Concrete in high-rise buildings: practical experiences in Madrid

The use of concrete in high-rise buildings has increased significantly in the last 20 years mainly owing to improvement in all of the technologies associated with this material: admixtures, pumping, transportation and elevation methods, etc. These enhanced possibilities are illustrated by means of four high-rise buildings that were built recently in Madrid, each about 250 m high. The main structural elements of these buildings are presented focusing on the advantages offered by concrete compared to other materials that are commonly used in high-rise construction. The types of concrete considered are high-resistance concrete up to C80, self-compacting concrete, precast and in situ concrete, reinforced or prestressed concrete, as well as normal weight or lightweight concrete. These examples clearly show that, even in structures where the role of self weight is determinant, concrete can be the best solution if all of the different factors involved in the success of a construction site are considered: geometry, ease of construction, means of elevation, prefabrication at factory, repetitiveness, material costs, control requirements, and so on.