NJIT Faculty Expert Rima Taher on 'Building Design for Wind Forces'

The faculty at the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) continues to foster insightful discussion and riveting commentary in and out of the classroom.

Senior University Lecturer Rima Taher’s textbook "Building Design for Wind Forces,” which was published by McGraw Hill Education, explores the oft-overlooked yet critically important subject of designing and constructing structures that can withstand wind forces and better resist extreme wind events, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

“Books on this topic are rare,” says Taher. “It’s a subject that may get a chapter or two in a book about general structural analysis and design. There are a lot of research papers, articles and also some reports on wind damage to structures, but those looking to learn more about wind design aren’t going to find a lot of textbooks on the subject.” 

Taher teaches structural technology at CoAD, which offers an elective course on resilient design and how to design for hazards and extreme events, including heavy winds. Taher, a structural design expert, also teaches a graduate online course on stability of structures in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Newark College of Engineering. 

In addition to discussing the effects of wind on buildings and structures, the book covers other wind-related topics, such as wind effects and structural systems in tall buildings, wind engineering research and activities, wind tunnels and other wind design matters, general concepts and principles — written in easily digestible chunks.

“It’s categorized as a civil engineering book,” she says, “but it can also be used by architects who do structural design work.”

The book also provides some design guidelines for better construction based on the ASCE 7-16 Standard of the American Society of Civil Engineers Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. 

“The ASCE 7 Standard is an important document on which the structural chapters of the International Building Code are based,” says Taher. “The book explains how to calculate wind pressures to design the main structural system of a building and the procedures used to determine wind pressures on components and cladding, building appurtenances and other structures, such as freestanding walls and signs, chimneys, rooftop equipment and trussed towers.”

In addition to teaching at NJIT, Taher is a practicing engineer through her own consulting firm in New Jersey. She has participated in wind engineering research and her articles have been published in engineering and construction journals and in conference proceedings. She has also authored and co-authored several books on structural technology. 

Taher gave a lecture last August on wind load provisions of the ASCE 7-16 Standard at a seminar at Lehigh University, organized by the Structural Engineering Institute Chapter of the Lehigh Valley ASCE Branch in Pennsylvania.