Lotte World Tower in South Korea Jigsaw Puzzle

Lotte World Tower's elegant tapered shape is a nod to traditional Korean art forms. Though the shape of the design led to challenging structural complexities, it was effective at minimizing wind loads. LERA worked closely with the architects to strike a balance between the structural efficiency gained by adding columns and the need to preserve open floor plans. Several structural designs were therefore studied: a system of concrete mega-columns with relatively small intermediate steel columns at the perimeter; a system of long-span spandrels with clear spans between concrete mega-columns; and a combination of the two.