Construction

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Lakhta Center - Unique Experience

(Issue of a magazine 1/2019, page 166)

Petroprofil Plus, LLC is the pre-eminent glass-aluminum structural systems manufacturer. Highly successful fifteen-year experience has enabled the company to become one of the key contractors in the construction of the tallest building in Europe - Lakhta Center. The company manufactured and installed glass-aluminum structures of the inner courtyard of the multifunctional center located at the foot of the world-famous 462-meter tower. Although this multi-purpose facility does not claim a place in the Guinness Book of Records, its shape and size are demonstrably impressive: the height of the building reaches 80 meters, and the length is 300 meters. Structurally, the building is even more complex than the flagship edifice, and for the length of its facades it is called the “horizontal dominant” and the “lying skyscraper”.

Patterns of Integrating Cladding and Structure

(Issue of a magazine 1/2019, page 168)

Curtain wall is the prevailing type of enclosure on modern buildings because of its economic feasibility and independence from structure that allows flexibility in design, its thinness that allows maximum usable floor space and its speed of erection — in short, its expedience. But ever since the appearance of the steel and concrete frame and the curtain wall in the late 19th century, architects have continued to consistently, insistently, render structure, or apparent structure, on the non-load-bearing surfaces of some of the most influential works of modern architecture. Many high-profile contemporary projects have enclosures that appear to be structural shells of some sort, but are really curtain wall on a concealed frame. 

Evolution of Quantum Risks of Extreme Temperature Loads on Buildings

(Issue of a magazine 1/2019, page 176)

The article deals with current problems of high-rise construction adaptation to the global climate change realities. Presents the high-resolution statistical studies results of previously unknown regularities of fluctuations intensity evolution of maximum and minimum temperatures in the period from 1973 to 2009. Shows the methodology elements of events statistical analysis from the extreme temperature loads realisation. Presents the forecasting results in the implementation of the maximum and minimum daily temperatures for the period of the buildings entire life cycle.

Orbit Tower

(Issue of a magazine 3/2018, page 100)

While most of high-rise buildings feature a core surrounded by a spatial frame defining the volume, one could envision a column-free plan where the perimeter structure is constituted of steel cables, working in tension to suspend the floor plates and transferring the loads to the core by means of story-high trusses located along the perimeter, as well as diagonally across the floor, at the mechanical levels.

Survey Validity Assessment of Tall Buildings Technical Condition

(Issue of a magazine 3/2018, page 108)

The paper presents the validity analysis of survey, monitoring and the study of cause and effect relationships, which affect safety and robustness of tall building structures. The algorithms to evaluate the risk of obtaining unreliable data on the parameters of structure physical wear processes and the technical state of buildings are reviewed in the study.

Structural Health Monitoring for SHM

(Issue of a magazine 3/2018, page 112)

Ping–An Finance Center (PAFC), with a total height of 600 m, is the fourth tallest building in the world. An integrated structural health monitoring (SHM) system with total number of 553 sensors, which was designed based on the modular design methodology, is being installed in PAFC to monitor its structural performance and external excitations during both construction and service stages. This paper first gives a brief introduction of the architecture of the SHM system, followed by detailed descriptions on its 7 subsystems, including the components, functions, and interrelationship corresponding to each subsystem. The modular design of the SHM system ensures highly effective operation of the comprehensive monitoring system, and such an extensible system allows the subsystems to be deployed and augmented easily to meet the evolving monitoring needs.

Orbit Tower

(Issue of a magazine 2/2018, page 94)

While most of high-rise buildings feature a core surrounded by a spatial frame defining the vol­ume, one could envision a column-free plan where the perimeter structure is constituted of steel cables, working in tension to sus­pend the floor plates and transferring the loads to the core by means of story-high trusses located along the perimeter, as well as diagonally across the floor, at the mechanical levels.

Emboss Tower: Embossed Structural Skin for Tall Buildings

(Issue of a magazine 2/2018, page 102)

The article deals with the function of a structural skin with an embossed surface applicable to use for tall building struc­tures. The major diagrid system with a secondary embossed surface struc­ture provides an enhanced perimeter structural sys­tem by increasing tube section areas and reduces aerodynamic loads by dis­orienting major organized structure of winds. A para­metric study used to inves­tigate an optimized con­figuration of the embossed structure revealed that the embossed structure has a structural advantage in stiffening the structure, reducing lateral drift to 90% compared to a non-embossed diagrid base­line model, and results of wind load analysis using computational fluid dynamics, demonstrated the proposed embossed system can reduce surface wind load. The resulting undulating embossed skin geometry presents both opportunities for incorporating versatile interior environments as well as unique chal­lenges for daylighting and thermal control of the envelope. Solar and thermal control requires multiple daylighting solu­tions to address each local façade surface condition in order to reduce energy loads and meet occupant comfort standards. These findings illustrate that although more complex in geometry, architects and engineers can produce tall buildings that have less impact on the environ­ment by utilizing struc­tural forms that reduce structural steel needed for stiffening, thus reduc­ing embodied CO2, while positively affecting indoor quality and energy perfor­mance, all possible while creating a unique urban iconography derived from the performance of build­ing skin.

Undeniable Progress: Benefits of Natural Ventilation

(Issue of a magazine 2/2018, page 114)

The challenge for today’s architects and building designers is to provide energy efficient, environ­mentally friendly buildings at the same time achiev­ing good indoor climate conditions. This is an especially tough challenge for designers of supertall buildings.

Culture Plaza: Performance and Iconicity of Megastructures

(Issue of a magazine 1/2018, page 102)

A series of challenging site constraints prompted an innovative structural solution for the Guizhou Culture Plaza Tower (GCP), through which a new performance based expression was created for Guiyang’ skyline. A design solution that values performance, iconicity, and the public realm with equal weight was a result of an integrated and collaborative process. By leveraging technology, the GCP Tower is an example of an emerging new design language that is reshaping supertall tower design; an integrated workflow that is based on solving performance based criteria as its primary focus.