The Council on High-Rise Buildings and the Urban Environment ( English Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat , CTBUH) is an international organization dealing with high-rise building issues. The Council was founded at Lehay University ( USA ) in 1969 ; in October 2003 - moved to the Illinois Institute of Technology . Since 2000, publishes the journal "CTBUH Review".
The initial purpose of the Council was to study and describe "all aspects of the design, construction and construction of high-rise buildings, " but to date, the general public is better known for the list of 100 world's tallest buildings created by him.
Since 2005, in collaboration with Emporis , the Council has been creating a large database of various information about thousands of planned, planned, built, constructed or already destroyed high-rise buildings from around the world, and within this base the same standards are always used in measuring parameters of high-rise buildings.
Content
Classification of tall buildings
Modern
Currently, the Council identifies three categories.
- Structural height of the building (spire level) - height to the top of the structural elements of the building (including towers and spiers, but excluding antennas, masts and flagpoles). This criterion is considered the main one.
- Height to the level of the top of the spire / antenna - the height to any object fixed at the top, regardless of the material and purpose (including towers, spiers, antennas, masts, flagpoles, and others).
- The height of the last inhabited floor is the height to the floor of the last floor where people are constantly, safely and legally located. This does not include elevator engine rooms and other technical facilities.
In all three categories, the basement is considered the floor level of the lowest significant open pedestrian entrance. Details are as follows:
- The floor level is measured inside the building near the entrance.
- Significant - the main entrance should be above the level of the sidewalk and used for access to the building (and not to the technical room, parking lot or store on the first floor).
- Outdoor - the entrance should be located in the open air (and not in a covered gallery).
- Pedestrian - designed for the main users of the building (and not cars or attendants).
By type of construction are divided into skyscrapers and towers , the line between the first and second - 50% of the height should go to the inhabited floors.
Uninhabited space from the top floor to the spire is called "vanity meters."
Historical
Until the mid -1990s , the ranking of high-rise structures was based on the structural height of the building, that is, the height from the level of the sidewalk at the main entrance to the top of the structural elements of the building — the tower or spire, but not the antenna, the mast, or the flagpole. In 1996 , when the construction of the Petronas Twin Towers came to an end, the Council expanded the classification system by adding three additional categories: the top level of the spire / antenna (that is, the highest point of the entire structure), the roof level and the level of the last occupied (accessible) floor. In 2009, the height to the roof was canceled - modern skyscrapers rarely have a flat roof. In addition, the concept of "main entrance" has disappeared.
Links
- Organization's website (eng.)
- Emporis Buildings (eng.)