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Skyscrapers move as wind and other lateral forces make them flex. The amount varies with the building, the event, the floor and direction measured, and whether “movement” means displacement or acceleration. One measured example: during Typhoon Fanapi in 2010, Taipei 101’s 90th floor reached approximate maximum horizontal displacements of 4.71 cm east–west and 9.04 cm north–south. Those are readings from one floor during one storm—not an everyday sway figure or a universal safety limit.
What does it mean for a skyscraper to move?
A building’s movement is not captured by a single number. Engineers describe different aspects of its response, and a figure is useful only when its location, direction, event and measurement type are clear.
- Displacement is how far a point shifts from a reference position. It may be reported at a particular floor or at the roof, in a specified direction.
- Acceleration describes how quickly velocity changes. It matters to how people experience motion, but it is not the same as how far the building has shifted.
- Frequency and duration describe how quickly motion repeats and how long it continues. Both are relevant to assessing human response.
- Rotation or torsion is twisting. A tower may move sideways and rotate, so one sensor or one direction cannot describe all of its motion.
That distinction explains why a displacement figure alone cannot tell you whether occupants would notice the motion or find it uncomfortable.
What has actually been measured?
The examples below use different buildings, events and methods. They illustrate how movement is observed; they are not a like-for-like ranking or a representative range for all skyscrapers.
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| Building or study | What was measured or reported | What the result can tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Taipei 101 during Typhoon Fanapi in 2010 | Approximate maximum displacement on the 90th floor: 0.26 cm vertically, 4.71 cm east–west and 9.04 cm north–south. Reported in a 2012 article in Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. | An event-specific reading at one floor in three directions, not the tower’s everyday movement or a general maximum. |
| Taipei 101 monitoring system | A 2010 study of the 508 m tower reports 30 accelerometers at six floor levels. Its analyses included Typhoons Matsa, Talim and Krosa, and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. See Li et al., “Dynamic Behavior of Taipei 101 Tower: Field Measurement and Numerical Analysis”. | Movement is monitored across locations and events. The study does not establish a universal sway amount for other towers. |
| Keio Plaza Hotel | A 1972 field-observation paper describes measuring sway at the 170 m hotel during strong wind, alongside wind velocity and direction. See the J-STAGE record. | Wind and building motion are observed together in context rather than reduced to a context-free figure. |
The Taipei 101 Fanapi figures are the clearest numerical example here, but their meaning depends on the storm, floor and direction. They should not be read as typical movement, a limit for other buildings, or a measure of whether the tower was safe.
Can you feel a skyscraper sway?
Sometimes occupants may perceive motion, but displacement alone does not predict what they will feel. Comfort assessments consider motion characteristics such as peak acceleration, frequency, waveform, direction and damping, as well as human response. A 2015 overview of wind-induced motion comfort criteria also describes checking lateral drift between consecutive stories or overall lateral displacement.
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In simulator experiments, Burton, Kwok, Hitchcock and Denoon examined oscillations from 0.15 to 1.00 Hz and reported that head-acceleration response increased as frequency rose across that range. This is an experimental finding about response under the study conditions, not a threshold at which people become uncomfortable.
Does movement mean a building is unsafe?
No. Some flexing is part of a building’s response to lateral loads, and movement by itself does not establish danger. Nor can a single displacement reading establish safety: interpretation requires the building and event context, the measurement location and direction, and the structural criteria being applied.
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There is no one sway number in the cited material that serves as a universal safety or comfort limit for all buildings and jurisdictions. The available comfort review describes multiple assessment measures; it does not make one roof displacement a universal pass-or-fail test.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do skyscraper designs manage wind?
Tall-building design can shape and resist wind response through a combination of form and structural system. The Burj Khalifa’s official structure page says its spiralling Y-shaped plan helps reduce wind forces. It describes a buttressed core: the central core provides torsional resistance, while the wings resist wind shear. This is one documented design approach, not a standard form used by every skyscraper, and the page does not publish a sway amount.
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For an engineering-focused treatment of the subject, ASCE’s Wind-Induced Motion of Tall Buildings (2014) is a relevant technical book.
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