Core (architecture)

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Simple core arrangement – stairs "wrapping around" elevator shaft.

In architecture, a core is a vertical space used for circulation and services. It may also be referred to as a circulation core or service core. A core may include staircases, elevators, electrical cables, water pipes and risers.

A core allows people to move between the floors of a building, and distributes services efficiently to the floors. A core may also serve a key structural role in a building, helping support it and acting as a load-bearing structure with load-bearing walls.[1][2] Cores in office buildings tend to be larger than those in apartment buildings because office buildings need to handle more traffic with an increased number of elevator shafts.[3] It is generally desirable for a core to be as small as possible to maximize floorspace within the building.[4] The core of a building is often placed in the center of a building, but it can also be placed on a side of a building, and there can be several cores in a building. Cores on a side of a building are known as perimeter cores, are completely inside the building and can allow for more uninterrupted, column-free floor space within a building. Offset cores are similar to perimeter cores but sit partially or completely outside a building. Cores split into several smaller cores are called mixed cores. A large portion (over 40&) of offset core buildings were built after 2010. An offset core can also be used to provide shade from the sun.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. Malott, David; Poon, Dennis; Gottlebe, Torsten; Yu, Zhizhe (2012). Ping An Finance Center: Pioneering China's Tallest - Efficiencies of Form and Structures (PDF). CTBUH 2012 9th World Congress. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  2. Xia, Jun; Poon, Dennis; Mass, Douglas (2010). "Case Study: Shanghai Tower" (PDF). CTBUH Journal (2010 Issue II). Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  3. "Defining Supertall | the Skyscraper Museum".
  4. Skyscrapers. The Rosen Publishing Group. 15 December 2001. ISBN 978-1-4358-6379-8.
  5. Oldfield, Philip; Doherty, Bronte (2019). "Offset Cores: Trends, Drivers and Frequency in Tall Buildings" (PDF). CTBUH Journal (2019 Issue II). Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  6. "Tall Buildings in Numbers: World's Tallest Offset-Core Buildings" (PDF). CTBUH Journal (2019 Issue II). Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2026.