Peak wind coefficients of piloti cladding on high rise buildings

Various types of pilotis are used in the construction of the lower stories of high rise buildings. The interior finishes of pilotis in downtown buildings may be damaged by strong winds, compromising pedestrian safety. However, the wind pressure coefficients facilitating appropriate cladding of end and corner pilotis (often evident in high rise buildings) are poorly understood. Wind pressure experiments showed that, for end pilotis, the lowest peak wind-pressure coefficients –2.7 were evident at wind angles of 0 and 270ºC, thus parallel to the wind direction. For corner pilotis, the minimum peak wind-pressure coefficient was –2.0 at the center of the ceiling near the wind angle of the building corners.