Human perception and tolerance of wind-induced building motion

Wind-induced building motion can interfere with building occupants’ daily activities and general well-being. However, human perception of motion and tolerance of wind-induced tall building vibration are essentially a subjective assessment. Hence, there is currently no single internationally accepted occupant comfort serviceability criteria which set a design standard for satisfactory levels of wind-induced vibration in tall buildings. This chapter reviews past studies on human perception of motion and tolerance thresholds of wind-induced tall building motions. Building vibration acceptability, occupant comfort serviceability criteria and assessment methodologies that have been commonly adopted for the assessment of occupant comfort in wind-excited tall buildings are outlined. Occupant comfort evaluation that utilises motion simulator to provide building developers/owners and design professionals an experience of different levels of simulated wind-induced building vibrations is described, thus facilitating an assessment of the acceptability of the building vibration and the need to adopt vibration mitigation measures. The relevance of two motion sickness theories: Sensory Conflict Theory and Postural Instability Theory on human response to wind-induced building motion is discussed, which may lead to design strategy that aims to minimize the adverse effects of building motion on occupant comfort and well-being and potential degradation of manual task and cognitive performance.