STRUCTURAL AND GEOTECHNICAL DESIGN OF A HIGH-RISE BUILDING USING A 3D BIM GENERATED MODEL

Abstract

This paper presents the work performed by an undergraduate student group at the American University in Cairo as a first phase of their graduation project that mimics a state-of-the-art industrial experience in structural and geotechnical design of a high-rise building using building information model (BIM). A 3-D BIM was developed for the structure and used to generate an analytical model which is exported to a structural numerical analysis program, followed by a full design of the building elements and foundation. The considered building is 218 m high, in which the architectural design requires a successive 2-degrees twist per floor through the building height, resulting in a total twist of 80 degrees between the first and last floors. The architect also retracted the slabs every six stories from a group of columns, leaving 24 m-height laterally unsupported peripheral columns. As such, the vertical and horizontal building irregularities present challenges in the structural modeling and design and requires thorough analyses, particularly for seismic and wind considerations. Due to the high water table at the building site and the existence of a 12.5 underground basement, a special dewatering technique was proposed, along with the full tanking design consideration of the building basement.