TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
As tall buildings climb to new heights, there’s no margin for error. Experience counts. With an unparalleled global portfolio of skyscrapers, we’ve got the chops to rise to every challenge – including yours.
TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
HERE’S HOW
UNMATCHED EXPERIENCE For 10 of the last 20 years, the world’s tallest building has been a Thornton Tomasetti structure. And soon it will be again. Our engineers pair a deep understanding of how towers work with new angles, approaches and answers that help you go taller, faster and better. And we have the expertise to make tall buildings more sustainable and resilient.
SOLUTIONS, NOT SILOS We do more than just structure. From façade design to floor-vibration control, from security to sustainability, our interdisciplinary team delivers integrated, efficient results. And we’re there for you at every step. Feasibility studies. Design. Peer review. Value engineering. Construction
With our unequaled combination of experience and ingenuity, we can tackle the toughest problems and make your sky-high hopes a reality.
Sarina Singh / Thornton Tomasetti
support. We’re not happy until you are.
Vessel, New York, NY
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
QUALIFICATIONS
COLLABORATION + TECHNOLOGY New technologies – commercially available software and custom tools developed by our CORE studio – are raising the bar on how tall buildings can go. But it takes more than computer programs to deliver great designs. We believe that collaboration amplifies our innovative potential, so we foster a culture that empowers our teams to share knowledge and ideas. That’s how we discover the right questions to ask – and answer.
TO US, GLOBAL IS LOCAL We’ve built towers around the globe, and have teams on the ground worldwide. This means that no matter where you are or who you’re working with, our people can understand your project’s nuances.
We’ve developed innovative tools to track and reduce the embodied carbon in structures of every size.
550 Washington Street, New York, New York 6
TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
Comcast Technology Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA This 1,121-foot (374 m) tower is the tallest building in Philadelphia and among the tallest in the United States. We provided structural design services for the 60-story tower, which includes offices, research and development space, a television studio and a luxury hotel. The building features exposed structural steel throughout and an asymmetrical concrete core that accommodates uninterrupted floor plans. The floors form three-story terraced groups, with large atrium spaces and connecting stairs in each. Our engineers worked closely with the architects to develop exposed-steel connections that combine visual appeal and structural efficiency. We also collaborated with the several potential challenges, saving time and materials during construction.
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
Rendering by DBOX/Courtesy Foster + Partners
contractor to develop practical solutions to
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
Wuhan Greenland Center Wuhan, China The tallest building in Wuhan, this 1,558-foot (475 m) tower has a structural system consisting of a composite concrete core with locally embedded steel plates and a composite megaframe – a combination that increases strength and enhances ductility. We provided both structural and façade engineering services for the iconic tower, simplifying coordination and creating added value for the client. The floor system, a composite of concrete slab, metal deck and steel beam, takes advantage of lower local concrete prices and helped accelerate construction. The tower’s tapered body reduces wind vortex shedding, which can cause sway or vibration.
of the façades enabled us to develop curtain-wall solutions for their warped surfaces. A penalization study helped evaluate the properties of the façade panel configuration and optimize constructability and cost-effectiveness.
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
Courtesy Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Parametric modeling analysis and reconstruction
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
30 Hudson Yards New York, New York, USA We provided integrated structural and erection engineering services for this 1,296-foot (395 m) tower. Built over an active rail yard, its foundations and columns were threaded between the tracks. Outrigger and transfer trusses, along with sloped columns in mechanical spaces, effectively created megatrusses that transferred loads from the building’s column grid to the available landing spots. We also engineered Edge – the highest sky deck in the Western Hemisphere – which cantilevers 65 feet from the face of the building, on the 100th floor.
Torre Koi Monterrey, Mexico At 916 feet (279.5 m), Mexico’s second-tallest building incorporates post-tensioned concrete flat slabs supported by concrete columns and a concrete shear-wall core. Two full-story concrete belt
analysis and design, in addition to structural design through design development, for the 67-story tower. 12
TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
TIF Digital
wind-induced movement. We performed seismic
Bess Adler/Thornton Tomasetti
walls link the tower columns to the core to reduce
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
Ascent Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA When complete, this 284-foot (87 m) residential tower will be the world’s tallest mass-timber structure (check out our video series). Our structural engineers designed a system of glulam columns and beams with floor slabs of cross-laminated timber. Posttensioned concrete beams transfer loads from the timber floors to a concrete garage structure below. The project required extensive research into mass timber’s behavior, as well as development of new material standards and custom computational tools.
Jeddah Tower Jeddah, Saudi Arabia We tailored the structure of this tower – planned to be the world’s tallest building, at 3,281 feet (1,000 m) – for optimal wind resistance and constructability while being true to the architect’s design vision. The form, inspired by the folded
concrete-based system employs construction practices and concrete strengths common in the region.
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
Thornton Tomasetti
plan and a tapering vertical profile. An efficient
Courtesy Korb + Associates Architects
fronds of a desert plant, features a three-legged
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
Ministry of Taxation Tower Baku, Azerbaijan A unique 32-story architectural concept stacks five offset cubes – connected only at the core – atop a podium. An economical, easy-to-construct composite transfer system bridged the columnfree spaces between the cubes. Reinforcedconcrete tension and compression floors augment steel transfer trusses that shift loads to the core while minimizing impact on interior layouts. Performance-based design of the circular concrete core wall helps resist seismic forces.
Wilshire Grand Center Los Angeles, California, USA Above a sea of flat-topped buildings capped by evacuation helipads, this 73-story tower stands out with its sail-shaped crown. As a subconsultant to engineer AC Martin Partners, we provided structural and performance-based seismic design
concrete core and uses groups of bucklingrestrained braces in outrigger trusses to resist lateral loads and control differential shortening.
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
Courtesy Tekfen Construction
1,100-foot (335 m) structure has a fire-resistant
Bess Adler / Thornton Tomasetti
to help make the elegant profile possible. The
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
1900 Reston Metro Plaza Our structural engineers designed a unique lateral system consisting of architecturally exposed concrete exoskeleton columns that support a profile that grows outward at each aboveground floor level. The design also includes an open plaza surrounded by five-story concrete-and-steel composite “tree columns,” which start together at a node at the base and branch out to
Rainer Viertlboeck | Photographer, JAHN | Architect
Reston, Virginia, USA
support the 11 stories above.
VIA 57 West New York, New York, USA We provided structural engineering services for this 44-story residential complex. Designed as a hybrid between a European perimeter block and a traditional New York high-rise building, the tetrahedonal shape optimizes the number of units with views of the Hudson River while preserving
Bess Adler/Thornton Tomasetti
an adjacent tower’s line of sight.
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS
7132 Hotel Vals, Switzerland Set to be the world’s tallest hotel and the tallest building in western Europe, this slender 1,250foot (381 m) tower uses a high-strength concrete and steel supercore and a tuned mass damper to control wind-induced motion. Valley-facing rooms have a column-free perimeter, achieved by suspending the floor slabs from the supercore and a central spine wall.
110 North Wacker Chicago, Illinois, USA The tallest office building constructed in Chicago in the last 30 years is a 56-story trapezoidal tower featuring a series of 30-foot-wide setbacks and three treelike supporting structural elements above its public promenade alongside the
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
© Nick Ulivieri Photography
Courtesy Morphosis Architects
Chicago River.
AMERICAS
Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Max Touhey
New York, New York, USA
Daryl Bruvelaitis-Wikimedia
One Vanderbilt
Elysee
Courtesy Arquitectonica
Courtesy Steve Freihon for Related-Oxford
Gunnar Hubbard/Thornton Tomasetti
Courtesy GREC Architects
Miami, Florida, USA
10 Hudson Yards New York, New York, USA
Mira San Francisco, California, USA
One Bennett Park Chicago, Illinois, USA
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
ASIA/PACIFIC
Suzhou Zhongnan Center
Hefei, China
Evergrande Group
Hefei Evergrande Financial Center
Gensler
Suzhou, China
Ping An International Finance Centre Shenzhen, China
Halohoon
Busan, South Korea
© Connie Zhou Studio
Haeundae Doosan We’ve the Zenith
Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates
Jakarta, Indonesia
C. T. Tam/Thornton Tomasetti
Signature Tower
Shanghai Tower Shanghai, China
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST
SOCAR Tower
Palazzo Lombardia Milan, Italy
Simon Hsu
Wansoon Park
Baku, Azerbaijan
Akhmat Tower
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Courtesy Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Villas in the Sky
Courtesy Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Courtesy Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Hilal Tower
Thornton Tomasetti
Grozny, Russia
Uptown Dubai Dubai, UAE
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TALL & SUPERTALL BUILDINGS
HERE’S HOW
Acoustics, Noise & Vibration Aviation Commercial Construction Engineering Critical Facilities Cultural & Community Decarbonization Defense Education Energy Façades Forensics & Investigations Government
We apply scientific and engineering principles to solve the world’s challenges – starting with yours. Whether we’re focused on the design, construction and performance of buildings or expanding into new disciplines, we never limit ourselves, applying our expertise to all types of projects across a range of industries. How can we help you?
Healthcare & Research Hospitality & Gaming Insurance Life Sciences Protective Design & Security Residential Resilience Restoration & Renewal Special Structures Sports & Public Assembly Structural Design
We offer solutions for an ever-widening range of services and sectors.
Sustainability Tall & Supertall Buildings Transportation & Infrastructure
LASTING IMPACT Done right, a tall building can revitalize a neighborhood or put a city on the map. Tall buildings are special places where thousands gather to work, play and live for years to come. With our unequaled combination of experience and ingenuity, we can tackle the toughest problems and make your sky-high hopes a reality.
Offices Worldwide 120 Broadway New York, NY 10271 T +1.917.661.7800
May 20 21
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