My Own Interpretation

I've been looking at pictures I've found of computer generated images of wind flow around different building shapes. I thought I'd try to recreate one myself, with my own design. Not sure exactly how accurate this is!

The different colors indicate different air speeds over the structure. Blue is the slowest, with air being virtually at a stand still; yellow is the fastest. I put mine between zero and forty-two meters per second. Obviously, this value would vary depending on the initial speed of the air hitting the building.

Revit's Project Falcon

Revit has designed a new program that allows you to model wind flow and turbulence around tall structures. Named Project Falcon, the program uses colors in the model to signify different wind speeds around a massed structure. This enables designers and engineers to have a better understanding of how their design will behave and react with the elements in real life.

Autodesk Revit Facebook Page

Autodesk Project Falcon

Dubai's Burj Khalifa

At 829.8 meters tall, the Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merill of Chicago, who also designed the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) in Chicago, and New York's new One World Trade Center. The skyscraper took six years to construct, was officially opened on January 4, 2010, and certified as the world's tallest structure on March 10, 2010.

Over forty wind tunnel tests were conducted to learn the effects of the strong Arab winds. The building's shape is modeled after the Hymeocallis, a desert flower indiginous to the region, as well as incorporating patterns found within Islamic architecture. Burj Khalifa's 'Y' shaped cross section and it's stepped-back profile reduce drag and wind resistance across its surface, which is vital for such a tall structure, avoiding  stresses that could potentially cause it to topple over.

The tower has fifteen tiers, or groups of commonly-shaped floors, over 100 storey increments. Each is staggered back in a spiral-stepping pattern as you rise up the building, causing the tower's width to decrease at each setback, and diffusing wind flow and pressure across its surface.

Burj Khalifa Official Site
Journal Article: Structural Behavior of Burj Khalifa

China's Wuhan Greenland Center

The Wuhan Greenland Center is set to be built where the Han and Yangtze rivers converge in Wuhan, China. At 606 meters tall, upon completed in 2016 it will be the world's fourth tallest structure, and China's third. Designed by AS+GG Architecture, the building is both aerodynamic and eco-friendly, containing sustainable elements. It is composed of a concrete and steel core, surrounded by curtain wall cladding, and smooth, curved glass wrapped around all of the building's corners. Its shape is designed to reduce wind resistance across the building's surface, which in turn prevents the vortex wind action that is created by so many tall structures. The WGC's shape is comprised of a three-cornered, tripod-shaped base, rising upwards and tapering into an arched tip and dome at the building's top. In addition, there are openings in the curtain walls at the building's sides to allow the flow-through of air, reducing air pressure on the tower's surface.

Six-hundred meter tall aerodynamic eco-tower being built in China

Bahrain's World Trade Center

The Bahrain World Trade Center is located in Manama, Bahrain. It took four years to construct, and was completed by the Atkins architectural firm in 2008. The building consists of two sail-shaped towers, connected by three separate "sky bridges". On each sky bridge is a wind turbine which, together, generate 11-15% of the building's power. Each tower is aerodynamically shaped to accelerate and funnel wind into the space between the two towers, maximizing the amount of power that can be generated by the three turbines. The shape of each tower also ensures that, regardless of wind direction, a wind stream is created that is perpendicular to the turbines' blades, also maximizing their efficiency.

BWTC Official Site

Formula One's Adrian Newey

I thought I would post about one of the people who got me interested in aerodynamics in the first place. It is completely unrelated to architecture, but what the heck. His name is Adrian Newey, and he is the chief designer for F1's Red Bull Racing team (yes, if you know anything about me, it's that I'm a car racing nerd). Adrian graduated from the University of Southampton (that's in England, not Scotland) with a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and has been working in Formula One since 1988 (when I was crawling around in nappies and reading books made from foam). He calls himself the "dinsosaur", as he is the only designer in the industry who still chooses to painstakingly sketch out all of his designs by hand on a drawing board, instead of using a CAD program. The man is smart enough to design spaceships, but instead, he designs cars that can reach speeds of over 300 km/hr. Fast cars are way cooler than buildings. Much cooler. Sorry Dale.

You can read a bit more about Adrian here.
Red Bull Designer Adrian Newey Still Ahead of the Game

Photo credit www.newyorker.com

Mississauga's Absolute Towers

Late last year, the Chinese architectural firm MAD completed the twin Absolute Condominium Towers in Mississauga, ON. Each individual storey is "incremently rotated", creating a naturally aerodynamic shape in both buildings.

Absolute Towers by MAD

'Marilyn Monroe' Towers

London's Gherkin

The Swiss Re Center, or 'Gherkin', in downtown London is a famous example of aerodynamics being applied to building design.

http://www.architectvictoria.com/2011/09/16/gherkin-in-london-awarded-top-architectural-prize/

My Proposal

The Art of Architectural Aerodynamics

Summary Statement of Proposed Project

    

     The application and understanding of aerodynamics in the design of a tall building is vital in ensuring that they can withstand the forces of the elements upon them. But aside from contributing to structural integrity, architectural aerodynamics can create structures that are both incredibly unique and beautiful in appearance.

Purpose

    

     The purpose of this project is to build an understanding of aerodynamics and how it can be applied to a building’s concept and design in unique ways, and through the use of different materials, to reduce the negative effects of the elements upon it.

Goal & Objectives

    

     The primary goal of this research project is to achieve a personal understanding of the study of aerodynamics, and how it can be applied to architecture and design. Ultimately, its purpose is to compare unique buildings from around the world, and how the principals of aerodynamics have been applied to their design in different ways.

    

     In addition, this project will identify different building materials that are commonly used in the construction of tall structures, and how effectively they reduce drag across a building’s surface. Lastly, it will identify the forces that act upon tall buildings and how an understanding of aerodynamics can be incorporated into a building’s design to reduce any negative effects caused by those forces.

Methodology & Analytical Approach

    

     The majority of the information found within this research project will be acquired from published papers and articles taken from engineering journals, as well as literature found within Thompson Rivers University’s library. In addition, I hope to meet with individuals who work within the construction industry, and apply the concepts of aerodynamics to their own work.

Previous Studies

    

     Through the preliminary research I have already conducted on this topic, it is apparent that architectural aerodynamics has been researched by many other individuals in the past. However, it is uncommon for different structures to be compared to one another in these studies, and they varying degrees that aerodynamic design is used. Therefore, it is my main objective to compare unique structures, and the differing methods used in their conceptualization.

Plans for Dissemination of Work

    

     It is my intention to share my work with other people and fellow students through the use of a personal blog, which I will update with my findings as often as possible.

Contribution of This Project to My Personal Academic Goals & Objectives

    

     Since I was very young, I have been an avid fan of Formula One racing, in large part from the influences of both my father and uncle. Having grown up as a bit of a petrol head, I am fascinated with the concept and design of racing cars, with aerodynamics being a huge part of that process. As someone who is pursuing architectural engineering as a career, I wanted to choose a topic that combined both my future profession and a personal interest. Therefore, I intend to investigate aerodynamics in regards to its role in the construction industry, and how its concepts can be applied to building design. In addition, it is my hope that achieving an understanding of aerodynamics will make me a better designer in the future.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! The main topic of this page is my own research regarding architectural aerodynamics, and its use in the construction industry, and I will be updating it with new findings and information as often as I can. Any input is welcome :)