HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

Introduction
The height of a building has always contributed to the constructions status.
While India may be far behind when it comes to elevated constructions, in
comparison with many other cities in the world, the country is making a slow
but steady ascent with a number of towering structures that are being built
and planned for several cities.
Status, aesthetic value addition and better view are not the defining factors
in the race to build taller and taller structures. Densification is one of the
most important elements. ertical e!pansion is the only option if cities are to
grow and flourish. Tall structures help accommodate more people in the
limited resources of land. With the growing number of immigrant population
in the city, if hori"ontal construction continues, the city will in no time run out
of options for further development.
Tall buildings use lesser ground area and so more land is available for better
infrastructure development such as parking, gardens and other important
facilities.
# flat on a higher floor offers residents a significant reduction in the level of
smog and noise. It also provides more light, better ventilation and greater
relief from the heat. In short, better $uality of life.
While overall %loor Space Inde! &%SI' remains low in the country, especially
in big cities, it is also difficult to obtain large(si"ed plot within cities for
construction of high rise buildings. These are the main reasons for dearth of
skyscrapers in India.
There is also the issue of the strain on over(stressed infrastructure. It is
argued that while every new iconic pro)ect is important for a city, it alone
cannot succeed. It must have corresponding, complimenting, ade$uate
infrastructure. If not, it would be a burden on e!isting resources. *uestions
arise, +,ow will the infrastructure cope with the sudden burden of a large
number of people of a tower- What of their water and drainage needs- What
about the hundreds of cars and their parking-.
/ules for high rise buildings are stringent. 0uilders must follow norms for
setbacks, elevators, in house fire safety e$uipment, service ducts, electricity
supply, e!it routes, a published fire safety plan and more.
1
1ne of the key factors that decides whether compliance is re$uired is the
height of the building itself2 ( the height decides whether a building is a high(
rise or not.
The two most $uestioned aspects of high(rise buildings are structural
stability and security. Tall building structures re$uire speciali"ed skill to
combat structural, safety and design challenges. In order to make the high(
rise building withstand natural calamities, the design has to incorporate
mechanisms to resist wind force of a very high intensity. The second
important issue is safety in case of fire. %or this, high rise buildings are
designed with free spaces for rescue and fire resistant materials.
Construction
The designer should take basic concepts and methods of construction into
account during the design stage, when he lays out and dimensions the
building and responds to the economy of construction.
The typical construction methods are conventional, industriali"ed and special
construction techni$ues. The selection of a construction system includes life
cycle costs, which are to say, not )ust the initial construction costs, but also
the future maintenance and operating costs or capital investment and
maintenance replacement costs.
Excavator
For earthwork in excavation, excavators are generally used.
A typical modern excavator
#n e!cavator, commonly known as a digger or 340 &the latter actually a
proprietary name, but commonly used generically', is an item of heavy
construction e$uipment consisting of a boom, bucket and cab on a rotating
2
platform &known as the 5house5'. The house sits atop an undercarriage with
tracks or wheels. #ll movement and functions of the e!cavator are
accomplished through the use of hydraulic fluid, be it with rams or motors.
Their design is a natural progression from the steam shovel.
Foundation Systems
1rdinary high( rise building foundations consists of either a collection of
individual rectangular and strip footings, or large mat combining all of the
single footings. In seismic areas, the individual spread and pile foundations
will have to be linked and tied together by bracing struts, so that entire
building foundation can act as a unit in sharing the load resistance. In
crowded urban areas, the deep basements for tall buildings, particularly
ad)acent to other heavy buildings, cause e!cavation problems. In this case,
special foundations, such as sheet piling, slurry walls, bracing of walls, or
walls with tie backs, along with underpinning of ad)acent buildings and
subways, are re$uired. 6umps may be needed for conditions where the
water table is high, which &in turn' may cause settlement problems with
ad)oining buildings.
In order to control settlements and tilting, foundations on compressible soils
should only be concentrically loaded, in other words, the column and wall
bases should not be fi!ed to the footings, and lateral shear forces should not
be transferred in bending. 1n the other hand, footings on highly compacted
soils may be loaded eccentrically. Single footings should only be used on
soils of low compressibility, because the independent displacements of the
foundations may cause significant stresses in the superstructure. 4olumns
may be )oined by continuous footings to control vertical differential
movements between them.
7at foundations are most effective in reducing differential movements on
compressible soils.
Mat or Raft Foundation
The mat foundation is basically one large continuous footing upon which the
building rests. In this case, the total gross bearing pressure at the mat(soil
interface cannot e!ceed the allowable bearing strength of the soil. The
system is used when the soil bearing capacity is low, and it may prove to be
more economical when more than about one(half of the plan area of a
building is re$uired for single footings2 it also provides a uniform e!cavation
depth. 7at foundation may be useful when individual footings touch, when a
3
concentration of high soil pressure must be distributed over the entire
building area, when small soft soil areas must be bridged, when
compressible strata are located at a shallow depth, so that settlement will be
minimi"ed, when differential settlement of variable soils must be minimi"ed,
since individual footings would create une$ual settlement, or when
hydrostatic pressure of groundwater and uplift must be controlled.
The common mat or raft foundations &see fig.'
# layout %lat plate8slab mats
/ibbed mat &two way slab on beams' with ribs above or below slab
4ellular
The mat foundation is designed as an inverted floor structure, but
settlements must also be taken into account where the loading or soil
pressure distribution depends on the layout of the columns or walls, the
magnitude and type of the loads, and on the stiffness of foundation and soil.
4
%or preliminary design purposes, an average or uniform soil pressure
distribution may be assumed, and the effect of differential settlements may
be ignored, because of the rigidity of the mat. In other words, the contact
pressure is distributed in a straight line, where the centroid of the soil
pressure coincides with the line of action of the resultant vertical loads. This
condition actually only applies for a rigid mat, such as a cellular one on
cohesive soil, or a uniformly loaded fle!ible mat on an elastic compressible
soil.
Floating or Compensated Mat Foundation
When tall buildings are founded on weak soils of very thick deposits of soft
materials, such as compressible clay, the bearing capacity of the soil is
e!tremely low and controlled by settlement criteria. To control this movement
due to heave, as well as compressive forces and long( term consolidation of
the soil stratum, the fully compensated mat foundation is often used. In this
case, so much soil is e!cavated that the weight of the soil removed plus any
uplift from water pressure is replaced by the combined gross loading of the
substructure and the superstructure. In other words, the pressure at the base
of the e!cavated soil will not change, the pressure of the displaced soil will
be e$ual to the pressure caused by the building, thus theoretically resulting
in no settlement. The structure seems to float on soil like a ship in water, as
caused by a buoyant force e$ual to the weight of the soil displaced by the
basement volume, balancing the weight of the floating structure according to
the #rchimedes principle.
9aturally, this is only a theoretical model, since some settlement of the mat
will occur due to the change of live loads and the water table, non(
homogeneity of the ground, and due to recompression of e!cavation heave
with subse$uent settlement, reali"ing that, as a result of the removal of the
soil overburden, pressure heave of the bottom of the e!cavation has
occurred.
%or tall buildings, this floating foundation concept may re$uire several
basements, which may not take )ust the form of a bo! or pedestal, but rather
a stepped root like e!tension into the ground. These deep substructures, in
turn, generate e!tremely large loads, clearly indicating that the building
should be a lightweight structure. ,ence, it may be more economical to use
a partially compensated mat foundation rather than a fully compensated one,
when some settlement due to the net bearing pressure of building weight
minus the weight of the soil e!cavated at the mat(soil interface is tolerable.
5
0ecause the floating mat is constructed deep into the ground, groundwater
may have to be considered, especially the high water table during rainy
season, thus re$uiring a watertight bo!(type foundation. In this instance, the
buoyancy effect and the lateral pressure must be considered in the design.
Deep Foundations
Deep foundations are used when ade$uate soil capacity is not available
close to the surface and loads must be transferred to firm layers substantially
below the ground surface. When settlement is a primary problem, then a pile
length must be selected to minimi"e differential settlement.
The common deep foundation systems for buildings are piles and piers
&caisson piles'. While the small(diameter slender piles are normally driven
into the ground, the large diameter piers are placed by first e!cavating a
hole2 this distinction, however, may not always be that clear. 1ther deep
foundation systems occasionally used are slurry walls &i.e., a method of
construction for earth retaining walls' and caisson foundations, which are
generally used for the construction of bridge piers and abutments. # caisson
is a massive, cellular hollow bo! structure that is sunk into position, and also
provides the bracing for the e!cavation. The three ma)or types are the box
caisson or floating caisson &open at top and closed at bottom', the open
caisson &open at top and bottom', and the pneumatic caisson &closed at top,
open at bottom, and filled with compressed air to prevent water from entering
the working chamber' as may be used for constructing an underground
garage.
In the following paragraphs, the most common deep foundations for
buildings are briefly discussed.
6
Pile Foundations
6iles are usually driven by hammers. They are made of treated timber, steel,
cast(in place concrete, precast, pre(stressed concrete or composite material2
they are manufactured in various shapes of solid or hollow configuration.
The bearing capacity of a pile depends on the strength of the pile and the
supporting strength of the soil. The estimation of the bearing capacity of piles
is $uite comple!2 it is determined by static analysis, dynamic analysis, or pile
load tests. In static analysis, which is often used for preliminary design
purposes, the pile(bearing capacity depends on the soil(to(pile connection
&i.e., soil properties and pile geometry', i.e., the sum of end bearing
resistance and the screen friction, as well as on group effect. %or long
slender piles, the pile(tip resistance becomes insignificant, so that they act
mainly as friction piles, although in clayey soils the resistance is primarily
provided by adhesion. In dynamic analysis, so(called pile formulas have
been developed where the pile capacity is directly related to the resistance
offered to driving with a hammer. The estimation of the pile length is not
always easy. When point bearing-piles are supported directly on rock(like
material, the pile length is known for this condition, the pile is treated as a
short column braced by the soil, hence assuming it is not surrounded by soft
mud2 its si"e is dependent on the load bearing capacity of the base material
and on the strength of the pile. 1ccasionally, it may be the case that the
bedrock is stronger than the concrete. %or the opposite condition, where
there is no firm soil available at a reasonable depth, friction piles must be
used. In this case, the length of the piles depends on the piles si"e and the
skin friction along the pile, which is derived, in turn, primarily from the shear
strength of the soil or the adhesion on the pile face. 1ften, piles pass
through a soft soil layer where they are supported by skin friction but then
must be e!tended several feet into firm soil to act as end-bearing friction
piles. The evaluation of skin friction through layered soil systems, and hence
the determination of the pile length, is e!tremely difficult. Where settlement is
a serious problem, the pile must be long enough to withstand differential
settlement. Short piles may be driven in granular soils to compact the soil
close to the ground surface2 they are called compaction piles.
6iles are generally used in groups, such as at least three piles to support a
ma)or column. # concrete cap is always necessary to distribute the loads
from the super structure to the piles. 6ile(cap footings are designed like
spread footings but for concentrated pile loads. 6ile clustered may be of any
7
arrangement below column, wall, or combine footings2 usually, the location
of the resultant pile load coincides with the resultant applied load. The pile
should be spaced far enough from each other, so that the load(bearing
capacity of each individual pile is not reduced, otherwise group behavior
must be taken into account, which not only results in less soil resistance, but
also larger settlements.
Where pile group are sub)ect to lateral forces, and the lateral resistance of
the vertical piles in bending &as partially supported cantilevers' is e!ceeded,
then inclined or batter piles must be employed. When in addition, an
overturning moment is applied, then some of the piles may have to act in
tension to resist uplift.
Pier Foundations
6iers or drilled piers are large(diameter piles with slenderness of less than
:;, placed vertically. They are sometime called caissons, but should not be
confused with caissons sunk into position. %or the construction of piers or
caisson piles, a hole is usually drilled with machines, or circular steel shells
are driven into the ground and the soil inside is e!cavated. 6iers can be of
any cross section. They are large enough so that a single pier can replace a
group of piles. 6iers can penetrate dense soil, which piles may not. 6iers
may be belled or straight shafted, they usually are supported by end bearing,
and occasionally may be supported in addition, by skin friction. They are
classified according to material as concrete, concrete in steel pile and
concrete plus steel core piers.
The si"e of a typical concrete pier is determined from the soil capacity in
bearing and sometimes in skin friction, while the pier itself is designed as a
compression member. It is assumed that it does not have to resist lateral
forces, which are usually absorbed by shear resistance at the building base
and passive earth pressure on basement walls. 1ccasionally, piers must
resist uplift forces, as may be the case in core columns and corner columns
of trussed tubes. ,ere belled piers act in tension, or piers are post(tensioned
and anchored in bedrock.
Choosing a Foundation System
The selection of a foundation system depends on the type of superstructure,
that is, the location, magnitude, and kind of forces to be transmitted to the
ground, and also on the subsurface conditions, the bearing capacity and
settlement characteristics of the soil, as well as the groundwater conditions.
8
<sually, there are several possible economical solutions for a given
situation. %or e!ample, when forces are concentrated locally, such as for a
lateral(force resisting central core, it may be more economical to use piles or
piers directly under the core rather than a thick mat to redistribute the loads
over the footprint of the building. %or comple! subsurface conditions, such as
non(uniform soils across the building site or other underground
interferences, it may be necessary to ad)ust the layout of the superstructure.
In this conte!t, only larger, heavy buildings are considered, where load
resistance is critical. The selection of foundations for small buildings is
usually based on local practice. These buildings are light and cause hardly
any bearing pressure, so that the design of their foundations depends less
on loads and more often on resistance to movements in the soil.
# building can be founded on soil or, directly or indirectly, on rock. While
9ew =ork 4ity sits directly on rock, the tall buildings in 4hicago are carried
by caisson piles roughly >; m down to bedrock. 9aturally, the ideal situation
e!ists when the bedrock is located near the surface and seismic action is
none!istent, so that shallow foundations can be supported directly and
settlements are usually not a problem. ,owever, when this bedrock is at
great depth, then it depends on the nature of the overlying soil and the
magnitude of the loads to determine whether the building should be founded
directly on soil or indirectly on rock. When buildings are founded on soil
rather than rock, the selection of the foundation type depends (on the
bearing capacity and settlement characteristics, as well as the necessary
compatibility with the superstructure. %or a thick, firm stratum, individual
shallow foundations may be satisfactory, or mat foundations &for tall
buildings'. ,owever, for the other e!treme, where there is only a thick
stratum of weak, soft soil present, such as in ,ouston, tall buildings cannot
be founded )ust on mat foundations because of e!cessive settlement
problems, unless it is placed in a deep e!cavation to behave like a floating
mat. Softer soils may have to be stabili"ed by friction piles, which carry the
mat, as is the case in 9ew 1rleans. %or the condition where weak soil is
overlying firm soil at a reasonable depth, piers or end(bearing piles may be
used, although it may be more economical to use spread footings and stay
closer to the surface, than to go deeper and take advantage of higher
bearing values, assuming differential settlement is tolerable. 1n the other
hand, when firm soil is over a soft stratum, mat foundations may be re$uired
for heavy loads, possibly together with piles, to control settlements, while
individual shallow footings may be satisfactory for light fle!ible buildings.
,ybrid foundations are re$uired, for e!ample, when the bedrock underlying a

site is sharply sloped and has an overlay of loose sand and a wedge of clay.
%or this situation, a foundation mat may be used beneath a portion of the
building, while the remainder is founded on caisson piles drilled into the
bedrock.
6articular attention must be given to building foundations on sloping ground.
%or a firm soil and a stable slope, step footings transverse to the slope or
trenched footings parallel to the slope with transverse grade beams may be
used. %or sloping soft ground or semistable slopes, slope stability must
obviously be considered. In this case, the building may be supported by piles
&poles' anchored into a firm layer and cantiIevered above the ground. There
are several methods for the prevention of a potential landslide, which
include? soil stabili"ation &e.g., chemical grouting, compaction, reinforced
earth', retaining structures, tiebacks, surface and subsurface drainage, and
flattening the slope, possibly with a series of terraces.
1!
Water Proofing reatment for !asement
Sometimes proper care is not taken for construction of the basement, and
this leads to tremendous problems later on. If care is taken initially, a lot
of problems can be avoided.
Entry of outside "ater# rise in "ater level# seepage from side structure
including lea$age in pipe and se"er line etc. are some of the problems
that one may face. If proper care is not taken for such problems, they may
endanger the structure including basement and floors above.
The following method can be applied for water proofing of basement during
construction.
!asement "here ade%uate space is availa&le for excavation
The e!cavation of ground for basement is carried out in such a manner that
working space of at least @; cm is available around e!ternal walls' If water
level is high, the e!cavated area should be kept dry by continuous pumping.
11
The following operations are e!ecuted in water proofing of basement.
:' 1n dry and leveled ground () to *++ mm thic$ lean concrete is laid to
serve as a leveling course for water proofing.
A' The bitumen based primer is applied with brush on entire area at +',- to
+'.+ liter per s%' meter after cleaning the surface.
>' 0itumen compound polyester membrane is fi!ed in hot bitumen of grade
/)0,) at the rate of *') $g' per s%uare meter. This layer should be
protected by construction of flat brick flooring.
B' #fter construction of structural slab and walls, water proofing treatment
on e!ternal face which is in contact with earth is done.
C' #fter the surface is cleaned, bitumen primer is applied.
@' Self adhesive S 0 S rubber bitumen membrane with high density
polyethylene film is applied on vertical walls.
D' 0efore back filling the soil an outer protective wall leaving a space a&out
*++ mm around should be made and the space should be grouted
subse$uently.
1n2ection 3routing
A' 4ertical Surfaces
Water proofing treatment is provided and laid by chemical in)ection grout
process in basement using A; mm dia 7S no""les of minimum ACmm deep
in walls placed and fi!ed E:.Am distance in both direction in the wall and E
;.DCm c8c along construction )oints, consisting of in)ecting cement slurries of
different viscosities under pressure by pump using acrylic based water
proofing chemical mi!ed with neat cement slurry and sealing off no""les
after the in)ection operation with suitable admi!ture including providing and
applying two coats of acrylic based water proofing chemical mi!ed with neat
cement slurry as per manufacturers specifications and providing :A(:Cmm
thick neat finished cement plaster :?>
&: cement ? > coarse sand' added with acrylic based water proofing chemical
as per manufacturers specification.
!' 5ori6ontal Surfaces
6roviding and laying water proofing treatment by chemical in)ection grout
process on basement, base of underground water tank or other area as per
specifications comprising of two layers of 4ement mortar :?> &: cement ? >
coarse sand' mi!ed with #crylic water proofing compound, providing and
fi!ing A; mm pipe sleeves at :.Am 484 and grouting acrylic based water
12
proofing chemical mi!ed with neat cement slurry through the pipes with
complete with cutting F sealing of the pipes as per specification and
direction.
!ox Method Waterproofing to !asement
External an$ing i.e the waterproofing specification is to be laid underneath
the raft on the lean concrete and on the e!terior surface of the walls. This is
carried out in two operations. In operation number one, the waterproofing
specification is laid on the base and for this a brick wall of A>;mm thickness
is constructed at the perimeter with inside face plastered with cement8sand
mortar :?C& : part cement ? C parts coarse sand' of half inch thickness, the
height of the brick wall be the same as that of /44 slab. The waterproofing
specification is taken up the brick wall. In operation number two, after the
/44 slab has been laid and walls casted, with an overleap from the
waterproofing specification laid on the brick walls, the specification is taken
up on the e!terior surface of the /44 walls upto a height of >;;mm above
the finished ground level.

,owever in case there are individual footings, columns coming inside the
basement, the waterproofing specification has to go underneath the columns
and brought up and )oined with the waterproofing specification laid on the
lean concrete laid on the base of basement.

Specification7
8A9 For !ase7
&a'# layer of cement slurry mi!ed with integral water proofing
compound added by the $uantity recommended by the
manufacturer and conforming to IS?A@BC or e$uivalent laid over the
lean concrete bed.
&b'# layer of cement sand mortar :?> of about ACmm thickness &: part
cement F > parts of coarse sand' mi!ed with integral water proofing
compound conforming to IS? A@BC or e$uivalent and added by the
$uantity recommended by the manufacturer and laid over the slurry
laid bed as above.
&c' # layer of rough red sand stone of about ACmm to >Cmm thickness
laid in the above mortar and the )oints of stone sealed with :?A
cement sand mortar & : part cement F A part coarse sand ' mi!ed
with integral water proofing compound conforming to IS? A@BC or
13
e$uivalent and added by the $uantity recommended by the
manufacturer .
&d'# layer of cement8sand mortar :?B of A;(ACmm thickness
& : part cement ?B parts coarse sand ' mi!ed with integral water
proofing compound conforming to IS? A@BC or e$uivalent and added
by the $uantity recommended by the manufacturer with stone grit of
about :Cmm si"e sprinkled over it.
8!9 F:R WA;;S ?
&a'# layer of rough red sand stone of about ACmm to >Cmm thickness
laid with a gap of about :Amm between the stone and walls and
)oint of stone sealed with neat cement mi!ed with integral water
proofing compound conforming to IS? A@BC or e$uivalent and added
by the $uantity recommended by the manufacturer.
&b'# layer of cement sand mortar :?B & : part cement F B part coarse
sand ' mi!ed with integral waterproofing compound conforming to
IS? A@BC or e$uivalent and added by the $uantity recommended by
the manufacturer splashed on the e!terior surfaces of stone.
&c' # layer of cement slurry mi!ed with integral water proofing
compound conforming to IS? A@BC or e$uivalent and added by the
$uantity recommended by the manufacturer filled in the gap
between the stone and wall.
14