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What keeps a high-rise stable?
A tower does not rely on one “magic” structural element. Stability comes from several parts working together:
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- Site and hazard definition: The team establishes the applicable wind and seismic demands for the location and identifies the requirements enforced by the local jurisdiction.
- Building form: Height, plan shape, proportions and orientation influence how the tower responds to wind and how seismic forces travel through it.
- Lateral-force-resisting system: A core, frame, walls, braces, outriggers or a hybrid arrangement may be evaluated to resist horizontal forces and control movement.
- Foundations: The foundation system transfers gravity and lateral demands into the ground and must be coordinated with the tower’s stiffness and load path.
- Nonstructural systems: Facades, partitions, elevators, mechanical equipment and other components must tolerate the movement and acceleration the structural design permits.
The objective is a continuous, documented path from wind pressure or ground motion to the foundation and soil, with connections and interfaces designed as deliberately as the major members.
Site conditions come first
Designers cannot choose a suitable system from the building height alone. They study the site hazard, the tower’s geometry, materials, foundation conditions, architectural requirements, construction constraints and the owner’s performance goals. A system that works for one plan, soil profile or jurisdiction may be unsuitable for another.
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Movement is a design issue, not automatically a failure
Wind can produce structural loads and noticeable movement. Earthquakes intentionally drive the building through a range of responses so engineers can check what damage or loss of function is acceptable at defined hazard levels. A safe design therefore specifies performance objectives rather than assuming that a rigid building is always the best building.
How do skyscrapers withstand strong winds?
Wind becomes more demanding with height
Wind speed generally increases with height, and gusts and changing direction can make tall buildings especially sensitive to wind effects. The building must be checked not only for the force on its exterior but also for how that force produces overall response, local effects and movement that occupants or building systems may notice. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) identifies these issues as central to tall-building wind design.
Engineers assess both pressure and response
Wind analysis considers pressures on the envelope and the resulting behavior of the structural system. The checks may include strength, stability, drift, acceleration and the performance of components that are not part of the primary frame. The appropriate limits depend on the project, applicable requirements and the owner’s objectives; there is no single movement threshold that applies to every tower.
Wind-tunnel studies may be needed
Tall or unusual projects may use a specialist wind consultant and a wind-tunnel study to obtain more representative information about local pressures and building response. ASCE’s Manual of Practice 143, Design and Performance of Tall Buildings for Wind, is intended as deeper guidance for engineers, architects and wind specialists. A wind-tunnel result supplements, rather than replaces, the governing design requirements and engineering judgment.
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Shape, stiffness and systems are coordinated
Architects and structural engineers coordinate the tower’s form with the lateral system. Changes to setbacks, corners, openings, balconies or neighboring massing can alter wind response. The same coordination extends to the facade, elevators, partitions and mechanical systems, because these components must accommodate the movement predicted by the structural analysis.
How are tall buildings designed for earthquakes?
Earthquake shaking creates inertia forces
An earthquake moves the ground, while the building’s mass tends to continue moving. That interaction creates inertia forces through the floors and into the lateral-force-resisting system. Seismic design therefore focuses on how the system responds to specified ground motions, how forces are distributed through the height, and what level of damage or functionality is acceptable at each hazard level.
Performance objectives define what “safe” means
Performance-based seismic design allows the team to state objectives explicitly. For example, a project may distinguish between objectives for frequent or moderate shaking and objectives for rare, severe shaking, while separately considering structural and nonstructural performance. The approach does not promise that a building will never move or be damaged; it makes the expected level of movement, damage and post-event function part of the design decision.
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Seismic forces must travel through floors, collectors, connections, the primary lateral system and the foundations. Engineers examine discontinuities, transfers, irregular geometry and interactions between structural and nonstructural elements. The design must also be buildable: analysis assumptions are only useful if the specified members, joints and connections can be detailed, inspected and constructed as intended.
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Wind and earthquake design are not the same check
| Design question | Wind | Earthquake |
|---|---|---|
| Source of demand | Airflow, gusts, directionality and pressure on the building and surroundings. | Ground motion acting through the building’s mass and inertia. |
| Primary response concerns | Strength, stability, drift, acceleration, occupant comfort and effects on the envelope and building systems. | Force distribution, movement, expected damage, life safety and functionality at defined hazard levels. |
| Typical specialist input | Wind engineering, and for some projects a wind-tunnel study or performance-based wind analysis. | Seismic hazard characterization, dynamic analysis and, for tall buildings, performance-based seismic procedures. |
| Meaning of a successful design | Required resistance and acceptable response under the applicable wind cases. | Performance objectives met for the specified ground-motion levels; movement or damage may still occur. |
The same tower must be evaluated for both hazards where they apply. A system optimized for one demand is not automatically adequate for the other, and the governing case can vary by location, geometry and project objectives.
Which structural system is best for a skyscraper?
There is no universally best arrangement. Engineers may evaluate systems built around a structural core, shear walls, braced frames, moment frames, outriggers or combinations of these. The available evidence does not support ranking those families for every building. Selection is a project-specific decision that balances the following questions:
| Decision axis | Questions the design team must answer |
|---|---|
| Hazard and site | What wind and seismic demands apply, and how do the ground and surrounding buildings affect them? |
| Height and geometry | Are there setbacks, transfers, irregular plans or unusual slenderness that change the load path or response? |
| Stiffness and movement | Can the arrangement meet strength, drift and acceleration objectives without creating unacceptable effects on occupants or systems? |
| Damage and functionality | What structural and nonstructural performance is required at each hazard level? |
| Foundations | Can the foundations transfer the combined gravity and lateral demands to the ground? |
| Architecture and building services | Do walls, braces, columns, cores and openings work with the floor plan, facade, elevators and mechanical systems? |
| Construction and lifecycle | Can the details be built, inspected, maintained and adapted over the building’s life? |
Which codes govern high-rise wind and earthquake design?
ASCE/SEI 7-22 is a loading standard, not a universal law
ASCE identifies ASCE/SEI 7-22, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures, as a standard covering design loads for hazards including wind and seismic actions, along with load combinations. It is adopted by reference in several U.S. model codes, but the edition that legally applies is determined by the jurisdiction’s adoption, amendments and project date. A design team must verify the locally enforceable code rather than assume that the newest ASCE edition governs everywhere.
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Performance-based resources supplement prescriptive rules
ASCE’s standards resources list the ASCE/SEI Prestandard for Performance-Based Wind Design and the PEER TBI Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings. These are specialist engineering resources, not consumer instructions. Their use requires a qualified design team, a defined analytical basis and whatever peer review or authority approval the jurisdiction requires.
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Approval is part of the engineering process
For a performance-based proposal, the team documents the objectives, hazard levels, modeling assumptions, acceptance criteria, analysis methods and review process. Building officials and independent reviewers may require additional checks. ASCE describes performance-based seismic design as a predominant approach for seismic force-resisting systems in tall buildings worldwide, but that description does not eliminate project-specific approval requirements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical design workflow
Although projects vary, a coordinated high-rise study generally follows this sequence:
- Confirm the jurisdiction: Identify the locally adopted building and structural provisions, amendments, required reviews and applicable ASCE/SEI 7 edition.
- Define the site hazards: Establish the wind and seismic demands relevant to the site, together with the ground and neighboring-building information needed for analysis.
- Set performance objectives: State acceptable strength, stability, movement, damage and functionality targets for the owner and the authority having jurisdiction.
- Develop compatible forms and systems: Test the massing, core, frames, walls, braces, outriggers or hybrid options against architectural, foundation and building-services requirements.
- Build the analytical model: Represent the structural load path, important interfaces and the assumptions that control the results. Check both wind and earthquake cases rather than treating one as a substitute for the other.
- Add specialist studies when warranted: Use wind engineering, wind-tunnel testing or performance-based seismic analysis for tall, slender, irregular or otherwise unusual buildings.
- Evaluate structural and nonstructural response: Check the primary system and the facade, partitions, elevators, mechanical equipment and other components against the stated objectives.
- Review, document and iterate: Resolve peer-review and code comments, revise the form or system when objectives are not met, and carry the final assumptions into drawings, specifications and construction quality control.
What a performance-based approach changes
Prescriptive provisions provide defined procedures and limits. A performance-based approach starts with the result the owner and jurisdiction require, then demonstrates through analysis and specialist review that the proposed design achieves it. That can make a tall or unconventional building feasible without simply applying conservative assumptions intended for a different form.
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What the Austin case demonstrates—and what it does not
ASCE reported in 2024 that 321 West 6th Street in Austin was a 58-story, 671-foot mixed-use tower designed, reviewed and permitted using performance-based wind design. ASCE also reported a reduction of 1,800 cubic yards in the concrete volume of the project’s core shear walls.
Those are figures for that named project. They show that a performance-based wind approach can influence the design of a specific tower, but they are not a promised savings level, safety result or material reduction for high-rises generally. Different sites, forms, codes, objectives and review requirements can produce different outcomes.
How existing high-rises are evaluated and retrofitted
Designing a new tower and upgrading an existing one are separate tasks. ASCE/SEI 41-23, Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings, addresses the latter. ASCE describes a three-tier process that connects target structural and nonstructural performance levels with seismic hazard levels.
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Questions to ask before approving a tower design
- Which building and structural code editions has the jurisdiction adopted, and what amendments apply?
- What wind and seismic hazards were used, and are the assumptions appropriate to this site and date?
- What performance objectives were set for structure, facade, equipment, elevators and post-event function?
- Was a wind-tunnel study or performance-based procedure needed because of the tower’s height or geometry?
- How do the selected lateral system and foundations provide a continuous load path?
- Which results are code-required and which are owner-selected enhancements?
- What independent review, authority approval and construction inspection will verify the design assumptions?
- If the building already exists, is the team using an existing-building evaluation and retrofit standard rather than a new-construction design pathway?
A high-rise is therefore not made earthquake-proof or wind-proof by one product or one structural element. It is made dependable by matching the site hazards and locally enforceable requirements to a coordinated structural and nonstructural system, then demonstrating—through the appropriate analysis and review—that the stated performance objectives are met.
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