William G. Maibusch is the Country Representative – Qatar for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), and is based in Doha, Qatar. He also serves on their Board of Trustees.
Construction Magazine:
What is the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat?
William Maibusch: The CTBUH is the world’s leading body in the field of tall buildings and the recognized source of information on tall buildings internationally. It is the official arbiter of the criteria upon which tall building height is measured, and thus the title of “The World’s (or Country’s or City’s) Tallest Building determined.” The Council is an international not-for-profit organization supported by architecture, engineering, planning, development and construction professionals.
It is a member-based association with a Board of Trustees, Advisory Group, staff, global chapters/country representatives, and a broad international membership. I am the Country Representative for Qatar and I have also started a CTBUH Chapter here in Qatar where we hold regular meetings three or four times a year for the professionals based here.
CM: How do you define what is meant by a Tall Building?
WM: That is an interesting question as everyone has there own definition! For me, it is one where a fire tender cannot reach the top – say 10 storeys – while for others it is defined by height. One definition is clear and that is a ‘Super-tall’ building, which we have defined as being more than 300 metres high. In recognition of some of the tall towers being built recently, we can also define ‘Mega-tall’ buildings as ones that are more than 600 metres high.
CM: How high can
we continue to go?
WM: Since 1885, the title of ‘World’s Tallest Building’ has changed hands about 15 times, with more frequent changes in recent years. The current holder is the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, UAE, at 828 metres but we can and will go higher.
Interestingly, the limit is not likely to be defined by engineering problems but rather by human aspects; for example, how long are you prepared to travel up and down in high-speed lifts? How fast can you travel up or down in an elevator and still feel comfortable? Some people might ask about safety, particularly since 9/11 in New York, USA, but a lot of lessons have been learned since then.
CM: Is taller
necessarily better?
WM: There are always two answers to this question. On the one hand you can say that tall buildings both positively and negatively impact a skyline, cause congestion and create unnecessary density. On the other hand, you reduce urban sprawl by drawing more people into a specific area, and this creates a more sustainable environment.
One big difference between the tall buildings of the 1950s and 1960s and those of today is that the former buildings were usually single use – either offices or blocks of apartments. Many of today’s buildings are mixed-use combining, for instance, retail and commercial outlets with hotel and domestic accommodation.
CM: Have other lessons been learned regarding the overall design?
WM: One of the most important lessons, other than that of making them mixed-use, is that every attention must be paid to the supporting infrastructure. It is no good building the most advanced tower and then not providing the necessary support infrastructure for it such as roads, public transportation and transit, schools, hospitals, open areas, etc. Indeed, the use of open space is vitally important in avoiding a feeling of being shut in – this can be overcome by judicious use of wide walkways, open seating areas, green spaces – they are vitally important in allowing people to ‘breathe’.
