Tall building developments have been rapidly increasing worldwide. This paper reviews the evolution of tall building's structural systems and the technological driving force behind tall building developments. For the primary structural systems, a new classification -interior structures and exterior structures -is presented. While most representative structural systems for tall buildings are discussed, the emphasis in this review paper is on current trends such as outrigger systems and diagrid structures. Auxiliary damping systems controlling building motion are also discussed. Further, contemporary "out-of-the-box" architectural design trends, such as aerodynamic and twisted forms, which directly or indirectly affect the structural performance of tall buildings, are reviewed. Finally, the future of structural developments in tall buildings is envisioned briefly.

New developments of tall buildings of ever-growing heights have been continuously taking place worldwide. Consequently, many innovations in structural systems have emerged. This paper presents a retrospective survey of the main structural systems for tall buildings with emphasis on the advancements of recent, emerging, and potentially emerging systems. A structural systems chart that was previously developed by the authors has been updated in this paper to recognize, categorize and add the more recent structural systems. Recent trends of tubular structural systems in modified forms including the braced megatubes and diagrids are presented. Core-outrigger structural systems are discussed with emphasis on their adaptability. The potential of employing superframes for stand-alone and conjoined megatall buildings is predicted. As a means to solve today's various project-specific complex design requirements, different mixed structural systems for supertall and megatall buildings are presented. This paper also discusses the widespread application of composite structural systems and recent trends of concrete cores for contemporary tall buildings. Finally, the future of tall buildings is predicted as the race for height continues.

SUMMARYSustainable structural engineering strategies for tall buildings are presented with an emphasis on stiffness-based material-saving design methodologies. The design methodologies are applied to the systems with diagonals such as braced tubes and more recently developed diagrid structures. Guidelines for determination of bending and shear deformations for optimal design, which uses the least amount of structural material to meet the stiffness requirements, are presented. The impact of different geometric confi gurations of the structural members on the material-saving economic design is also discussed, and recommendations for optimal geometries are made. The design strategies discussed here will contribute to constructing built environments using the minimum amount of resources.

This paper investigates the structural performance of vertically distributed multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs), which can save valuable occupiable space near the top of tall buildings, control the first as well as higher mode responses and be installed more easily because of smaller tuned mass damper (TMD) masses. Vertically distributed MTMD theory is presented. With this theory, the effectiveness of vertically distributed MTMDs along the building height is predicted using simplified models, compared with the conventional TMDs installed near the top of tall buildings. Vertically distributed MTMDs are designed for a typical 60‐storey tall building subjected to representative dynamic wind loads, and their performance is measured. The results of these studies show that TMDs can be distributed vertically along the building height without substantial loss of their effectiveness. Considering their advantages over the conventional system, vertically distributed MTMDs possess a high potential of practical applications for tall‐building motion control. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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