Composite Construction

Novel Advantages of Composite Construction
Summary of Presentation,
ACI Spring Convention, April 16, 2005
There are many novel advantages to
combining concrete and steel in the design of
the primary structure for a high-rise building.
Using the best properties of both materials to
solve the design challenge can result in a cost-
effective solution that best meets a project’s
architectural and functional requirements.
In many parts of the country, concrete
cores are used within an otherwise steel-
framed office tower to achieve cost and
scheduling benefits. These benefits are maxi-
mized when the concrete core construction, by
slip or jump forming, can lead the steel erec-
tion, while the steel is still being fabricated and
eventually erected below the concrete. Unfor-
BY RICHARD L. tunately, to date, this is not done in New York
TOMASETTI, because of unresolved union and safety issues.
P.E., HON. AIA The concrete industry needs to focus on
Fig. 1. ABN-AMRO - Concrete core, steel frame, with
resolving these issues. It has successfully been
post-tensioned garage at base.
Chairman, done just about everywhere else in the coun-
Thornton-Tomasetti try.
Group Two examples in Chicago are the 31-
story ABM AMRO office building designed by
architects DeStephano & Partners (Fig. 1) and
the 50-story UBS Tower designed by architects
Lohan Caprile Goettsch (Figs. 2, 3, 4). Both rely 100% on the
stiff concrete core for lateral and torsional wind resistance and
acceleration control without outriggers. Accomplishing this with a
relatively slender core for the 50-story UBS Tower exemplifies the
advantages of the concrete core’s greater stiffness and damping
characteristics, compared to a steel core design.
Also, this approach results in simplified steel fabrication and
erection by eliminating cross-bracing and moment connections,
while providing economical long core-to-perimeter spans. In
addition, composite columns facilitated long unbraced lobby
heights.
On the concrete core, steel-framed 191 North Wacker, also
in Chicago and designed by KPF Architects, the lower floors are a
concrete garage. This concrete construction also facilitated an
eccentric cantilever for the entire building, using stepped sloping
columns, to accommodate a road clearance constraint (Figs 5, 6).
Figure 2. UBS Tower - 50 stories, concrete core, steel
Often, mixing concrete and steel is motivated by the mixed-
frame.
use requirements of a project, such as combining residential and
office spaces in the same building. A good example is 731 Lexing-
ton Avenue in New York, designed by Cesar Pelli Architects (Fig.
7). Twenty-four residential floors of flat-plate concrete construction
sit on top of 30 commercial floors of long-span steel construction
with a retail steel base. The design required an innovative transfer
floor to accommodate the totally different column spacings of the
residential and commercial spaces (Fig. 8). The advantages of the
concrete residential design more than justified the cost of the
transfer. They are: reducing floor-to-floor heights with subsequent
reduction in lateral forces, riser and curtain wall height, and cost;
and providing both residential and office spaces with optimal Figure 3. UBS Tower - Typical floor plan.
16 • Fall 2005 Concrete Industry Board Bulletin

column spacing for their functions.
A similar approach was used on the 675-foot-tall
Random House building in New York. Both 731
Lexington and Random House incorporated a tuned
mass damper in their designs. It is interesting to note
that Random House has the first building-related tuned
liquid column dampers in the U.S. The dampers were
the most cost-effective option for providing tenant
comfort on these composite structures.
Another unique use of combining concrete and
steel was for the eight concrete-filled super columns of
the now-tallest building in the world, 101 Taipei,
designed by C. Y. Lee Architects (Fig. 9). Filling the
major columns (Fig. 10) with concrete was a more
economical solution for drift control, seismic resistance,
and strength than providing additional steel to this Figure 4. UBS Tower - Concrete core.
primarily steel-framed structure. Additional composite
columns and composite shear walls were also used
below the 26th floor to meet the project’s severe wind
and seismic criteria.
In summary, numerous innovative ways of
combining the best properties of steel and concrete can
be utilized for the design of cost-effective structures and
to increase market share of concrete construction in
buildings that have typically been perceived as steel-
only construction. The use of concrete mass, strength
and fire resistance for protection against certain types
of security threats in today’s modern age has been an
additional motivation to consider novel approaches to
composite construction.
Figure 5. 191 North Wacker -Sloping columns.
Figure 6. 191 North Wacker - Stepped sloping concrete columns. Figure 7. 731 Lexington Avenue - Project description.
Figure 8. 731 Lexington Avenue - Figure 9. Taipei 101 - Eight concrete- Figure 10. Taipei 101 - Super-column fabrication.
Transfer truss about to be encased. filled super columns.
Concrete Industry Board Bulletin Fall 2005 • 17

Composite Construction

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Novel Advantages of Composite Construction

16 • Fall 2005 Concrete Industry Board Bulletin

Figure 5. 191 North Wacker -Sloping columns.

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