Horizontal Skyscraper: Innovative Structural Design of Shenzhen VANKE Center

Abstract

The Shenzhen VANKE Center included both the required ground clearance to the first floor of 10–15 m as well as unsupported spans in excess of 50 m. The concept of building on cable-stayed bridges was finally selected. In this design, a system consisting of inclined prestressed cables and rigid composite floor systems is used to transfer the gravity loads from the superstructure to the tubes, walls, and columns. The simulation of the construction sequence of the cable prestressing and the structural behaviors are revealed. The innovative structural concept and design methods could be used as a reference. Long-span buildings are usually associated with specialpurpose structures (stadiums, airports, etc.), and the type of structural systems that consequently have evolved can be viewed as an extension of the concepts used in the construction of domes and arches. Until now, the conventional design of typical long-span office and mixed-use buildings has involved the use of transfer structures to support the main superstructure, such as in the incorporation of megatrusses, in which the height can exceed that of a single story. These transfer truss systems also provide additional lateral stiffness to the overall structure. The challenges posed by the architectural design of the Shenzhen VANKE Center included both the required ground clearance to the first floor of 10–15 m as well as that required for unsupported spans in excess of 50 m. Following a comparison of several structural schemes, the concept of building on cable-stayed bridges was finally selected. Moreover, after considering the architectural specifications and the requirements of the surrounding space, it was evident that anchoring cables could not be utilized in the proposed cable-stayed building scheme. Therefore, in this design, a system consisting of inclined prestressed cables and rigid composite floor systems was used to transfer the gravity loads from the superstructure to the tubes, walls, and columns. Four innovative concepts were introduced in the realization of the project: (1) techniques for preventing slack in the cables; (2) precise adjustment of prestressing forces in the cables; (3) self-balanced structural design and construction; and (4) control of lateral displacements during construction of the structure. The details of these concepts as well as the construction sequence of the cable prestressing and critical aspects of the structural system are presented in this paper.