Structural Engineering: Evaluating the Modal Response of Linked Tall Buildings

Aesthetic characteristics, new materials, structural configurations, and construction technologies are pushing the boundaries of the built environment. At an urban scale, planners are increasingly considering inter-connected tall buildings with skybridges to address a growing need for accessibility between residential and commercial buildings. However, this demand is not only introducing complexities to buildings’ exterior features and height, but also to their structural dynamic behavior, especially when rigidly connected. To date, there is limited work on these inter-connected structures and the effects of their combined behavior. This paper investigates the dynamic response of two prototypical tall building patterns, connected via a skybridge, idealized as a beam having different stiffness. This study uses 3D finite element analysis models to examine the modal shapes and participating mass ratios between individual buildings and the linked building systems.