The Relation between Building Height and Construction Costs in 1 to 50- Storey Residential Buildings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 MSc, Construction Technology, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University

Abstract

The engineering advances in various fields including construction, along with changes in municipal and national policies against urban sprawl have strengthened the case for high-rise developments particularly in metropolitan areas. This is particularly significant when it comes to urban development and policy making.
Taken from an MSc dissertation of the same title, the present paper studies the relation between the number of storeys and construction costs. In order to do so, quantitative data collected from suppliers and contractors of various projects, as well as interviews with experts have been used in the subsequent BIM modelling.
Overall results show that despite commonly held views, high-rise construction costs are not necessarily higher, and that the consideration of construction costs needs to be based on respective charts for each height range. For instance, in seven, 42, and 48-storey buildings, every single extra floor results in the extra costs that turn the project from viable to non-viable. In line with the above, the suggested optimum number of floors for ordinary urban and mass developments is nine. In plots designated for high-rise developments, a 30–40 floor development is preferred. The present study focuses merely on construction costs, and does not scrutinise land prices and infrastructure costs, nor cultural and social influences on property markets.

Keywords

References

وزارت راه و شهرسازی. «آیین‌نامة طراحی ساختمان‌ها در برابر زلزله»، در استاندارد 2800، ویرایش چهارم، مرکز تحقیقات راه، مسکن، شهرسازی: کمیته دائمی بازنگری آیین‌نامة طراحی ساختمان‌ها در برابر زلزله، 1394.
ــــــــ . «مبحث سوم: مقررات ملی ساختمان»، در حفاظت ساختمان‌ها در مقابل حریق، ویرایش سوم، مرکز تحقیقات راه، مسکن، شهرسازی: دفتر تدوین مقررات ملی ساختمان، 1395.
زاریان، حسام‌الدین، رابطه ارتفاع ساختمان و هزینه‌های ساخت ساختمان‌های مسکونی 1 تا 50 طبقه، پایان‌نامة کارشناسی ارشد رشتة فناوری معماری گرایش ساخت، استادان راهنما: دکتر محمدرضا حافظی و دکتر محمد تحصیلدوست، دی 1397.
 
Bathurst, P.E. & D.A. Butler. Building Cost Control Techniques and Economics, Heinemann Educational Books, 1973.
Blackman, I.Q. & D.H. Picken, “Height and Construction Costs of Residential High-rise Buildings in Shanghai”, in Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(11) (2010), pp. 1169-1180.
Cartlidge, D.P. Cost Planning and Building Economics,Hutchinson Educational, 1973.
Chan, D.W. & M.M. Kumaraswamy. “A Study of the Factors Affecting Construction durations in Hong Kong”, in Construction Management and Economics, 13(4) (1995), pp. 319-333.
de Jong, P. & S. van Oss & J. Wamelink. High Rise Ability, London: ERES, 2007.
Flanagan, R. & G. Norman. “The Relationship between Construction Price and Height”, in Cost Modelling, 1999, pp. 69-71.
Ilerisoy, Zeynep Yeşim. “Construction Costs of Tunnel form Buildings”, in Građevinar, 65(2) ( February 2013), pp. 135-141.
Nisbet, J. Estimating and Cost Control: In Association with PE Bathurst [and Others], London, Batsford, 1961.
Parker, Donald E. Parametric Cost Modeling for Buildings. Routledge, 2014.
Picken, D. & B. Ilozor. “The Relationship between Building Height and Construction Costs”, in Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of Sustainability on Project Evaluation, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2015, pp. 47-60.
Picken, D.H. & B.D. Ilozor, “Height and Construction Costs of Buildings in HongKong”, in Construction Management & Economics, 21(2) (2003), pp. 107-111.
Policy, E.C.D.-G.f.R. & Cohesion. Understanding and Monitoring the Cost-determining Factors of Infrastructure Projects: A User’s Guide,European Commission, 1998.
Proverbs, D. & G. Holt & P.O. Olomolaiye. “Construction Resource/ Method Factors Influencing Productivity for High Rise Concrete Construction”, in Construction Management & Economics, 17(5) (1999), pp. 577-587.
Robinson, H., et al. Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of Sustainability on Project Evaluation, John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
Seeley, I.H. “Cost Implications of Design Variables”, in Building Economics, Springer, 1983, pp. 18-37.
________ . Building Economics: Appraisal and Control of Building Design Cost and Efficiency, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1972.
________ . Building Economics: Appraisal and Control of Building Design Cost and Efficiency, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996.
Stone, P.A. Building Design Evaluation: Costs-in-use, Spon Press, 1980.
Tan, W. “Construction Cost and Building Height”, in Construction Management & Economics, 17(2) (1999), pp. 129-132.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 22 June 2019
  • Revise Date: 23 January 2021
  • Accept Date: 31 December 2020

Share

How to cite

Statistics