Wind-Induced Motion of Tall Buildings: Designing for Occupant Comfort

Abstract

A team of researchers and practitioners were recently assembled to prepare a monograph on “Wind-Induced Motion of Tall Buildings: Designing for Habitability”. This monograph presents a state-of-the-art report of occupant response to wind-induced building motion and acceptability criteria for wind-excited tall buildings. It provides background information on a range of pertinent subjects, including:  Physiological, psychological and behavioural traits of occupant response to wind-induced building motion;  A summary of investigations and findings of human response to real and simulated building motions based on field studies and motion simulator experiments;  A review of serviceability criteria to assess the acceptability of wind-induced building motion adopted by international and country-based standards organizations;  General acceptance guidelines of occupant response to wind-induced building motion based on peak acceleration thresholds; and  Mitigation strategies to reduce wind-induced building motion through structural optimization, aerodynamic treatment and vibration dissipation/absorption. This monograph is to be published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and equips building owners and tall building design professionals with a better understanding of the complex nature of occupant response to and acceptability of wind-induced building motion. This paper is a brief summary of the works reported in the monograph.