Chapter 7 Key issues for multi-storey buildings

The success of multi-storey buildings must be judged across all design disciplines and be seen through the client’s and user’s eyes. The structural engineer is a central member of a multi-disciplinary team aiming to achieve the best answer to the brief. The design must develop through an ordered series of stages, with appropriate options investigated, discussed, discarded or adopted. Excellent communication is the key to shared understanding across the team.

Once the appropriate loads have been defined the building’s structure should carry these to the ground in a clear and straightforward way. The appropriate materials and structural form need to be investigated and selected. On plan movement joints and stability systems are positioned, and the columns laid out. The interrelationship of the different uses within the building must be understood, the most direct vertical load paths through these being strongly preferred, with any required transfer structures identified early in the design process. Within each floor zone structure, services and architecture should be coordinated within the optimal depths. The engineer will also have input into ‘non-structural’ issues including partitions and cladding, fire and corrosion, plant and stairs, contributing to the success of the building as a whole.