Received: 27 August 2016 Revised: 18 November 2016 Accepted: 6 December 2016

DOI: 10.1002/tal.1358

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Diagrid: An innovative, sustainable, and efficient structural

system
Esmaeel Asadi | Hojjat Adeli

Department of Civil, Environmental and

Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State Summary
University, Columbus, Ohio, USA In recent years, diagrid structures have received increasing attention among both designers and
Correspondence researchers of tall buildings for creating one‐of‐a‐kind signature structures. This paper presents
Hojjat Adeli, Department of Civil, a state‐of‐the‐art review of diagrid structures. First, various diagrid configurations, main factors
Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The
affecting their behaviors, and related design parameters and approaches are discussed. Then,
Ohio State University, 470 Hitchcock Hall,
2070 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, USA. diagrid applications for free‐form steel and concrete structures are introduced showing the
Email: [email protected] diagrid applicability for complex structures followed by recent advances in structural design of
diagrid connections, diagrid nonlinear behavior, and structural control of diagrids. Recent studies
about a new variation of tubular and diagrid systems, hexagrids, are discussed briefly. Finally, the
diagrid potential in design of sustainable buildings is delineated.

KEY W ORDS

diagrid, tall building, sustainable, nonlinear behavior, seismic design, hexagrid

1 | I N T RO D U CT I O N location of nodes is commonly used to define the diagrid modules

where the diagrid frame is divided into a number of modules along
In tubular systems, the designer takes the load‐carrying system to the the height of the structure (three‐story modules in Figure 1). The same
exterior of the building providing a large free space inside. However, diagonal cross section may be used for each module. Omission of the
there are two major concerns about tubular systems, that is, lateral columns from the exterior frame provides a more open façade for
stiffness and shear lag effect. Mega bracing, innovatively used in the light to enter while giving more space to architect to work with.
100‐story John Hancock Center in Chicago in late 1960s, has shown Due to considerable lateral stiffness of the system, there is commonly
to be an effective resolution to these concerns. More recently, no need for auxiliary lateral system such as outriggers and the internal
diagrids, a descendant of diagonal bracing systems, are getting more structural system mostly carries the gravity loads.
and more attention owing to their unique form and properties. A basic element of the diagrid system is the triangulated element
Diagrids were used in Shukhov Towers as early as 1896 and in IBM consisting of two inclined diagonals and a horizontal ring beam
building in Pittsburgh, USA, in 1963.[1–3] But in the past decade, they (Figure 1). The ring beams may have a significant role in nonlinear
have become increasingly trendy, and several iconic buildings around behavior of the structure and plastic hinge formation. The diagonals
the globe have been built using the diagrid concept. Their versatile tri- carry the vertical and horizontal loads mostly through axial compression
angulated shape is suitable to create diverse geometrical forms to or tension forces. A number of preliminarily design methods have
enhance the outlook and aesthetical traits of the building. been proposed for diagrid, which usually ignore bending moment
Diagrid structural system is a variation of tubular structures, which and shear forces in diagonal members.[4–6]
employs inclined members instead of conventional vertical columns to The word diagrid, a combination of diagonal and grid, was used by
carry both gravity and lateral loads. Figure 1 shows the components of researchers as early as 1970 when they studied elastic and plastic
a conventional diagrid structure. The inclined members, called the behavior of simple rectangular uniform diagonal grids and tried to find
diagonals, shape the outer façade of the structure and are connected formulas for their collapse loads.[7,8] Recently, however, the design and
to each other at diagrid nodes at floor levels. Exterior floor beams, linear and nonlinear behavior of tall diagrid structures have attracted
called the ring beams, connect the nodes together at floor levels. In several researchers.[6,9–11]
practice, diagrid nodes do not necessarily form in every single floor; in This paper presents a state‐of‐the‐art review of diagrid structures.
Figure 1, for example, they are formed in every three floors. The First, various diagrid configurations, main factors affecting their

Struct Design Tall Spec Build. 2017;26:e1358. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/tal Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1 of 11
https://doi.org/10.1002/tal.1358
2 of 11 ASADI AND ADELI

FIGURE 1 Three 3‐story diagrid modules and a sample triangular element

behaviors, and related design parameters and approaches are of tall buildings.[21] Sustainability can mean different things from gen-
discussed. Then, diagrid applications for free‐form steel and concrete eration of green energy on the site to water conservation and reuse
structures are introduced showing the diagrid applicability for complex to minimizing the carbon emission or footprint of the structure.[22–27]
structures followed by recent advances in structural design of diagrid Consequently, a multicriteria optimization is advocated where several
connections, diagrid nonlinear behavior, and structural control of different criteria are defined simultaneously such as (a) minimum cost,
diagrids. Recent studies about a new variation of tubular and diagrid (b) minimum carbon emission, and (c) minimum drift.
systems, hexagrids, are discussed briefly. Finally, the diagrid potential Once the optimality criteria are defined, the optimal angle
in design of sustainable buildings is delineated. depends on several factors such as the form, story height, aspect ratio,
lateral load distribution (wind or earthquake), and locality of the build-
ing. Diagonal angle can be efficiently adjusted to increase the lateral
stiffness and improve the linear and nonlinear response of the struc-
2 | DIAGRID CONFIGURATION AND
ture under extreme and service loads. Finding the optimal diagonal
DESIGN
angle for a diagrid structure is a nontrivial and essential step in the
design process. In the past decade, a number of researchers have stud-
2.1 | Diagonal angle ied the diagonal angle and attempted to come up with a recommended
In the absence of vertical members, the inclined members or diagonals range for their efficient design.
must carry both the gravity and lateral loads due to winds or earth- Moon et al.[6] study the diagonal angle in the range of 34° to 82° in
quakes. The topology of the diagrid and the angle of the diagonals with 20‐, 42‐, and 60‐story diagrid building structures with an aspect ratio
the horizontal are the two key factors affecting the lateral stiffness and in the range 2–7. They conclude that the best angle for the 42‐ and
structural efficiency of diagrids. In addition to increasingly important 60‐story diagrids in terms of maximum lateral stiffness is in the range
issue of aesthetics, designers must aim towards certain optimal criteria. of 55° to 65° and 65° to 75°, respectively. In a similar study, Kim and
In the early days of structural optimization, the main criterion was usu- Lee[9] report that for 36‐story diagrid structures under seismic lateral
[12]
ally minimizing the total weight of the structure. Material cost was a loads, diagonal angle in the range of 60° to 70° is the most efficient.
major factor, and formulation of the weight function was mathemati- Zhang et al.[11] study diagonal arrangements in 30‐, 37‐, 45‐, 60‐,
cally straightforward. [13]
But a minimum ‐weight design usually is not and 75‐story diagrids with aspect ratio in the 3.6–9 range and propose
a minimum‐cost design.[14] By clustering similar members and reducing a varying diagonal angle that decreases from the bottom to the top of
the number of different types of cross sections used, one can reduce the structure. The suggested top and bottom diagonal angles are in the
the fabrication and construction costs at the cost of increasing the range of 35° to 80°. An empirical formula is proposed to find the most
[15]
total weight of the structure. Also, for structures made of more than efficient top and bottom diagonal angles as a function of the structure
one type of material such as reinforced concrete (RC), minimum cost aspect ratio for minimum structural material. They report that the
design is the only proper approach.[16–18] Consequently, structural reduction in the total weight of the structure can be up to roughly
optimization research moved from weight minimization to cost minimi- 11%. In a similar study, Zhao and Zhang[28] study diagrids having
[19]
zation. Subsequently, this was expanded to life cycle cost optimiza- curved diagonal members and varying angles. They observed that the
tion.[20] Nowadays, sustainable design is at the cutting edge of design curved and straight varying diagonal angles have similar behavior,
ASADI AND ADELI 3 of 11

and the diagonal angle at the bottom has a larger impact on the struc- story overhang section at their top. The structure is a continuous diagrid
tural efficiency than the diagonal angle at the top. tube forming a unique helix‐like shape. The overhanged section adds to
Although the previous research suggests a diagonal angle in the the complexity of the load transferring path in the structural members
range of 60° to 75° is more efficient than others for the structures in where diagrid is proven to be a versatile solution to such complications.
the 36–60‐story range, the optimal angle is usually unique for any partic- The facade articulates the load path in the diagrid members. In addition
ular building. As a result, authors recommend a formal optimization to diagrids, a number of internal columns in tilted towers and suspended
approach for finding the optimal diagonal angle for any particular diagrid sections carry primarily the vertical loads. The structure is designed for
structure. Lee et al.[29] use a Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization three hazard levels, frequent, rare, and maximum credible seismic
optimization approach to find the optimal topology and diagonal angle events, using a performance‐based design approach.[30–32]
of a two‐dimensional triangulated diagrid mesh under static and dynamic
loadings. The approach is not applicable for real‐world free‐form three‐
dimensional (3D) tall building structures having thousands of members.
2.3 | Preliminary analysis and design
In order to propose a practical form for the building, architects and
2.2 | Diagrid density engineers need to have an approximate method to determine the pre-
Another advantage of diagrids is their versatility to resolve force con- liminary sizes of the structural members quickly. For that reason, a
centration in the structure. The grid density or topology in diagrid struc- number of preliminary design procedures have been proposed for
tures can be effectively adjusted according to the intensity of the diagrids in the past decade based on axial loading of diagonals.
internal forces in diagonals. A good example for this is the 54‐story Moon et al.[6] introduce a simple design methodology to find the
CCTV headquarters in Beijing, China, where the density of the diagonal required cross sectional areas of diagonals approximately considering
grids is changed purposefully across the height and the width of the a lateral stiffness‐based design criterion that is an allowable maximum
structure. Figure 2 shows the structure which was completed in 2012. displacement of H/500 where H is the height of structure. The diagrid
The diagrid pattern is adjusted according to the amount of force in structure is divided into a number of diagrid modules (a group of adja-
the structural members such that the diagonals are denser where the cent stories) along the height. The same cross section is used for each
forces are larger. This structure shows the diagrid potential to be both module. Approximate cross sections of diagonals are calculated for
an architecturally pleasing and structurally efficient structural system. the web and flange diagrids (diagrids parallel and perpendicular to the
The 234‐m building consists of four main sections: two 6° tilted towers lateral force, respectively) based on the aforementioned stiffness crite-
connected with a nine‐story section at their base and a nine‐ to 13‐ rion. The authors report reasonable accuracy compared with using a lin-
ear finite element (FE) package for tall diagrid structures with an aspect
ratio equal to or greater than five and diagonal angle in the range 60° to
70°. Moon[33] revises the method slightly by introducing a factor to
include the contribution of web diagonals to bending rigidity.
Mele et al.[4] propose a simplified analysis method by dividing the
diagrids into a number of triangular elements. Each triangular element
consists of two inclined diagonal members and one horizontal beam
member (Figure 1). The simplified method is applied to the analysis
of three well‐known diagrid structures, that is, Swiss Re, Hearst, and
Guangzhou West towers, and the results are compared with linear
elastic finite element method.

2.4 | Secondary bracing

In high‐rise diagrid buildings, an internal lateral load carrying system,
usually a moment‐resisting frame or a concentrically braced frame,
may be used in addition to the primary exterior diagrid system when
diagrid members are used as super members covering multiple stories
or modules. For example, in Figure 1, each diagrid member covers
three stories. Montuori et al.[34] propose a simplified method for
assessing the necessity of the internal secondary lateral load carrying
system in a diagrid module and their preliminary design. It is based
on stability criteria to prevent buckling in the compression bracing
member and deflection criteria to limit the story drift. They report
story drift error in the order of 4% compared with FE analysis for a
FIGURE 2 CCTV Headquarters, Beijing, China 90‐story diagrid structure with diagonal angles of 60°, 70°, and 80°.
4 of 11 ASADI AND ADELI

3 | DIAGRID FOR ICONIC AND FREE‐FORM maximize the solar gain on the concave side of the curved bow. Fur-
B U I L DI N GS ther, an atrium is created between the perimeter diagrid and the build-
ing floors on the concave side to absorb the sunlight. The atrium is also
Diagrids are known for their versatility and flexibility in shaping com- intended to be a sky garden. Charnish and McDonnell[35] report an
plex geometric forms. In tall buildings, in particular, this feature is estimated energy reduction of approximately 30% compared with a
extremely valuable because, increasingly, the clients are demanding conventional office building.
aesthetically pleasing and iconic forms for their tall buildings. Moon[33] Completed in 2010, the 103‐story Guangzhou West Tower aka
studies the structural efficiency of tall diagrid buildings having complex the Guangzhou International Finance Centre (Figure 4) in China is
shapes including tilted, twisted, and free forms along their height. The known as the tallest diagrid structure built. Its plan is a curvaceous
author reports that diagrids with twisted forms have less lateral stiff- trochodial triangle. The structure consists of an RC internal core and
ness than straight ones but perform better under dynamic wind loads an exterior curved‐shaped concrete‐filled steel tubular (CFST) diagrid
and vortex shedding. frame.[36] The diameter of steel tube members decreases from 2 m at
Several application of regular and irregular free‐form diagrids in the ground level to 1.1 m at the uppermost levels. Several strategies
tall buildings have been reported in recent years. The Bow tower, have been deployed to decrease the energy consumption of the build-
completed in 2012, is a 247‐m and 57‐story steel diagrid office ing including use of wasted heat from chillers to warm the water and
building with unique curved shape and distinctive sustainable features limited natural cooling of office floors.[37]
(Figure 3). It is the tallest building in Calgary, Canada. The structure The iconic 36‐story Capital Gate, completed in Abu Dhabi in 2011,
consists of two bow‐shape diagrids on the north and south elevations, enjoys an 18° westward curved tubular diagrid and has a Guinness
two coupling circular moment‐resisting frames on the two tips of the record for the “world's furthest leaning manmade tower” (Figure 5).
bows, and a number of core shear walls and internal bracing towers. The tower has asymmetric shape in any vertical and horizontal cross
The internal systems are connected to perimeter stiff diagrids with section. It has two diagrid systems: an exterior diagrid forming its
internal outrigger systems. Charnish and McDonnell[35] claim that the
diagrid with limited interior bracing has reduced the required steel
weight by approximately 20% compared with a customary moment‐
resisting system. The structure includes a number of sustainable fea-
tures. The curved shape of the building reduces the effective wind load
on the structure leading to a lighter structure compared with a rectan-
gular plan. Because the building is in a cold climate, it is oriented to

FIGURE 3 The Bow tower, Calgary, Canada (© Nigel Young/Foster + FIGURE 4 The Guangzhou International Finance Center, China (Source:
Partners. With permission) http://www.building.am/pagegal.php?id=206)
ASADI AND ADELI 5 of 11

FIGURE 5 The Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi (Source: http://www. FIGURE 7 The 44‐story Al Bidda Tower in Doha, Qatar (Source:
amusingplanet.com/2013/03/capital-gate-building-leaning-tower-of. http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com; photo credit Shadi Saliba)
html; photo credit to Paolo Rosa)

façade and an internal one connected to the vertical post‐tensioned 4 | C O NC R E T E D I A G R I D S

RC core. All of its 8,250 steel diagonals and 822 diagrid nodes have a
different size and angular pattern. To improve sustainability, they Diagonals are predominantly under compression or tension axial forces
employ a separate metal‐grid sunscreen, a double layer façade with depending on the direction of lateral loads. Steel sections, mostly
high‐performance glazing, internal vegetation in the basement, and W‐shaped and circular or square hollow structural sections, are com-
an energy monitoring system in the building.[38] monly used for diagonals of a diagrid structure because steel has a large
The 33‐story Crescent Moon Tower proposed to be built in tension and compression strength and can be fabricated efficiently.
Dubai employs an irregular diagrid to create a moon‐shaped cyclide However, in a few structures, RC has been used as the main material
form (Figure 6). This design shows that complex geometric forms for the diagrid structures. The 20‐story 170 Amsterdam Avenue build-
created by third and fourth order geometric surfaces can be imple- ing in New York City completed in 2014 is an example of exposed
[39]
mented by diagrids. Diagrid has also been used in a few twisting concrete diagrids where the large concrete diagonals form the exterior
tall buildings including the 44‐story Al Bidda Tower completed in of building, the so‐called exoskeleton. A number of research papers
Doha, Qatar in 2009 (Figure 7), and the 38‐story Mode Gakuen Spi- have been published on CFST[40,41] or RC diagrid connections[41,42];
ral Tower completed in Nagoya, Japan, in 2008 (Figure 8). yet little research has been reported on concrete diagrid frames.

FIGURE 6 The Crescent Moon Tower, Dubai

(Source: http://landoffacts.blogspot.com/
2012/09/crescent-moon-tower-dubai.html)
6 of 11 ASADI AND ADELI

FIGURE 8 The 38‐story Mode Gakuen Spiral Tower, Nagoya, Japan

(Source: http://www.nikken.jp/en/projects/education/buildings/
FIGURE 9 The O‐14 tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Source:
mode-gakuen-spiral-towers.html; Photographer: Kenichi Suzuki)
http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/FeaturedTallBuildings/
ArchiveJournal/O14/tabid/1818/language/en-US/Default.aspx;
Concrete can be shaped into any form making RC an ideal choice photo credit Imre Solt)

for complex free‐form buildings. The 24‐story O‐14 tower in Dubai

completed in 2010 is a unique example of exoskeleton concrete struc- 5.2 | Steel connections
ture (Figure 9). The main gravity and lateral load carrying system is an Kim et al.[44,45] conducted a number of experimental studies on cyclic
exterior curved concrete shell, a curvaceous extension of the diagrid behavior of steel diagrid connections fabricated using H‐sections. The
concept, with over 1,326 arbitrary‐sized openings. The size and loca- connections are designed to be used in the 123‐story Lotte world
tion of the openings are adjusted to carry the vertical and lateral loads. Tower in Seoul, South Korea. The main structure of the 555‐m Lotte
A part of lateral loads is also carried by the inner shear walls enclosing world Tower, completed in 2016, consists of a number of internal RC
the elevators and stair ways. The perforated concrete shell also acts as shear walls connected to eight external megacolumns by four steel
a sunscreen wall improving the sustainability of the building. Further, truss outrigger systems at two different levels. An exposed diagrid
there is a 1‐m gap between the main glass façade and the diagrid shell lantern section is currently being added to the top of the main
which allows the hot air to rise up to the higher and cooler part of the structure. Kim et al.[44] tested five different specimen having different
building and cool down the glass façade through a convention process, overlapping stiffener lengths and weld types (full or partial penetra-
known as a stack effect.[1,43] tion), but the same diagonal angle (24° between two adjacent diago-
nals). Figure 10a shows the arrangement of this connection. The
connection consists of two sets of side stiffeners, one set on each
side of the connection, two web stiffeners, four brace web stiffeners
5 | D I A G RI D C O N N E C T I O N S
(one for each diagonal member), and four connecting “cap” plates for
each diagonal. The authors report that the side stiffeners are particu-
5.1 | General remarks
larly important in the failure mechanism of the connection because
In each diagrid node, at least, four diagonals and two beams are con- the cracks are first observed at the edge of the diagonal flange
nected to each other making their design, fabrication, and assembly welded to the side stiffeners. Subsequently, Kim et al.[45] propose
particularly complicated. Because of the diagrid triangulated form, two new arrangements by adding four or six horizontal stiffeners
diagonals are mostly under large axial compression or tension loads. and four sets of side stiffeners for the diagonals while removing the
Thus, the connections are primarily designed to transfer large axial brace web stiffeners (Figure 10b,c). They conclude that the configura-
forces rather than bending moment and/or shear force. Researchers tion with the full horizontal stiffeners (Figure 10c) shows the largest
have proposed specific configurations and detailing for diagrid connec- stiffness and ductility and is therefore the superior connection
tions based on experimental and analytical studies. configuration.
ASADI AND ADELI 7 of 11

FIGURE 10 H‐section steel diagrid connections adapted from Kim et al.[44,45]

Lee and Shin[46] study the load carrying capacity and weight of six 6.2 | Nonlinear behavior under extreme events
models with different cap‐plate shapes of flat, concave, and convex
Kim and Lee[9] study the seismic performance of a number of 36‐story
and steel yield strength of 650 and 240 MPa using FE analysis and
diagrid tubular structures with diagonal angle in the range of 50.2° to
claim that the convex plates have a larger load capacity compared with
79.5° using static and dynamic nonlinear analyses. They consider two
flat‐shaped cap plates.
different plan shapes, circular and square, and report that the circular
plan yields higher strength than the square plan because of the smaller
shear lag effect in the circular case. Using buckling‐restrained braces
5.3 | CFST connections for diagrid members, they claim that they improve the strength and
ductility of the structure considerably while providing a slightly smaller
Huang et al.[40] conducted a number experiments on eight circular
stiffness than conventional steel bracings.
CFST diagrid node specimens under monotonic static axial compres-
Milana et al.[47] consider four 40‐story structures: three diagrid
sive loading. Two types of CFST connections are tested: type A com-
structures with diagonal angle of 42°, 60°, and 75° and a conventional
prised of a ring reinforcing plate and a set of lining plates and type B
tubular structure with an outrigger at the 29th story. Comparing the
consisting of two horizontal flange plates and a vertical elliptical plate
weight of the structures, they report a weight reduction of up to
connecting the CFST diagonal members together. They study two dif-
33% for the 75° diagrid compared with a conventional tubular struc-
ferent intersecting angles between the diagonals, 20° or 35°, and two
ture. They conduct static nonlinear analysis and report that the 60°
loading patterns, symmetric or asymmetric, and observe that the angle
diagrids have a better overall performance than other cases in terms
has a major effect on the failure mechanism of the connection, chang-
of strength, stiffness, and ductility.
ing the location of tube bulging from the connection zone in the 20°
case to the member zone in the 35° case.
6.3 | Progressive collapse
Kim and Lee[48] study progressive collapse resistance of 36‐ and 54‐
5.4 | RC connections story tubular diagrids and conventional tubular structures. The col-
umns or diagonals of the first story are removed sequentially. The load
Zhou et al.[41] tested four planar RC X‐shaped joints having different
carrying capacity and maximum vertical displacement of each structure
amount of stirrup reinforcements. Zhou et al.[42] conducted a similar
are studied for different loss ratios defined as the number of removed
experimental study on four 3D RC diagrid connections to use for the
members divided by the total number of members in the story. They
corner joints of a diagrid structure. They report that the proposed stir-
report that tubular diagrids have a generally high resistance against
rup reinforcement is effective in confining the concrete and satisfies
failure of one or a few exterior diagonal members, and progressive col-
the generally accepted “weak member, strong connection” require-
lapse is formed in the structure when more than 11% of the diagonals
ment. Also, a larger volumetric stirrup reinforcement ratio results in
in the story are removed. When corner diagonals are involved, this
an enhanced stiffness and load‐carrying capacity.
ratio is reduced to 8%. Kim and Kong[49] study the progressive collapse
of 33‐story axi‐symmetric diagrids, including cylinder‐, convex‐, con-
cave‐, and gourd‐shaped diagrids and report good progressive failure
6 NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR AND FAILURE
| performance.
MECHANISM

7 | V I B R A T I O N CO N T R O L O F D I A G R I D S
6.1 | General remarks
To understand the structural behavior of diagrids under extreme loads, There are certain limitations to the stiffness, ductility, and damping
it is essential to explore the nonlinear characteristics and governing ratio of any particular structural system. For instance, a welded con-
failure mechanisms of the structure. A subject of great interest is the centrically braced frame structure is unlikely to have an inherent
sequence of plastic hinge formation in diagrid members. The governing damping ratio of more than 7%.[50] In the past few decades, structural
failure mechanism provides the code developers and designers with a control, including passive, active, and semi‐active control, has been
better understanding of diagrid nonlinear behavior. advanced to ameliorate the effects of extreme dynamic loading.[51–54]
8 of 11 ASADI AND ADELI

In particular, significant research has been reported in the areas of active

and semi‐active control of structures[55–58]
Diagrids are known to have considerable lateral stiffness[6,11] but
smaller ductility compared to conventional tubular structures.[9] Ductil-
ity is especially important for structures in seismic regions. To reduce
the ductility demand, one can add passive control systems such as vis-
coelastic dampers or tuned mass damper (TMD) or semi‐active control
systems such as semi‐active hydraulic dampers to the diagrid structures.
Lago et al.[59] and Sullivan et al.[60] propose the use of viscoelastic
dampers at floor levels to isolate the external lateral load carrying sys-
tem from the internal vertical load carrying one in a geometrically com-
plex structure. They applied it to four‐ to 20‐story complex diagrid
structures with an elliptical floor plan.
Fuse elements improve the ductility of the structure and reduce
the overall damage to the main structural members by confining the
damage to themselves. Moghaddasi and Zhang[61] use a shear‐link fuse
element in a 21‐story diagrid structure designed to be similar to the
46‐story Hearst Tower in New York. The shear‐link element is pro-
posed to be a short section of the outer floor beams connecting the
diagonals at the diagrid nodes. This configuration of diagrids is analo-
gous to eccentrically braced frames. They conclude that the fuse ele-
ments are effective in improving the ductility and confining the
nonlinear behavior to themselves.
TMD has been used in several tall buildings across the world such
as the 101‐story Taipei 101 in Taiwan and Shanghai World Financial
Center in China and has been proved to be effective in reducing the
FIGURE 11 The Sino Steel International Plaza, Tianjin, China
structural response during dynamic events.[62] Barbosa and
(Courtesy of MAD Architects)
[63]
Ramadhan study two cases of diagrids with TMD: one friction
TMD at the top three stories or two friction TMDs at middle and top
stories in a 72‐story diagrid structure having a 69° diagonal angle.
Using nonlinear time‐history analysis, they report mean reduction of
20% in the base shear when a TMD is added to the diagrid structure.

8 | H E X A G RI D S

A variation of tubular structure inspired by natural honeycomb patterns,

hexagrids (Beehives) have a number of six‐node hexagonal grid frames
in their perimeter. They are a more flexible but complicated variety of
diagrids. Instead of three‐edge elements, hexagrids consist of six‐edge
beehive‐shape elements, which connect to each other at floor levels
and form the perimeter of the structure. Their elastic and inelastic
behaviors are similar to diagrids. They have a larger lateral stiffness com-
pared with conventional tubular systems. They carry both the vertical
and lateral loads mostly through axial forces in the grid members.[64,65]
Although hexagonal grids have been used in a number of iconic
structures such as the Biome buildings at the Eden Project, a dome‐
shaped compound in Cornwall, UK, there are only a few examples of
them in tall buildings. The Sino Steel International Plaza consists of
two tubular 24‐ and an 83‐story hexagrid structures, which has been
under construction since 2008 (Figure 11). The 83‐story structure
has a CFST tubular structure, which starts with hexagrids in the bottom
and changes to diagrids from mid‐height to the top of the structure.[66]
Montuori et al.[67] studied 90‐story hexagrid and diagrid structures, FIGURE 12 The Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi (Source: http://www.
designed to resemble the Sino Steel International Plaza under ahr-global.com/Al-Bahr-Towers; Architects: Aedas)
ASADI AND ADELI 9 of 11

construction in China (Figure 11), with diagonal angle in the range of Some of the sustainable features of buildings using a diagrid struc-
31° to 70° and concluded that hexagrids have a smaller lateral stiffness ture were mentioned earlier in the paper (the Bow tower, the O‐14
than diagrids. tower, and the Al Bahr Towers). In addition to those features, diagrids
The 29‐story twin Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi completed in are known for their structural efficiency to reduce the required struc-
2012 is another unique example. The tube‐shaped towers have large tural material and architectural flexibility to produce appealing complex
concrete cores to carry lateral loads and the exterior steel hexagonal forms.[1,4] The inclined diagonal members of diagrids are particularly
frames are designed mostly to carry the gravity loads (Figure 12). The effective for carrying the lateral loads in tall buildings leading to con-
towers are known for their sustainable features such as sky garden in siderable reduction in structural weight and carbon dioxide emission
the southern tower and for their innovative use of 1,000 triangular compared to conventional structural systems. For instance, the
sunscreen panels, which cover each tower partially and can open and 182‐m Hearst Tower completed in 2006 shows the potential of diagrid
close automatically according to the sun light.[68] to be a sustainable structural system where the structure is reported to
have 20% less steel than “conventional framed structures”.[47] Approx-
imately, 10,000 tons of steel are used for the structure including 90%
9 | DIAGRID FOR SUSTAINABLE recycled steel.[70] Moreover, it consumes 25% less energy than a
STRUCTURES conventional office building. Due to this sustainable features, it has
obtained a Gold rating from the LEED, the first structure with this
Sustainability of structures is a rising concern in design, construction,
distinction in Manhattan, New York.[47]
operation, and renovation of the buildings especially high‐rise and
Diagrids are particularly adaptable for complex configurations.
super high‐rise buildings.[21,69] The Leadership in Energy and Environ-
Diverse geometrical forms can be created by changing the diagonal
mental Design (LEED) uses a rating system to evaluate the sustainabil-
length and angle and the out‐of‐plane inclination of the triangulated
ity of a new or constructed buildings based on material, energy and
diagrid elements, which can both carry the loads efficiently and be aes-
water efficiency, environmental quality, and innovative design
thetically and environmentally appealing. The large lateral stiffness of
criteria.[70] The worldwide trend to sustainable structural design and
diagrids reduces the need for numerous internal columns and provides
construction particularly for tall buildings has led to development of
more rentable space and larger space to allocate to sky gardens, atri-
innovative cost‐effective and energy‐efficient structural systems.
ums, and so forth.

10 | CONCLUSIONS

Diagrids have been increasingly used in tall buildings in recent decade.

Due to their excellent lateral stiffness and aesthetic features, they
have the potential to become a more widely‐used structural system
in mid‐ to high‐rise buildings. An impediment to their widespread
application is the lack of specific design provisions for their design
under extreme loads. Studies of diagrid nonlinear behavior and failure
mechanisms can lead to practical design provisions for this system. In
this regard, specific seismic response factors such as overstrength,
ductility, and response modification factors need to be quantified for
diagrids. The fundamental period of diagrids is in general smaller than
(a) conventional tubular structures.[9] Hence, a review of the current
formulas and methods for evaluating their approximate fundamental
period is necessary to ensure a safe and conservative design.
Little research has been reported on structural control of diagrid
frames especially on application of active and semi‐active controls.
Research in these areas will open up new horizons for creation of novel
smart and efficient tubular tall structural systems. Base isolation systems,
in general, reduce the effective base shear on the structure but increase
the fundamental period of the structure. Because the fundamental period
of diagrids is comparatively small,[9] base isolation strategies may be a
viable strategy for reducing the effective base shear in mid‐rise diagrids.
Hexagrids are a new extension of diagrid structures, which have
been used effectively to carry vertical and lateral loads in the Sino
(b)
Steel International Plaza, and mostly gravity loads, in Al Bahr Towers.
FIGURE 13 (a) Type 1 hexagrid for vertical loads (b) Type 2 hexagrid Hexagrids, can be modelled in two different patterns with non‐inclined
for horizontal loads members being (a) vertical and (b) horizontal (Figure 13).
10 of 11 ASADI AND ADELI

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[72] H. Adeli, K. Sarma, Cost Optimization of Structures – Fuzzy Logic, Award. In 1998, he received The Ohio State University's highest
Genetic Algorithms, and Parallel Computing, John Wiley and Sons, West research honor, the Distinguished Scholar Award “in recognition of
Sussex, United Kingdom 2006. extraordinary accomplishment in research and scholarship.” In 2005,
he was elected Distinguished Member, American Society of Civil Engi-

How to cite this article: Asadi E, Adeli H. Diagrid: An innova- neers: “for wide‐ranging, exceptional, and pioneering contributions to

tive, sustainable, and efficient structural system. Struct Design Tall computing in civil engineering and extraordinary leadership in advanc-

Spec Build. 2017;26:e1358. https://doi.org/10.1002/tal.1358 ing the use of computing and information technologies in many engi-
neering disciplines throughout the world.” In 2007, he received The
Ohio State University College of Engineering Peter L. and Clara M.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES Scott Award for Excellence in Engineering Education “for sustained,
exceptional, and multi‐faceted contributions to numerous fields includ-
Esmaeel Asadi is a PhD. student in the Department of Civil, Environmen-
ing computer‐aided engineering, knowledge engineering, computa-
tal and Geodetic Engineering at The Ohio State University. His research
tional intelligence, large‐scale design optimization, and smart
interests include seismic performance‐based design and optimization of
structures with worldwide impact, as well as the Charles E. MacQuigg
tall buildings incorporating novel structural systems such as diagrids.
Outstanding Teaching Award. In 2008, he was elected Fellow of the
Hojjat Adeli is a professor of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engi- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), “for
neering, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Informatics, Electrical distinguished contributions to computational infrastructure engineer-
and Computer Engineering, Neurological Surgery, and Neuroscience ing and for worldwide leadership in computational science and engi-
at The Ohio State University. He has authored or co‐authored 270 neering as a prolific author, keynote speaker, and editor‐in‐chief of
journal articles in various fields of computer science, engineering, journals.” He received the Outstanding Civil Engineer award from the
mathematics, and medicine since 1976 when he received his PhD. American Society of Civil Engineers Central Ohio Section in 2009.
from Stanford University at the age of 26. He has authored or co‐ He was elected Fellow of IEEE in 2012. He is the editor‐in‐chief of
authored 15 books. In 1995, he wrote Machine Learning—Neural Net- the international research journals Computer‐Aided Civil and Infra-
works, Genetic Algorithms, and Fuzzy Sets (published by John Wiley structure Engineering, which he founded in 1986 and Integrated Com-
and Sons), the first authored book that covers and integrates the three puter‐Aided Engineering which he founded in 1993. He is also the
main areas of soft computing. His recent books include Intelligent editor‐in‐chief of the International Journal of Neural Systems.