Wirth Research has been nominated by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as a finalist for its prestigious Innovation award. Presented in Chicago later this year, the CTBUH award recognises breakthroughs in design or construction that take the design process of tall buildings to a new level.
Through the application of hi-resolution computational fluid dynamics (CFD), Wirth Research has become a world leader in the analysis of wind loads for the structural design of tall buildings.
Compared to the conventional method of analysis through scale model testing in wind tunnels, hi-resolution CFD has a significant benefit in accurately predicting the wind loads on a building whilst also allowing architects and engineers to visualise wind flow structures at a level of detail not previously available. This enhanced level of accuracy and precision coupled with advanced visualisation techniques provides deeper insights into what is causing any given flow structure, and therefore provides a significant step forward in understanding how to efficiently minimise the wind loads on some of the world’s tallest buildings.
Hi-resolution CFD has the capability to predict and solve any potential wind related issues with a proposed building in a way that can be better integrated into the design process from the outset, rather than applied as a costly mitigation later in the process.
Nick Wirth, President of Wirth Research said,“I am immensely proud that the pioneering work of our aerodynamicists and fluid dynamicists has been recognised by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The Wirth Research team has taken our advanced motor sport CFD capability and applied it in ways that have simply never been done before in architectural design and construction.
“Our CFD work on tall buildings and wind flow has been developed with invaluable guidance from colleagues at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and I would particularly like to thank William F Baker for his personal involvement in the process and for helping us to achieve our truly ground breaking results.”
Editors Note:
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat awards recognise projects and individuals that have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment, and that achieve sustainability at the highest and broadest level.
Wirth Research is a UK design technology and CFD consultancy led by founder Nick Wirth. Originally focused on championship winning international race car engineering, Wirth Research has developed to apply its motor sport mindset and advanced CFD capabilities to innovations across multiple industry sectors including aerospace, architecture, automotive, commercial vehicle, motor sport and retail refrigeration.
Experts in Aerodynamics & Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)