Research Projects

CTBUH performs objective research at all scales and distributes findings in the form of technical guidelines, white papers, data studies, and reports that highlight critical issues facing tall buildings and future cities.

Are you a student or researcher interested in conducting your own research project? Learn about CTBUH research funding and competitions.

All Projects

The Future Potential of Steel-Timber Hybrid Buildings

Funding Sponsors: constructsteel, Softwood Lumber Board

Objective: Capture the current state‐of‐the‐art and full potential of steel‐timber hybrid structures in high‐rise buildings, globally, as a means of clarifying and promoting the benefits of steel‐timber composite construction for the global tall building industry.

Roadmap on Steel-Concrete Composite Construction Elements

Project Completion: November 2022
Funding Sponsor: constructsteel

Objective: Survey composite construction systems, identify the gaps in technologies and generate a roadmap of expected research needs.

Future Timber City: An Awareness and Educational Program for Future, Sustainable, Dense Cities

Project Completion: April 2023
Funding Sponsors: USDA Forest Service, Binational Softwood Lumber Council

Objective: To provide a framework for better understanding the character and dimensions of a future mass timber city, and help to make it a reality.

Timber Rising: Mass Timber Engagement Program

Project Completion: December 2020
Funding Sponsor: USDA Forest Service

Objective: To support the dissemination of best-practice information on the design, technologies, construction, and planning of mass timber buildings and communities.

Skybridges: Bringing the Horizontal into the Vertical Realm

Project Completion: August 2020
Funding Sponsor: TK Elevator GmbH

Objective: To succinctly capture the state-of-the-art in skybridge design, as well as put forward a set of principles for future development.

Robotics in Tall Building Construction

Project Completion: November 2020
Funding Sponsor: Schindler

Objective: To identify the incentives for, and obstacles to adoption, of robotics by the construction industry.

Cyclone-Glazing and Façade Resilience for the Asia-Pacific Region: Stage 2 – Current Problems and Existing Solutions

Project Completion: December 2018
Funding Sponsor: Kuraray

Objective: To study the specific problems with cyclone glazing, through the analysis of the effectiveness of solutions for existing projects and buildings.

Creating Industry-Accepted Criteria for Measuring Tall Building Floor Area

Project Completion: September 2018
Funding Sponsor: ArcelorMittal

Objective: To create varying categories of CTBUH Floor Area Criteria to provide a clear method for accurately and concisely measuring a building’s gross floor area (GFA), net internal area (NIA), net rentable area (NRA), etc.

Vertical Variations in Indoor Exposures to Outdoor Pollutants in Tall Buildings

Project Completion: October 2017
Funding Sponsor: Taipei Financial Center Corporation

Objective: To characterize the impacts of building height on human exposures to outdoor pollutants.

Cyclone-Glazing and Façade Resilience for the Asia-Pacific Region: Stage 1 – Market Study and Code Survey

Project Completion: December 2017
Funding Sponsor: Kuraray

Objective: To analyze how existing codes and standards could address cyclone-induced risks through façade technologies.

A Study on the Design Possibilities Enabled by Ropeless, Non-Vertical Elevators

Project Completion: September 2018
Funding Sponsor: TK Elevator GmbH

Objective: To investigate how technological innovation in elevators, specifically rope-less non-vertical cabins, could impact the design outcomes of tall buildings and cities.

Green Living Technologies: What is Missing in the International Standards?

Project Completion: March 2017
Funding Sponsor: UL Solutions

Objective: To identify and address the missing technical requirements for green living technologies (for roofs and façades) in existing international standards.

Vertical Futures: Technologies to Shape our Cities

Project Completion: October 2016
Funding Sponsor: Turner Construction Company

Objective: To conduct an audit of the cutting-edge technologies across all fields that contribute to tall buildings.

Determinants of Skyscraper Heights and Completion Rates

Project Completion: October 2016
Funding Sponsor: Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited

Objective: To run statistical analyses to investigate what factors contribute to skyscraper development.

A Comprehensive Study on Tall Building Damping Technologies

Project Completion: October 2017
Funding Sponsor: Bouygues Batiment International

Objective: To produce a comprehensive study of the damping technologies available for tall buildings, describing their function and relationship to other building components.

Building Façade Retrofit: A Database of Completed Projects

Project Completion: July 2015
Funding Sponsor: East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI)

Objective: To study façade-design optimization projects undertaken on existing tall buildings, and create an online resource that provides readily accessible building façade retrofit data.

Properties of Composite Megacolumns

Project Completion: October 2016
Funding Sponsor: ArcelorMittal

Objective: To study the constructability and the engineering properties of composite megacolumns.

A Study of the Sustainability Implications of Differing Urban + Suburban Locations in Chicago

Project Completion: February 2016
Funding Sponsor: Illinois Institute of Technology

Objective: To understand what factors really do contribute to “sustainability” in an urban/suburban context.

New “Vertical Forest” (Bosco Verticale)

Project Completion: June 2014
Funding Sponsor: Arup

Objective: To study the radical new “Vertical Forest” (Bosco Verticale) and build a database in support of a new framework for the green design of tall buildings.

Green Walls in High-Rise Buildings

Project Completion: October 2014

Objective: To set out recommendations for selecting, implementing, and maintaining green walls in high-rise buildings.

Life Cycle of Tall Building Structural Systems

Project Completion: January 2015
Funding Sponsor: ArcelorMittal

Objective: To establish a definitive comparison of the life-cycle implications of steel, concrete, and composite structural systems in tall buildings.

CTBUH Supports IIT on Successful Research Grant

Funding Sponsor: VentureWell

Objective: To study an efficient method to detect air leakage spots in tall buildings using a compact acoustic phased array.

Designing Tall Buildings to Promote Physical Activity

Project Completion: December 2013
Funding Sponsor: AECOM

Objective: To study the impact of tall building developments on physical activity in China.

CTBUH-IIT Team Wins Grant for Green Wall Facade Research

Project Completion: May 2013
Funding Sponsor: Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research

Objective: To study the energy-saving effectiveness of green wall façade systems.

CTBUH Receives Furthermore Publishing Grant

Project Completion: July 2013
Funding Sponsor: Furthermore

Objective: To develop the 2012 CTBUH Tall Building Reference Guide.

Wind Tunnel Testing of High-Rise Buildings

Project Completion: June 2013

Objective: To set forth general guidelines for wind tunnel tests as they apply to tall buildings.

Prince Charitable Trusts Awards CTBUH Grant

Project Completion: January 2014
Funding Sponsor: Prince Charitable Trusts

Objective: To increase the funding and frequency of research on high density urban developments.

Outrigger Design for High-Rise Buildings

Project Completion: September 2012

Objective: To address the pressing need for design guidelines for outrigger systems in tall buildings.

Survey Research for Measuring the Perceptional Level of Core Technologies in the Area of Supertall Buildings in Korea

Project Completion: December 2012
Funding Sponsor: Korea Institute of Construction Technology

Objective: To assess the level of tall building expertise in Korea, and gauge the potential of developing expertise and its impact on the construction industry.

Natural Ventilation in High-Rise Office Buildings

Project Completion: September 2012

Objective: To set out recommendations for every phase of planning, construction, and operation of natural ventilation systems in high-rise office buildings.

CIB, CTBUH & UNESCO Research Roadmap

Project Completion: January 2014
Funding Sponsors: International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Objective: To identify priority research topics and gaps in the field of tall buildings, and create a guide to assist professionals in the necessary planning of future research and funding.