Location Mexico City, Mexico
Size 905,000 sqft
Stories 57
Building Type Commercial/Office
Number of Dampers 98
Structural Engineer WSP Group
General Contractor A.D. Tec Gerencia de Construcción
Owner Conglomerate: Fibra UNO, Union Investment, Reichmann International
New Construction
Mexico City’s soft soils and high seismicity present significant challenges for high-rise construction, often making it impossible to build tall. Torre Mayor, completed in 2003, solved this by introducing 98 fluid viscous dampers, reducing earthquake forces, foundation loads and controlling interstory movement, all while allowing for a lighter structure.
During the 7.6-magnitude earthquake on January 21, 2003, 30 seconds of amplified shaking damaged over 13,000 homes and 600 commercial buildings, yet Torre Mayor performed as expected with no damage. Occupants first noticed the quake through the movement of an external damper and dust clouds forming from the City Center below.
Fourteen years later, Torre Mayor experiences another earthquake (M7.1), again performed as expected with no damage and reopened the same day, a true testament to its long-term performance and post-earthquake functionality.
As Latin America’s tallest building at the time, Torre Mayor set the global benchmark for seismic resilience and remains a memorable reference in high-rise earthquake engineering.
