Does the more a building sways, the safer it actually becomes? Unveiling the wisdom behind high-rise structures that "conquer rigidity with flexibility."

01

How Shenzhen's Tallest Building, Ping An Finance Centre, Defends Itself

 

Supertall Building Safety Focus on the fundamentals 。

 

The foundation pit for the Ping An Financial Center was excavated in one go to a depth of 33.4 meters—exceeding the national standard requirement of 30 meters for 600-meter-tall buildings, thus setting a new domestic record for the deepest excavation of its kind. Additionally, 24 ultra-large pile foundations, each with a diameter of 9.5 meters, were driven 35 meters deep into the bedrock, penetrating through five basement levels and directly connecting to the Earth's crust, ensuring the structural stability of the towering skyscraper.

 

 

▲ Ping An Financial Center Excavation Base
 

The main structure adopts “ Giant Frame ・ Core Tube ・ "Outward-extending arm" Lateral-force-resisting system: Eight streamlined mega-steel columns extend continuously from the foundation up to a height of 580 meters, supporting the 680,000-ton building structure while reducing wind loads by 35%.

 

Seven massive truss "golden belts" embrace the core tube and steel columns, enhancing the building's overall rigidity, while the "8 columns, 7 belts, and 24 piles" structure forms the wind-resistant "strongest skeletal framework."
 

 

▲ Ping An Financial Center Structure

For typhoons, the building is equipped with two 1000-ton units on its 114th floor. Hybrid Damper , can apply reverse force to reduce shaking by 30%.

 

During Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, the tower's top swayed by more than 30 centimeters—still within the design limit of 50%. The structure was engineered to withstand typhoons with average wind speeds of up to 60 meters per second and gusts reaching 80 meters per second.

▲Hybrid Damper
 

 

02

How the Canton Tower "Stands Firm" Amidst Wind and Rain

 

Generally, the taller a building is, the more susceptible it becomes to wind forces—and the more noticeably people perceive it swaying.

 

Guangzhou Tower has equipped itself with what’s known as the "Tower-Stabilizing Magic Device" to address this issue. Passive Tuned Mass Damper — These two massive water tanks occupy spaces on the 109th and 110th floors, weighing a total of 1,200 tons—equivalent to the combined weight of five Boeing 747 airplanes.
 

 

▲Passive Tuned Mass Damper

This damper works by vibrating at a fixed frequency, aligning its natural frequency closely with that of the building: when the building sways in one direction, the damper vibrates in the opposite direction, generating a counterforce that helps minimize the building's sway. At its core, it leverages… Resonance Principle and Inertia Principle 。

 

The damping device generates a counteracting tensile force, which is neutralized by converting mechanical energy into thermal energy and dissipating it through heat dissipation, thereby ensuring safety.

▲ Guangzhou Tower Exterior
 

In addition to the dampers, the hollow design of the Canton Tower's structure allows wind to pass through the openings, reducing the force of the wind and minimizing damage to the building.

 

The tower is equipped with hundreds of sensors and devices that continuously monitor structural forces, deformations, environmental parameters, and loads in real time. This allows for the timely detection of potential safety risks and the provision of maintenance plans, ensuring the tower's structural stability.

 

 

03

The "Heart" of Taipei 101 Tower

 

Tuned mass dampers are common solid dampers that, when a building vibrates due to external forces such as wind or earthquakes, cause their mass blocks to move in opposition to the building’s vibrations, thereby counteracting the motion through inertial forces.

 

Meanwhile, the damping device between the mass block and the building will Convert vibrational energy into thermal energy dissipation. , achieving vibration reduction effects.

 

▲Steel Ball Damper

The 660-ton steel ball damper at Taipei 101, known as the "Wind Damping Ball," is suspended inside the building.

 

When a typhoon strikes, this massive steel sphere—resembling the "heart of the building"—can swing up to 1.5 meters, acting like a pendulum that uses inertial force to "pull" the structure back into its balanced position, thereby counteracting external disturbances.

 

▲ Night view of Taipei 101 Tower
 

The working principle of a tuned mass damper is similar to that of advanced automotive suspension systems: When a car encounters bumps, the shock absorbers absorb the impact energy to ensure a smooth ride. Similarly, a tuned mass damper maintains structural stability by employing a comparable logic of energy absorption and dissipation.

 

▲ Location of the Damper at Taipei 101

Conclusion
After the typhoon passed and we looked again at the city skyline, those towering skyscrapers—once gently swaying in the wind and rain—still stood tall and proud.

When the wind blows, we no longer instinctively worry, "Will it fall?" Instead, we recall the "elastic curves" that engineers sketched on their blueprints.
It turns out that true strength isn’t about rejecting every shake or sway—but rather knowing when to “yield” within the right limits, using flexibility to absorb external forces and safeguarding stability with wisdom.
Just like those seemingly "soft" choices in life—they’re often not compromises, but rather a different kind of resilience that lasts much longer.
Source cited: 1. https://www.kepuchina.cn/article/articleinfo?business_type=100&classify=0&ar_id=637316
2. https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1844068553081917099&wfr=spider&for=pc 3. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5ODA0NzY0MA==&mid=2652083266&idx=1&sn=960eed4d0cbed04b224f0f5ed9da1db6&scene=21&token=1204803281&lang=zh_CN #WeChat _redirect