Height & Data Committee: New Chair Announced & Call for Members

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is reinvigorating its Height and Data Committee, seeking new members to join under the leadership of Terri Meyer Boake, from the University of Waterloo, who has been named the new Chair of the committee. This body was originally created to establish and, when necessary, provide guidance in the refinement of the official Tall Building Criteria used to define, measure, and study tall buildings. However, more recently, this mandate has been widened to embrace other aspects of building data and measurement. The Committee has thus influenced many compelling research endeavors and prompted provocative conversations with the public about the nature of tall buildings and the trends surrounding them. Given the evolving nature of the challenges, drivers, and technical considerations for tall buildings, the ways in which building are defined, measured, and classified must be deliberated and decided by the Committee. 

 

Please review a list the upcoming topics to be discussed, below:

Structural Materials

  • What is the difference between “Composite” and “Hybrid” structures?

  • How much of a certain material must be in a building’s structure, to be considered “Composite” and “Hybrid,” as opposed to an All-Steel or an All-Concrete building, for example?

  • Should precast concrete be distinguished from reinforced concrete? Are there other specific structural material types that should be considered?

  • Should prefabricated or modular buildings be distinguished from in situ construction?

 
Tall Building Characteristics

  • How are occupiable1 spaces measured in buildings with large floor-to-ceiling heights or atriums?

  • What is a coherent arch2?

 
Building Status

  • How are staged completions vs. renovations distinguished?

  • What is a renovation and how is this distinguished from retrofits, recladdings, redesigns, etc.?

 

 

 

Please review the roles and responsibilities expected of Committee members here.  

If interested in becoming a member of this committee, please kindly complete the form linked below by Friday, 29 March 2024. Individuals selected to join this exclusive committee will be informed before the end of April 2024, when information on the next meeting will be shared. If selected to join this committee, members are expected to attend at least two of the three annual meetings, with two meeting taking place virtually and one meeting taking place in-person – to be held during the annual CTBUH International Conference. Any questions? Please contact [email protected].

 

1. CTBUH defines "Occupiable" as conditioned space which is designed to be safely and legally occupied by residents, workers, or other building users on a consistent basis. It does not include service or mechanical areas which experience occasional maintenance access, etc.

2. CTBUH indicates that a building is a single, co-joined building (as opposed to separate buildings in a complex) when 50 percent or more of the total building height is connected. Exceptions to this 50 percent rule can be made in cases where the form of the building creates a coherent arch, creating a singular architectural expression and thus a co-joined building.