To those who live or work in high rises, does the building sway? (houses, how many)

[Need_affordable_home]

I read articles about that and some buildings can sway as much as 5 feet! They use dampeners to reduce sway. Have you ever physically felt it? If not, check the water in the toilet and/or tub, is it rippling or sloshing?

[pixieshmoo]

Every skyscraper sways to some degree...they're supposed to. Somehow it actually keeps the building more stable that way (kind of like the concept of "a branch that doesn't bend breaks"). I think there is actually a certain height limitation and buildings over that height must be built to sway. NYC is full of them. But I don't think you can feel it (however, I've never been in one for too long other than the Empire State Building and the Twin Towers...and I was a kid the last time I was in them). But I just gave you the idiot's version of it...I don't know the technical terms as to why. Hopefully someone on here can explain it because now I'm interested too.

[j33]

I worked on the 56th floor of a high rise for a good while and never felt it sway even though I'm sure that it did, as most high rises do. Although I've talked to people who work in the Sears Tower, and they report that they can sometimes feel it, although it is pretty slight (the average sears towers sway is 6 inches each direction).

[chiefs fan]

Yes, skyscrapers are designed to have some flexibility to them. There are several forces working on buildings from various directions, and the building must be able to withstand this dynamic forces. For example, wind pressure loads on buildings increase as you go further up the building. Think of a skyscraper as a vertical cantilever, coming out of the ground, or perhaps a diving board. There is going to be some movement when forces are applied, and this exemplifies how the subject responds. Dampeners have been designed to help alleviate the sway somewhat. There is a structural formula that basically says the taller the structure, the more sway there will be. I could probably dig up the formula from my structures notes from my architect's exam, but it's pretty boring!

If anyone is really interested in reading on the subject, Mario Salvadori wrote a couple of good books that explain why some structures stand up, and another one that explains why some structures fell down (i.e. the Hyatt skywalk in KC, the bridge in WA, etc). They are pretty interesting even if you don't have a background in this type of stuff. You should be able to find them at your local library.

[MoMark]

They do sway, sometimes noticeably. I worked in the financial district of San Francisco for years and I remember once in Dec. of 1995 we had a great storm, I mean like the kind that just recently went through Seattle and the Northwest. These are cyclonic non-tropical windstorms of unbelievable power and they hit the West Coast every ten years or so. This one knocked 2000 trees down in Golden Gate Park, trashed Cliff House, destroyed the Conservatory, and caused massive damage all around the Bay Area and upper West Coast. I was a fool who went to work that day and one of the few who showed up, so I was BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!!!
I was on the 20th floor and the building actually moved in the winds that were pushing 75mph. I watched the coffee in my cup next to my computer ripple and I moved away from west facing windows to avoid being killed by imploding glass if they gave way. I occasionally could feel that odd feeling of equilibrium not being quite right when the gusts were particularly strong. It's similar to the feeling you get when you're just lightly nauseated.
The other skyscraper experience I have is in Makati City, Philippines (the financial district of Manila). The building I worked in at 53 stories is the tallest building in the Philippines, but not built well and very flimsy in my opinion. It moved even without strong winds. I didn't like being in it at all.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Someone posted a question about wind in the Colorado forum. I told my little cheap thrills story about the dormitory towers in Ft Collins, where we used to go into the restroom on windy days and watch the water in the toilets sway.

[Need_affordable_home]

wow this is discouraging! Why do penthouses sell for so much if they sway in the wind? Could a tornado bring it crashing?

[Rance]

The so called highrises in Anchorage sway during earthquakes. I've never felt the wind move them tho.

[momof2dfw]

Being the architecture and history nut that I am I have sat and watched the entire show many times on one of the stations (History, Discovery, et al) about how after the big one in San Fran how the new buildings must be designed to withstand all of the pressure that can be put on them in earthquakes. Pretty neat stuff.

I'll just tell you this from my own experiences. While riding on an elevator that is moving pretty fast up w/o stopping, DO NOT WALK TILL IT COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP!!! I did that once as I saw the numbers get closer to the floor I needed (this building was 72 stories ) and I moved from the rear to the front............... felt fine till I got off and took a few steps then I thought I was going to pass out. I don't like heights at all. One time in New Orleans they put us on something like the 44th floor and the room had windows that went floor to ceiling. Hubby gave me a hard time as I would not walk anywhere near the window.

[virangos]

There was a show on tv about living in Chicago's John Hancock Building, some years back.
The people they interviewed about the swaying said that while they never actually felt it it was a little disheartining to sit on the couch and watch the pictures on the wall swing back and forth.