High-rise timber buildings against wind-induced vibration: A comprehensive study on design criteria, design codes and design cases

Timber construction offers significant environmental advantages, and the recent rise of timber buildings, culminating in record-setting high-rises, demonstrates a growing trend toward tall timber structures. However, the low self-weight of timber material makes high-rise timber buildings particularly vulnerable to wind-induced vibrations, which often governs design. Compounding this challenge, the principal design codes and criteria do not offer comprehensive, specific provisions for combined wind-vibration effects from the perspective of timber building. This study aims to 1) evaluate design of timber buildings against wind-induced vibration to provide practical guidance, 2) catalogs current serviceability criteria (i.e. ISO 10137, ISO 6897, AIJ-Guidelines, NBCC-Guidelines, ASCE 7-22, AS/NZS 1170.0 and 1170.2, Eurocode 5) for wind-generated accelerations and displacements of buildings, 3) identify gaps of wind-induced vibration design methods outlined in leading international codes (i.e. Eurocode 1-4, ASCE 7–22, AIJ-RBL, NBCC, AS/NZS 1170.2) from regions actively engaged in timber construction, and 4) analyze the wind-design strategies employed in five completed high-rise timber building projects. Results show that current code methods are constrained by simplified assumptions with strict requirement on building dimensions and profile, lacking timber-specific parameters, e.g. damping and natural frequency. Existing codes do not yet provide sufficiently comprehensive methods for evaluating combined vibration effects, and most realized projects have only partially considered the serviceability requirements, which, although, are not mandatory in current design practice. By integrating these criteria, highlighting the limitations of existing codes, and drawing lessons from existing tall timber structures, this study offers clear guidance for engineers seeking to evaluate and mitigate wind-induced vibrations of timber buildings, thereby supporting the reliable design of future high-rise timber buildings.