Economic model for height determination of high-rise buildings

Abstract

At present, no clear concise method of optimal height determination for high-rise buildings is being practiced. The primary scope of this dissertation is to see if a practical model, decision making process and list of external factors for examination can be generated for use by developers that will expose, organize, analyze and manage the factors determining optimal building height for high-rise buildings. Optimal building height is defined by the author as the height at which the private investor's return on investment is maximized, based on maximizing the use of capital resources for a given project. The generated model will be capable of examining proposed and existing high-rise buildings to ascertain if their respected heights are in fact optimal building height from an economic point of view. External factors not included in the model will then be exposed and analyzed to see what impact they have on optimal building height criteria. The model's practical applicability will be tested by examining two existing high-rise case studies located around the Boston area. Conclusions and the future research will be based on the model's applicability in real practice.