The World's Tallest Skyscraper Architect Grapples With Wind At 1000 Meters
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com
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Kingdom Tower, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's project to erect the world's tallest building in Jeddah, is designed to imitate the contours of a sprouting desert plant. Adrian Smith's task is to make sure it doesn't sway in the wind like one. The American architect has the right resume for the job. He already grappled with effects like horizontal wind divergence and negative pressure high above the Persian Gulf desert when he designed Dubai's "Burj Khalifa", today's highest tower.
As explained Adrian Smith during telephone interview to news agency Bloomberg, Kingdom Tower will rise from three separate bases in continuous slopes that end at different heights, helping to balance the building's weight and stabilize it against winds that can reach 190 kilometer per hour at the top. The tower is designed to move about 1 meter side-to-side at 500 meters in the most severe storms that occur once every 50 years or so, he said. The movement will be much less in more typical weather conditions.
Designing the world's tallest buildings presents numerous challenges beyond high winds. The observation deck will stick out from the building in an 24 meter-wide disc that was originally designed as a helicopter-landing platform, Smith said. The idea was abandoned after several pilots judged that landing there would be too risky.
Water must be pumped up the 163-floor Kingdom Tower in stages, using holding tanks at various levels, to avoid too much pressure building up in the pipes and causing them to burst, Smith said.
Evacuation also requires special planning. The Jeddah tower will have emergency refuge rooms every 20 floors, where people can stop to get water and protection as well as emergency instructions while descending to the ground. Smith said he's looking at ways to use the elevators in emergencies rather than following the common practice of banning their use.
Smith's design includes a system that collects moisture out of the air and from mechanical systems within the tower, producing enough fresh water each year to fill 14 Olympic-size pools. Summer temperatures in Jeddah, the gateway to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, can soar to 40 degrees Celsius with 80 percent humidity.
The Kingdom Tower's exterior walls will be made of glass with insulation behind it to help the structure control the heat, Smith said. "We use glass because it's easy to maintain and has longevity," Smith said. "It also reflects the sky and helps the tower feel lighter and more elegant."
Apartment prices in Kingdom Tower will probably be comparable to luxury homes in Dubai and a two-bedroom apartment will probably sell for around US$ 800 thousand.
As explained Adrian Smith during telephone interview to news agency Bloomberg, Kingdom Tower will rise from three separate bases in continuous slopes that end at different heights, helping to balance the building's weight and stabilize it against winds that can reach 190 kilometer per hour at the top. The tower is designed to move about 1 meter side-to-side at 500 meters in the most severe storms that occur once every 50 years or so, he said. The movement will be much less in more typical weather conditions.
Designing the world's tallest buildings presents numerous challenges beyond high winds. The observation deck will stick out from the building in an 24 meter-wide disc that was originally designed as a helicopter-landing platform, Smith said. The idea was abandoned after several pilots judged that landing there would be too risky.
Water must be pumped up the 163-floor Kingdom Tower in stages, using holding tanks at various levels, to avoid too much pressure building up in the pipes and causing them to burst, Smith said.
Evacuation also requires special planning. The Jeddah tower will have emergency refuge rooms every 20 floors, where people can stop to get water and protection as well as emergency instructions while descending to the ground. Smith said he's looking at ways to use the elevators in emergencies rather than following the common practice of banning their use.
Smith's design includes a system that collects moisture out of the air and from mechanical systems within the tower, producing enough fresh water each year to fill 14 Olympic-size pools. Summer temperatures in Jeddah, the gateway to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, can soar to 40 degrees Celsius with 80 percent humidity.
The Kingdom Tower's exterior walls will be made of glass with insulation behind it to help the structure control the heat, Smith said. "We use glass because it's easy to maintain and has longevity," Smith said. "It also reflects the sky and helps the tower feel lighter and more elegant."
Apartment prices in Kingdom Tower will probably be comparable to luxury homes in Dubai and a two-bedroom apartment will probably sell for around US$ 800 thousand.
