CTBUH is considered the world’s leading body in the field of tall buildings internationally. It is the arbiter of the criteria upon which tall building height is measured, and the title of “The World’s Tallest Building” determined.

The construction of tall buildings in excess of 200m in height has become increasingly common and mega-foundation systems are generally now required to safely support the large lateral and vertical building loads and to control total and differential movements in the foundation.

The Foundations Working Group is currently completing a set of guidelines for mega- structures that will present a rational approach to the design of foundations for high rise buildings. It will cover the important design aspects and present a design process for mega-foundations.

Frances said she was honoured to be chosen as co-chair and was looking forward to applying her knowledge on the international guidelines.

“I’ve had an interest in tall structures since I was involved with the iconic International Finance Centre in Kowloon, Hong Kong with Professor Harry Poulos and worked hard to develop Coffey’s capability in this specialist area of foundation design. Since the mid 1990’s, we have been involved in many tall tower projects both in Australia and overseas, including the World’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa. I’m excited about this appointment as it allows me to collaborate with other leading international foundation designers to develop an informative and useful guideline that can be readily used across the industry.

“As we keep trying to be capable of taller and taller structures, the relationship between foundations and building behaviour, which is highly interactive,  becomes even more critical to the building’s long term performance. It is important to harness all the international knowledge we have to ensure these amazing structures are safe, functional and, of course, financially viable.,” she said.

Having joined Coffey Geotechnics in 1998, Frances is currently a Senior Principal and leads the Design & Analysis Group in Sydney. She has over twenty years of experience in geotechnical consulting. She has published more than 10 papers on her areas of interest including in-ground structures design and foundation design for super tall towers. Frances has worked on many world-famous engineering marvels, including the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai. She is currently working on the Incheon Tower in South Korea, which is expected to be the tallest twin tower in the world, and the KL100 building in Kuala Lumpur which is more than 500m high.

Media Contact

Angela James, Corporate Communications Manager, Coffey International Limited
P: (+61) (2) 8404 4415; M: (+61) 42 8 905 573; E: angela_james@coffey.com

(Burj Khalifa photo courtesy of samar@spectramaxima.com)