# I want to "design" my own skyscraper. Can somebody help me with the basics?



## aspiringArchitect (Dec 6, 2008)

I want to become an architect and am interested in drawing buildings of my own. Lately I have become interested in drawing a skyscraper. I have this vision in my head of a 20 some story hotel with an urban mall at its base, maybe three stories tall. However, I want to make it as realistic as possible. I was hoping there was some architects on this forum that could help me out. Some questions that keep popping up in my head include:
-how high the ceilings should be
-how much space should be between each floor
-how many elevators are needed per so many sq. feet
-dimensions of elevators and escelators
-rise over run of stairs
Plus other things, but those I can do without for now. It would be really great if I could find these out.

Thanks!:cheers1:


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## Guaporense (Jul 9, 2008)

height: 90-95 meters
floor area: 12.000 square meters
6 elevators


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## dösanhoro (Jun 24, 2006)

There exist norms and guidelines for standard problems. I haven't looked at them too much so I don't know if they are good for Burj Dubai scale problems. Otherwise for more standard problems you have equations and so on. Fire escapes must also have minimum widths for example. Look online if you can find anything , maybe unis have something on line . Usually they are not really accessible for download for everyone. Or look at uni library.


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## Truepioneer (Feb 25, 2007)

I can lend you the money to build it.

When do we start digging?


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## sasa_taisa (May 18, 2008)

Truepioneer said:


> I can lend you the money to build it.
> 
> When do we start digging?



i lol'd hard!! :lol:


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## The other Dude (Jan 30, 2008)

reality is the best teacher, walk around town and look at buildings, theyre everywhere and good examples ;-)


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## Puertalian (Sep 30, 2005)

stair maximum is 7 rise by 11 run. anything more shallow is acceptable, but too shallow makes them uncomfortable to use.

are you going to school for architecture?


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## Dequal (Mar 16, 2008)

Puertalian said:


> stair maximum is 7 rise by 11 run. anything more shallow is acceptable, but too shallow makes them uncomfortable to use.
> 
> are you going to school for architecture?


If you want to learn the standard dimensions of all kinds of stuff like staircases, elevators and so on, you should buy or download "Architect's Data". It's a book from Neufert. Not cheap but very helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/Architects-Data-3rd-Ernst-Neufert/dp/0632057718


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## johnz88 (Feb 19, 2005)

I just graduated from College finishing an archiecture/construction/engineering technology program so i hope i can answer some of your questions lol some things you are looking for are your own preferance and what you want to design.

Having a greater floor to floor height means having to pay for more concrete but i dont think ur worried about $. So I think that for the first 3 floors where you want a mall you could look at making the floor to floor height greater than the hotel. Here anything above 3m would be very suffiecient. Depending on the effect you want when you walk into the mall, you can even do 3.6m or 4m and after you mechanical space is determined then you will have more than 3m of ceiling space. (but you can go alot higher if you want)
In the hotel, depending on your floor system, there might not even be a need for a mechanical space...so picking a smaller height would make the rooms not too imposing. Around 2.8m would work great, if you have any mechanical space then you still will have over 2.6m which is over 8.5ft.

As for the number of elevators, that might be an answer that could depend on local codes and also depends on the design of ur building. I think that you should count at least 6 as someone already posted. You'll need 1 or 2 of those to be service elevators. You will probably need to 2 seperate elevator shaft locations (3 on one side or in mall, 3 for hotel). As for size, you can go to any elevator manufacturer and find sizes, for a project we did we used Delta Elevators (located in Canada) and took specs to provide the proper opening and the manufacturer does the rest. This goes the same for escelators...you dont design them you just provide the proper space for them to get installed and work..so try finding an escelator manufacturuer for specs.

Someone posted a stair rise and run of 7" and 11" which I would use too (as a max.) and a min of 5" and 15" (probably wouldnt use), you can look into construction/architecture books to find out more. 

Hope that helps a bit. I'll be happy to answer any future questions too.


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## dösanhoro (Jun 24, 2006)

When people build a skyscraper what about the foundation? Does someone drill and look at the ground? What gets done to guarantee the ground doesen't cave in. Geologists? Does it get checked 100% or is a most likely assumption enough for houses to be build. Is it even possible there is a huge cave under houses???


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## Gherkin (May 30, 2005)

aspiringArchitect said:


> -how high the ceilings should be
> -how much space should be between each floor
> -how many elevators are needed per so many sq. feet
> -dimensions of elevators and escelators
> -rise over run of stairs




I'm an architecture student so will do my best! I'll use UK building regulations:


1. Ceiling heights can be no less than 2.2m in a residential building (this includes hotels). Obviously you'd want a higher ceiling height at entrance level and public areas (restaurants/leisure facilities/viewing platforms etc) ... But bare in mind that 2.2m is minimum ceiling height - if you're designing a luxury 5 star hotel you'd expect about 2.5m.

2. Assuming your skyscraper is steel frame construction you'd allow about 300mm for the steel beams, under-floor heating and whatever finish you apply to the ceiling and floors above and below the floorboards that rest on the beams.

3. This is completely up to you. The residential skyscraper I'm staying in this year has 550 occupants on 25 floors and 3 elevators, and, being on one of the middle floors, I don't ever have to wait too long for an elevator to come. I'd say this was a minimum.

4. Again this is up to you. What floor space would you feel comfortable with travelling up 20 floors in an elevator with a stranger? Add about 300mm around the perimeter of this space for the thickness of the lift and the concrete lift core.

5. In the UK, staircases (including escalators I think) are not allowed to rise steeper than 42 degrees from the horizontal. I'm looking at building regulations now and for staircases:

_"and rise between 165mm and 200mm used with any going between 223mm and 300mm"_

(where _rise _is the height of each step and _going _is the bit you step on)
_
"The normal relationship between the dimensions of the rise and the going is that twice the rise plus the going (2R + G) should be between 550mm and 700mm"
_

Basically just remember the 42 degrees maximum steepness! And no more than 16 steps in a staircase without a landing area or floor in between the next set of (maximum) 16 steps. This landing area is to help people on crutches/other disabilities have a rest I believe.


Hope that helps.


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## johnz88 (Feb 19, 2005)

dösanhoro said:


> When people build a skyscraper what about the foundation? Does someone drill and look at the ground? What gets done to guarantee the ground doesen't cave in. Geologists? Does it get checked 100% or is a most likely assumption enough for houses to be build. Is it even possible there is a huge cave under houses???


Ya that is what happens, before they even start digging there is a soil survey done on the site. A geologist or a team of them would test the soil. That could be done a few ways, they would probably drill random holes over the site and take soil samples then test them for compressive strength or water content. They also look at the location of the site, whether it is in the water table (if the ground has alot of water) or even if there are caves...but i'm not sure what they do to figure all that out..but they do, especially for big buildings or skyscrapers where it is really important strucurally. For houses it is more general soil testing maybe for a whole division of houses and making sure about the presence of water (they will have to waterproof the foundations then)
And there are many environmental companies where this is all they do.


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