Title: The Aurora Tower, Brisbane – Innovative Concrete High-Rise

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Publication: CIA

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Date: 2/13/2011

Abstract:
The slenderness and form of the 69-storey Aurora tower presented significant structural engineering challenges for the project design team. These challenges were successfully overcome through a combination of innovative design solutions and close collaboration between the design team and the construction team. The concrete framed tower, Brisbane’s tallest building, was completed in early 2006. The paper describes many of the innovative features of the structural design including the use of sophisticated wind tunnel testing to ensure satisfactory occupant comfort at the top of the tower; the use of permanent ground anchors to minimise excavation and foundation costs; the use of splayed superstructure shear walls that span over podium carparks and remove the need for a costly conventional transfer plate; the use of a series of “outrigger” type storey deep walls that connect the core to other walls between levels 50 and 60 to control tower sways and accelerations; and the use of a sophisticated nonlinear analysis to optimise tower lift lobby link slabs and accelerate typical floor construction.