Tall Buildings Whitepaper

7/27/2019 Tall Buildings Whitepaper

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MEGATALL:

What does it take?

EC Harris | Property


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This paper outlines how the

landscape is changing or tall

buildings and provides an outlook

on what it takes to develop amegatall structure. We consider

how an investor and a developer

can ensure their plans or

constructing and investing

successully.

Why build tall?

The principal drivers to build tall vary considerably from

city to city around the world but are intrinsically linked

to two key drivers; wealth / power and / or limitation on

space. History shows that there has always been a passion,

if not obsession, to stretch boundaries of engineering and

construction by building high; essentially where no man

has ever been before.

Within the next decade we are likely to see not only the

worlds rst kilometre tall building, The Kingdom Tower,

Jeddah, but a signicant number o tall buildings that could

stretch over 600 metres high (2000t). These are known as

the megatall buildings.

To put that in perspective, that is our times the size o the

Shard in London. A ew years ago, this type o building was

not even in existence and yet the Council on Tall Buildings and

Urban Habitat (CTBUH) pipeline shows that we can anticipate

over ten megatall buildings to exist across the world by 2020.

Interestingly all o these buildings exist in either the Middle

East or Asia. The tallest building under construction outsideo these regions is the One World Trade Centre, in New York,

which will stand at 540 metres.

Executive summary

The principal drivers to build tall vary considerably

around the world but are intrinsically linked to two

key drivers; wealth/power and/or limitation on space

Currently nine out o ten o the worlds tallest

buildings are located in Asia

There are our key reasons or this shit rom West to

East which help us to understand what is driving the

change to build tall

A megatall building is unlike any other type o

building. It is truly unique and many key actors need

to be taken into consideration as early as possible

We have ocused on seven key areas that need to be

considered when constructing a megatall building

A ocus on viability, eciency and the speed todeliver is vital to build a successul megatall

construction.


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Where will the megatall buildings be located?

A correlation o GDP growth and building tall The shit rom west to east

How tall is megatall?


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The shit rom West to East

Currently nine out of ten of the worlds tallest buildings are located in Asia, led by the

Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE. During 2012, a staggering 66 new tall buildings (200m or

more) were built across the World. Interestingly, three out of the top four tall buildings

are planned to be built in Dubai, UAE.

In the late 1980s, the top ten tallest buildings in the world were all located in North America;nine in the USA and one in Canada. Over the past 25 years the geographical make up o

this list has shited eastwards, corresponding to the economic emergence o these nations.

As Asian economies grew and looked to establish themselves as global economic markets,

so too did the height o their buildings. It is evident that countries use architecture to

demonstrate the development and achievement o their nations.

1998 marked a denitive shit rom West to East or tall buildings, when the Petronas

Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ocially became the worlds tallest buildings. The

towers were the rst outside o the US to hold this honour. This ollowed a succession

o tall structures in the east, including the Taipei 101 in 2004 and the Burj Khalia,

launched in 2010.

Why the shit?

There are four main reasons for this shift from West

to East. The motives help us to understand what is

driving the change in landscape for tall buildings.

1. Planning governance

In mature markets (specically the West), planning

governance has had a signicant impact in controlling

the height o buildings. Many mature cities want

to protect the view o their skyline. In contrast, the

Middle East has a much more relaxed planning

regime, which is enabling this shit. For example, in

2004 Dubai Marinas rst phase was complete and by

the end o 2013 the surrounding area will comprise

o numerous high rise buildings. This shows a rapid

turnaround, whereby planning governance is not

withholding any o these developments. This area

in Dubai is oten reerred to as the tallest block in

the world because 14 out o 20 o the current

tallest buildings in Dubai are located in the Dubai

Marina district.

2. Land value + the economy

As outlined in the graphic on page three, there is a

direct link with economic growth (GDP) and where tall

buildings are constructed. The emerging markets,

typically in the Middle East and Asia, land values are

low and the economy outlook has been promising. In

contrast the Western market land values are particularly

high with little GDP growth.

3. Population increase

In heavily populated cities land is scarce and valued

greatly. As a consequence, these cities that have a

high population rate have more demand or tall

buildings. The population rate across Asia is huge and

the land is scarce, thereore the need to build tall is a

necessity in the East.

4. The demand for recognition and prestige

New emerging markets continue to command

recognition and as a result society demands new

developments and inrastructure. As countries in

the East build more iconic and tall buildings, prestige

and recognition ollows. These tall constructions

oten anchor other developments and inrastructure

and encourage new value to be created in the

surrounding areas.

For example, the worlds current tallest building The

Burj Khalia, represents a signicantly high valuedpiece o real estate. As a result this was made the

centerpiece o a new business and residential district

in Dubai and consequently a premium is charged or

properties in the area, specically or those with clear

views o the skyscraper. Even i the Burj Khalia

ailed to return a prot, its presence will raise the

surrounding property value enough to more than

oset the di erence.


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WHAT DOES IT TAKE

TO DEVELOP A

MEGATALL

STRUCTURE SAFELY,

EFFICIENTLY AND

AT SPEED?

A megatall building is unlike any other building, it is truly

unique. Many key actors need to be taken into consideration

as early as possible to ensure a sae and ecient structure is

adhered to, within time and to budget.

In this paper we identiy seven areas that need consideration

when constructing a megatall building.


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The risks associated with building tall are ever more amplied when compared to any

other building. Thereore, it is o critical importance that a developer and/or an investor

is ully aware o the key drivers associated with the construction o a megatall

building, irrespective o use or ownership.

The key drivers include:

1. Health and saety rst

Building tall represents many risks and as a result, health

and saety should always be oremost in any construction

project. A megatall structure has to consider the risks

as does any other construction project, but there shouldalso be a ocus on key areas, such as:

Site inductions

Site inductions or all site personnel are a eature o

all building projects however these must be tailored to

the risks o working at height. They must constantly be

updated as the building increases in height. In addition,

access to upper areas must be controlled and restricted

to those that need to work in these areas.

Site welare

As a building rises, welare acilities need to ollow.Workers must have access to toilet acilities, a canteen

and rest areas close to their areas o work. In addition,

considerable planning o the movement o workers at

the start and nish o shits is required, in accordance

with available temporary vertical access acilities.

Preabrication

Where possible, elements which pose the greatest risk

o installation at height, should be preabricated,

particularly those on the periphery. Complex items

should be trial assembled at ground level rst andparticular care is required with loose ttings which

should be contained and tools which should be tethered.

Fire

Construction site res are always a major risk

particularly as a building nears completion. The re

risk or a megatall structure is multiplied. In addition

to usual good practice and policing, consideration

should be given to early completion o reuge and

escape stair areas.

2. The economy and market

Evidence shows that there is a direct link between

economic growth and building tall (see graphic on

page three). Market conditions clearly have an eect

on the viability o a tall development.

Securing nance or megatall projects is an important

element (i not the most important) to ensure successul

delivery. There are many large and varying investments

made once the preparation and detailed easibilitystudies have been conrmed, to ensure the target is

reached by the investors and much o this is linked to

the market and economic demand.

Tall buildings oten take longer to achieve statutory

approvals because each country has specic building

control guidelines. For example, the Landmark

Tower in Abu Dhabi was one o the rst high rise

developments in the city, where potential conficts

between international guidelines and interpretation

o local building codes and re evacuation guidelines

had to be managed careully to meet municipality

satisaction. Due to the very complex nature o a high

rise design and construction process it is necessary

that robust planning is undertaken to crystalise

development expectations. Usually tall buildings are

uelled by pre-let tenant arrangements or pre-sales

to consolidate the business case through o setting

potential commercial risk.

Market and tenant need

Wherever you are in the world, no-one is currently

building a tall tower without any tenants or potential

occupants. A development will always be aligned to the

market need and should ocus on a specic segment

demand. This will initially be led by market research

to determine demand, which shapes the developers

product. The common thread across highly successul

tall buildings is quality, but it is important to note that

not all tall buildings need to be iconic or cutting edge.

Nonetheless, they do have to be very well conceived,

designed, managed and constructed, to align to market

and tenant requirements.


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3. The structure vs. value

Price vs. height and shape

The viability o any development is dependent on costs

vs revenue. These actors get ever more complex when

building tall. Typically, as the height o a buildingincreases so does the cost o construction, the challenge

is to hone this as early in the easibility process as

possible. In addition, there is a potential uplit in sales

price rom those units on the upper foors, particularly

iconic tall buildings.

Size and regularity o foor plate

Our bespoke modelling and benchmarking capability

or tall buildings, can measure and estimate typical cost

per square oot o constructing a tall tower, in line with

market need. The foor plate eciency is critical to theviability o any high rise tower and foor to wall ratios are

o undamental importance to this. Due to our in depth

knowledge and understanding o the key cost drivers or

tall buildings we are able to advise rom the outset o

concept design o any potential risks or opportunities.

Structure solutions

A clear denition o structural principles, such as

structural material and core locations must be

understood rom the outset. The integration o these

principles with the architectural and MEP Services design

is vital to create an eective design solution. In our

experience oten key design decisions are ormulated in

the concept stage or a high-rise design. These decisions

can heavily infuence all resources committed thereater

to both design and construct the development. Thereore

it is imperative that a ully integrated team is in place

rom conceptual design to ensure that all decisions are

ully considered and developed as early as is practically

easible and have minimal impact on the developments

viability.

Facade specication

The aade specication is critical to the success o any

tall building not only rom an aesthetic perspective butalso in terms o budget and viability. The selection o

the system can increase the construction budget by up

to 10% and the total costs o the aade can amount to

20% o the total shell and core cost o the tower. It is

important to note that whilst the aade specication

is oten driven rom the aesthetic aspirations, careul

consideration o the thermal, acoustic and structural

perormance is required to ensure that the correct

system is nally selected.

Vertical transportation strategy

The movement o people is particularly relevant in the

success o any high rise development. The type o

vertical transportation system is oten linked to the

specic use o the building and indeed in many cases

the mixed use o the building will acilitate the

requirement or sky lobbies in high rise towers. Double

decker lits, a relatively new technology, has been used

in some o our high rise developments to provide our

clients with an ecient solution to minimise tower core

area requirements and to meet the commercial oce

tower passenger requirements.


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4. The location and site approvals

Site constraints

A thorough understanding o the localised constraints

is essential, such as;

Ground conditions

Abnormal conditions

Planning legislation Legal issues, such as rights to light, air rights etc

Physical interaces

Stakeholder management.

All o these issues are absolutely critical to project

success. Early establishment o the constraints and

opportunities will rame the success o the development

and mitigate the risk o derailment.

Planning approval

Planning and code approvals (including seismicrequirements) become ever more complex at height,

as do engineering and constructability issues.

It is oten the case that the development o a signicant

landmark high rise development will increase the value

o the associated nearby land, and at times the tower

could prove to be a loss leader in an overall development.

Burj Khalia, as reerenced previously, probably alls

into this category. It is important to highlight specic

opportunities to investors on this when securing nance

and coming up against planning and site constraints.

5. Quality underpins valueProduct quality is o paramount importance or any

development, but most signicantly or a megatall

construction, because quality ensures the development

value is optimised.

One common thread that links tall buildings in every

country, across the world, is that quality underpins

value. In this respect, the most successul tall buildings

share high design and construction quality and space vs.

cost ecient metrics. Prime occupiers demand quality

that resonates with their own corporate brands.

Buildings designed and constructed to class leading

standards are rarely compromised by poor yield and

rental voids. Conversely poorly conceived, designed

and constructed tall buildings make up the majority

o under utilised real estate in cities around the world.

Furthermore, iconic buildings command recognition as

place makers, which oten anchor major developments

through game changing value creation. The outcome

is thereore o both macro and micro economic impact

and signicance.

It is oten the case that the

development o a signifcant

landmark high rise development

will increase the value o the

associated nearby land.


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6. Embrace and enable newtechnologies and innovations

Many o the challenges aced in the development, design

and construction o tall buildings, ocus on nding

innovative responses to mitigate risks associated with the

key cost drivers. This could be in the structural design,

sustainability, eciency o foor plates, or the cost andvalue implications o alternative methodologies. We

continually have to conduct extensive research or our

clients, meet with the top proessionals within the

relevant industry bodies, review up to date best practice

external publications and o course communicate

eectively with our ellow proessionals. This allows us

to better inorm our clients o what new innovations

and technologies are required to overcome the

perceived restrictions.

For example a client looking to develop a supertall

tower in Abu Dhabi, wanted advice on the pros and

cons o building a tower at potentially 400m, 500m

or 600m tall. Within a ew weeks, together with the

internationally renowned design team, ollowing

intensive review and analysis, we advised the client on

which scheme would work most eciently, eectively

and on time, rom either an aesthetic, nancial or indeed

unctional use perspective. In addition to this, we

were able to advise the client o the should cost

o the Tower.

7. Optimise a high perorming team

A team with extensive experience o tall buildings thathas learnt rom the iterative process o setting higher

standards on each project and the challenging boundaries

will provide a robust platorm and will ensure that quality

and value is maximised and delivery risk is kept to

a minimum.

Collaboration across the supply chain is vital and it is

ever more important that the team is integrated and

proactive to deliver. A strong leadership should ensure

that across all areas o design and construction the

supply chain is delivering a high perorming team.

Collaboration across the

supply chain is vital and it

is ever more important that

the team is integrated and

proactive to deliver.


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WHAT SHOULD THE FOCUS

BE ON WHEN BUILDING TALL?

A ocus on viability, eciency and the speed to deliver is vital to

building a successul megatall construction. Within this, technology

and innovation, as well as collaboration and leadership play a key role

across the supply chain, to ensure the delivery o a successul

megatall building.


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FURTHER INFORMATION

For urther inormation on how we can help you to deliver complex tall

buildings, please do not hesitate to contact:

Keith Brooks

Global Head o Property

e [email protected]

t +44 (0)20 7812 2230

m +44 (0)7 778 911 013

Terry Tommason

Head o Property, Middle East

e [email protected]

t +974 4 476 0001

m +974 5 550 5654

Derek Roy

Partner, Middle East

e [email protected]

t +974 4 476 0001

m +974 5 582 6357

Jon Moore

Head o Property, Asia

e [email protected]

t +852 2263 7477

m +852 9164 9218

Simon Light

Head o Property, UK

e [email protected] +44 (0)20 7833 6613

m +44 (0)7788 648 782

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