HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENTS.

THE IMPACT OF TALL BUILDINGS ON URBAN DESIGN.

submitted by

CHUKWUJINDU K.E

SRM School Of Architecture And Interior Design, chennai India.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..3 PURPOSE OF STUDY...4
CHAPTER ONE : HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

WHAT IS A TALL BUILDING...6 CRITERIA 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

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.

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.

CHAPTER ONE

HIGH RISE BUILDINGS.

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.

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.

FIG 02; blue building tall or not in varying contexts.

FIG 03; blue building tall or not in varying contexts.

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.

1.20 CRITERIA FOR MEASURING HEIGHT.

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

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."

FIG 04; blue building tall or not in varying contexts.

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.

FIG 05; blue building tall or not in varying contexts.

1.2.3 Height To Tip:

building.

Height is measured from the level1 of the lowest,

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

FIG 06; blue building tall or not in varying contexts.

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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 buildings in 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 is dedicated to a single usage. A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion7 of the towers total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixeduse 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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2.1 THE FACTORS.

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.

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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 tower will 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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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 the value 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 to one 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 Dubai skyline. The newest building on a long list of architecture built on a grand scale,

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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 urban space?

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.

 3.2.3 They Constitute Visual Obstruction:

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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 architecture seen 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 of the city Pathways, 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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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.
FIG 11; shows two IFC Building in Tsim Sha Tsuin East,china.

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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 to cater 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 HIGH RISE URBANISM : The collective arrangement 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 architectural character.

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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.
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.