Overview

The Structural Design of High-Rise Concrete Buildings course provides a comprehensive exploration of the engineering principles that govern the analysis, design and construction of tall reinforced-concrete structures.

Across nineteen modules, participants progress from the structural definition of high-rise buildings and code-based loading requirements to the fundamentals of structural dynamics, SDOF and MDOF response, modal analysis, numerical methods and seismic design. The course then advances into wind tunnel testing, outrigger systems, critical structural checks, weak-storey behaviour, column shortening, global buckling and high-rise construction methodology.

The course combines theoretical principles with practical engineering considerations for high-rise projects in Abu Dhabi. The training material references ACI 318-08, ADIBC 2013 and ASCE 7, while emphasising challenges specific to tall structures, including wind-induced vibration, seismic performance, drift control and lateral stability.

Who Should Enrol?

This course is designed for professionals involved in the analysis, design, supervision or construction of high-rise structures, including:

Structural design engineers.
Civil engineers specialising in building structures.
Structural engineering consultants.
Engineers transitioning into high-rise design and supervision.
Site engineers, supervisors and project managers involved in tall-building projects.
Construction professionals responsible for structural execution and quality assurance.

The course is particularly relevant to engineers seeking to connect structural-dynamics theory with practical high-rise design, performance assessment and construction applications.

Why This Course Matters

As buildings become taller and more flexible, structural behaviour changes significantly. Wind and seismic actions become increasingly influential, dynamic effects become critical, and design decisions must account for drift, torsion, vibration, stability and the interaction between different lateral-load-resisting systems.

High-rise engineering also introduces challenges that are less significant in conventional buildings, including resonance, higher-mode response, weak and soft storeys, differential column shortening, second-order effects and global instability. Understanding these behaviours is essential for developing structural systems that satisfy both strength and serviceability requirements.

This course develops the engineering judgement required to evaluate these issues systematically, linking structural dynamics and code-based analysis with practical high-rise design and construction considerations.

Course Deliverables

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Interpret the structural behaviour that distinguishes high-rise buildings from conventional structures.
Apply high-rise loading principles for gravity, wind and seismic actions using the regulatory references presented in the course.
Formulate and solve fundamental SDOF and MDOF structural-dynamics problems.
Evaluate free, damped, forced and general dynamic responses using analytical and numerical methods.
Perform and interpret modal and response-spectrum concepts for multi-degree-of-freedom structural systems.
Evaluate seismic response, drift, torsional irregularity, soft-storey and weak-storey behaviour in tall structures.
Assess the role of wind tunnel testing and outrigger systems in controlling high-rise structural response.
Analyse column shortening, differential vertical deformation and global stability considerations in tall concrete buildings.
Identify appropriate strategies for improving stiffness, stability and lateral-load resistance.
Evaluate high-rise construction methodologies, formwork systems, equipment requirements and crane strategies in relation to structural design and project delivery.

Why Professionals Choose This Course

Combines high-rise structural design with an extensive foundation in structural dynamics.
Covers gravity, wind and seismic loading considerations for tall buildings.
Develops SDOF and MDOF analysis from fundamental equations through modal and numerical methods.
Explains response-spectrum analysis and seismic structural behaviour.
Introduces wind tunnel testing and its application to structural design and occupant comfort.
Examines outrigger systems as an advanced solution for controlling drift and overturning.
Addresses critical high-rise checks including drift, torsion and structural irregularities.
Covers weak-storey behaviour, column shortening and global buckling in dedicated modules.
Connects structural design decisions with practical high-rise construction strategies.
Develops engineering judgement for complex tall-building behaviour rather than focusing only on calculation procedures.

The course provides a progressive pathway from structural-dynamics fundamentals to the specialised design, performance and construction challenges encountered in modern high-rise concrete buildings.

Course Content

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Module 01 — Structural Definition and Design of High-Rise Buildings

This module introduces the structural definition of high-rise buildings, emphasising that classification is governed by structural behaviour rather than height alone. It explains how, as building height and flexibility increase, lateral loads such as wind and seismic forces begin to dominate the structural response and govern design decisions. This transition shifts the design approach from gravity-controlled systems to structures where dynamic behaviour influences stiffness, core performance and overall stability, requiring more advanced analysis and design methods.

Module 02 — Loads on High-Rise Buildings as per ADIBC 2013

Examine the gravity, wind, seismic and other actions that influence high-rise structural design. The module addresses dead and live loads, lateral-load effects, load combinations and the increased importance of load-path clarity, serviceability and stability in tall structures.

Module 03 — Dynamics of Structures

Develop a foundation in structural dynamics by examining how structures respond to time-dependent loads. Participants explore mass, stiffness, damping, equations of motion and the fundamental differences between free, forced and transient structural response.

Module 04 — Undamped Free Vibration of SDOF System

Explore the behaviour of an undamped Single Degree of Freedom system governed by mass and stiffness. Learn to determine natural frequency, period, displacement, velocity and acceleration while understanding the conservation of mechanical energy during free vibration.

Module 05 — General Solution and Response of Undamped Free Vibration

Develop the general mathematical solution for undamped free vibration and examine how initial displacement and velocity determine structural response. The module covers amplitude, phase, natural frequency, period and the relationship between displacement, velocity and acceleration.

Module 06 — Damped Free Vibration of SDOF System

Examine how damping dissipates energy and changes structural vibration over time. Participants study underdamped, critically damped and overdamped systems, damped natural frequency, response decay and the role of damping in realistic structural behaviour.

Module 07 — Response of Undamped SDOF System to Harmonic Excitation

Analyse the response of an undamped SDOF system subjected to harmonic loading. Explore transient and steady-state response, frequency ratios, dynamic amplification and resonance, and understand why resonance must be carefully considered in structural design.

Module 08 — Response to General Dynamic Loading – Duhamel’s Integral

Learn how arbitrary and time-dependent dynamic loads can be represented using the principle of superposition and Duhamel’s Integral. Participants will understand how previous load impulses contribute to the structural response at any point in time.

Module 09 — Formulation of Equations for Multi-Degree of Freedom (MDOF) Systems

Progress from single-degree systems to realistic structural models with multiple independent motions. Develop mass and stiffness matrices and formulate coupled equations of motion for MDOF systems representing multi-storey structures.

Module 10 — Modal Analysis for Multi-Degree of Freedom (MDOF) Systems

Explore modal analysis as a method for transforming coupled MDOF equations into independent modal equations. Participants examine natural frequencies, mode shapes, modal coordinates, orthogonality and the reconstruction of physical structural response.

Module 11 — Numerical Methods in Structural Dynamics

Apply numerical techniques to dynamic structural problems that cannot be solved conveniently using closed-form analytical methods. The module introduces time-stepping procedures, including the Central Difference and Newmark methods, for calculating structural response over time.

Module 12 — Seismic Response and Design of Structures

Examine how structures respond to earthquake ground motion and how seismic effects are incorporated into structural design. Participants explore response spectra, modal response combination, base shear, drift and ductility, together with concepts such as energy dissipation, base isolation and performance-based seismic design.

Module 13 — Wind Tunnel Testing for High-Rise Buildings

Understand how wind tunnel testing is used to evaluate complex wind effects that conventional code procedures may not fully capture. Explore pressure distribution, base forces, torsional response, acceleration, façade loading and occupant-comfort considerations for tall and aerodynamically complex buildings.

Module 14 — Outrigger Systems in High-Rise Buildings – Structural Design and Analysis

Explore how outrigger systems connect the structural core to perimeter elements to improve lateral stiffness, control drift and reduce overturning demand. The module examines structural behaviour, wind and seismic considerations, analytical modelling and the practical coordination challenges associated with outrigger levels.

Module 15 — Structural Checks in High-Rise Buildings

Evaluate critical high-rise performance checks, including inter-storey drift, torsional irregularity, soft-storey behaviour and second-order effects. Participants learn how these checks influence serviceability, occupant comfort, façade performance and overall structural stability.

Module 16 — Weak Story in High-Rise Buildings

Understand the distinction between a weak storey and a soft storey by focusing on lateral strength rather than stiffness. Learn how weak storeys are identified, how strength discontinuities affect seismic behaviour and which strengthening strategies can improve structural resilience.

Module 17 — Column Shortening in High-Rise Buildings

Examine elastic shortening, creep and shrinkage in vertical concrete elements and understand how their cumulative effects can produce differential shortening in tall buildings. The module addresses prediction, construction compensation, monitoring and the impact on slabs, façades, partitions, elevators and building services.

Module 18 — Global Buckling in Tall Buildings

Explore global instability in tall and slender structures and the influence of building slenderness, lateral stiffness and P-Delta effects. Participants examine buckling modes, structural systems vulnerable to instability and design strategies involving cores, bracing, outriggers and second-order analysis.

Module 19 — High-Rise Construction Methods – Formwork, Equipment, and Cranes

Examine how structural systems influence the construction sequence of tall buildings. The module explores core-first and integrated construction strategies, formwork systems, equipment and crane planning, site logistics, safety and the coordination required between structural, architectural and MEP works.

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Structural Design of High-Rise Concrete Buildings

AED 4,500 AED 5,500