Design and Sustainability Assessment of Tall Buildings Structural Systems

The rapid urbanisation of cities worldwide has accelerated the reliance on tall build ings as a solution to growing population density and limited land availability. While such structures address critical urban needs, the construction sector remains re sponsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, highlighting the urgent need to evaluate structural systems not only in terms of performance but also environmental impact. This thesis addresses this challenge through a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a 60 storey building, designed and analyzed under different technological strategies. The study considers alternative structural systems including SpeedCore walls, steel–timber (CLT) composite floors, as well as outrigger and diagrid configurations for lateral load resistance. Each system was designed according to established engineering codes and methodologies, after which their embodied carbon and environmental footprints were assessed across relevant life cycle stages. The results provide a detailed comparative analysis, identifying the trade-offs be tween structural efficiency and sustainability. This work ultimately establishes a framework to guide the selection of tall building systems that balance technical fea sibility with reduced environmental impact, contributing to more sustainable tall buildings construction.