UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Winter 2014

Structural Systems for Tall Buildings

CivE 415_Structural Systems Project

Due: March 17, at 4:00 PM

OBJECTIVE: Examine the structural systems of any three of the following tall buildings:
CN tower (Toronto 1976)
Taipei 101 (Taipei 2003)
Burj Dubai (Dubai 2010)
Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur 1998)
Sears Tower (Chicago 1974)
John Hancock Tower (Official name: Hancock Place) (Boston 1976)
GROUPS: The class will be divided into groups of three students. (Please sign your name by Jan 27th at 4:00PM
on the sheet posted near E2-2311). (Note: Each group will discuss three buildings only).
REQUIREMENTS:
1) Describe, briefly, the general details of each of the selected buildings including height, number of floors,
exterior shaping, construction materials, and construction methods.
2) Describe the following aspects of the structural system of each building:
i. Floor Systems
ii. Lateral Load Resisting Systems
iii. Vertical Load Resisting Systems
3) Compare the systems described in 2. Is there any similarity between these buildings?
4) Discuss if the design of each building had been inspired by other buildings, nature, etc.
5) State your view on the most significant design features learnt from these buildings that we may apply in the
design of future structures.
REPORT CONTENT
The report should be in the form of a technical paper and presentation of the available literature in the subject
(Please use the same format used in the Final Report for CivE 401). A literature review is a presentation and
discussion of technical literature related to a particular subject. It involves a collection of multiple references
on the subject, and preparation of a summary of the key information contained in the references. The literature
review should provide the reader with enough information to understand the important issues of the subject. The
literature review may include some background information to provide a basis for the subject area being
reviewed. All material should be referenced to enable the reader to obtain references if more information is
desired. Multiple references are required. Two or three references are generally not sufficient nor acceptable.
Technical references should be as credible as possible. Examples of good references include:

Technical journal articles (refereed)

Conference proceedings
Textbooks
Technical (research) reports

Technical committee reports

Examples of less desirable references for a technical literature review include:

Magazine articles (non-refereed)

Newspaper articles
Personal communications
Web articles (For web postings of technical journals or reports, use the formal reference).

Your course project should not have more than 20% of the references from the less desirable category.