Architectural form of a tall building can be the most influential factor in its performance under the action of wind. Traditionally, tall building projects include early stage architectural design that is often decoupled from engineering considerations. When wind tunnel testing of a set architectural form reveals any undesirable behavior, it must be mitigated through engineering modifications. These modifications typically include addition of structural material or supplementary damping devices. Modern-day awareness of the potential environmental impacts of construction has caused emphasis to be placed on economically and materially efficient building design, prompting designers to utilize preexisting material in innovative ways. Intelligent design of architectural forms enables the shape of a tall building to be a part of the solution to its crosswind excitation problem rather than worsen its effect. In this project, practically applicable aerodynamic treatments such as single- and double-vents, chamfering of corners, and addition of fins to a portion of the building were explored as a means to reduce crosswind excitation of a prismatic square building were investigated.

This project is a collaboration between the Wind Engineering Research Laboratory and Skidmore, Orwings & Merrill.