Enhancing Seismic Performance of High-Value Buildings Using Viscous Wall Dampers: A Case Study of a Multi-Tower Commercial Facility

Abstract

High-value and mission-critical facilities—including premium commercial buildings, luxury residences, hospitality developments, hospitals, and data centres—require much higher levels of seismic performance. These building types must not only protect life safety but also ensure operational continuity, minimize functional downtime, and safeguard sensitive interior systems and equipment. Traditional code-based seismic design relying primarily on strength and ductility may not be adequate to meet these stringent performance requirements. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of Viscous Wall Dampers (VWDs) in improving seismic resilience for such high-performance buildings. A detailed nonlinear time history analysis was conducted for a real multi-storey, multi-tower reinforced concrete building consisting of 3B+G+11 and 3B+G+8 storey towers. Nine ground motions were used, and 160 VWDs (64 in X and 96 in Y) were optimized and incorporated. The results demonstrate a reduction in interstorey drift (from ~1% to <0.4%), and major reductions in base shear and floor accelerations. These findings confirm that VWDs offer a highly reliable, architecturally compatible, and performance-driven seismic solution for a broad class of buildings — particularly commercial towers, hotels, high-value residences, hospitals, and data centres, that must remain operational after an earthquake.