Design Concept for Leaning Towers in China

[KAYTWO]

China is constructing the tilt towers. The towers lean 60° in two directions.

Can someone explain me what basic structural design concepts used to tilt the building at 60 degrees?

I would appreciate your response at your earliest convenience.

Thanks.

MAK
Los Angeles,

http://enr.ecnext.com/free-scripts/comsite2.pl?page=enr_document&article=necoar070402a

Construction continues at "full tilt" on Beijing's new 755-ft-tall China Central Television headquarters, as contractors push for completion in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. The building, designed by The Netherlands' Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam, features towers that lean 60° in two directions. "We've got a building that permanently wants to fall over," says Rory McGowan, project director for London-based Arup Group, which is handling the structural and equipment design on the $600-million project (ENR 05/19/03 p. 32).

 

[youngstructural]

Basically you would have one half of your structure in a perpetual state of tension (this is a very key consideration when detailing connections, particularly welding) and the other half would be in an aggregive state of compression.

Essentially you could consider the analogy of a cantilever projecting from a wall when you look at these buildings. The foundations would be a very key part of the job, but the engineering for such a building would not be overly challenging, however the construction would be prohibitively expensive unless you had very reliable bedrock which you were able to anchor into. Bear in mind that anchoring into bedrock does not mean developing tension in the rock, but rather grouting solid into a drilled hole with a high-tension steel cable or rod which would thereafter develop a failure cone of sufficient mass to retain the building's overturning moment.

Neat design: Thanks for the post!

YS

B.Eng (Carleton)
Working in New Zealand, thinking of my snow covered home...

 

[dik]

I think it's kinda silly having floors that slope... expecially with computer chairs with castors... <G>

Joking aside, the sloped walls might be less efficient for floor spaces...

Dik

 

[apsix]

Of course the buildings lean at 30°, not 60°, otherwise normal vertical buildings could be described as leaning at 90°.
Looking at the pictures the lean appears to be less than 30°.

 

[Ussuri]

The chinese seem to have a thing for really unusual buildings at the moment. This is there new television headquarters.

http://www.arup.com/eastasia/project.cfm?pageid=1948

http://www.arcspace.com/architects/koolhaas/chinese_television/

 

[hokie66]

It's not really the Chinese who want the weird buildings. Just architects trying to make a name for themselves by turning buildings into cute sculpture.

 

[Jordonlaw]

This sort of design has been going on for years. You don't think the Tower of Piza really happened by accident do you ?

 

[HgTX]

Ussuri--that's the same building. Doesn't look nearly as leaning in the final form. The real wacky part isn't the lean but the catilever section.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[csd72]

Very bad for seismic. Leaning towers will tend to twist more than a vertical one, and the bridge between them will need to take any loads induced by differential movement of the two towers.

This will be a very expensive building.

 

[Ussuri]

HgTX. Good spy.