The world's tallest wooden tower is being built in Norway

2017-08-31T12:24:00-04:00

With an expected completion date of March 2019, the 18-story, 80-meter-tall-plus building in Brumunddal, Norway known as the Mjøsa Tower will soon become the world's tallest wooden structure, a coveted title among those designers who favor wood over more traditional tall building materials. Designed by Voll Arkitekter, the Mjøsa Tower is on track to supersede the previous wooden record holder, the Brock Commons Student Housing building at the University of British Columbia, which topped out at a stately 53 meters in height.

Image: Metsä Wood / Voll Arkitekter

Wood has numerous advantages over oft-used concrete and steel: for one, the construction time can be cut approximately in half due to easy prefabrication and the overall lighter weight of the materials. Surprisingly, one of wood's advantages as a tall building material lies in its ability to withstand fires, at least when compared with the tendency of steel to melt down during an all-consuming blaze. As the site's general contr...