A unique damping system for the tallest building in Philadelphia
At 58 stories, the Comcast Center is Philadelphia’s tallest tower, but wind studies revealed motion that could compromise occupant comfort on its upper floors. Rather than adding costly structural material, RWDI collaborated with Thornton Tomasetti to design a tuned liquid column damper (TLCD) system—the largest of its kind in the world—using over 1,300 tons of water to counteract sway. Our proprietary modeling tools optimized the damper’s nonlinear behavior, while on-site tuning and advanced evolutionary algorithms ensured peak performance. The system delivers long-term comfort, stability, and efficiency, maximizing the building’s rentable space while minimizing added costs.