Tall building criteria and loading (Monograph on planning and design of tall buildings)

The loads to which tall buildings are subjected are examined aiming to give a precise definition of the related structural requirements that are necessary before a client's needs can be translated into a safe design. The first five chapters explore different classes of loads: gravity loads and temperature affects, earthquake loads, wind loading and wind effects, fire, and accidental loads. The last two chapters explore quality control (control of the variations of material strengths and workmanship) and over-all safety considerations and probabilistic methods. Steel buildings, holding the record for height, tax the designer's ingenuity in providing adequate resistance to lateral loading. Concrete buildings are both more numerous and widely distributed, and verticle gravity loads may be the chief problem. Both steel and concrete buildings, and lateral and verticle loads, are addressed. Other subjects covered include: dead, live, cyclic snow, construction and combined loads; code requirements; meteorological and environmental factors in design; firefighting provisions; and modeling. The contributors were both international and professional, with nearly two-thirds of the 175-member editorial team consisting of members of design and industrial firms. Altogether, over 800 individuals made specific contributions. Condensed references follow each chapter, and a glossary is included. This is one of the five volume series on tall buildings published by the ASCE.