building dimensions to consider when finding wind loads

huangyhg

building dimensions to consider when finding wind loads?
hello all,
please see attached screenshot for a description of the building. note: building is adjacent to a retaining wall in one direction only. the direction perpendicular to the screenshot is open to the elements. i am curious as to which building dimensions i should consider when finding wind loads? what is usually the approach when one has a building like this? thanks.  
wind loads would start from grade up.  your height of grade would vary depending upon weather or not the retaining wall is front of the building or not.  in other words it would vary depending upon the direction of the wind.
any chance that they could level the surrounding area in the future?
have you checked this area under seismic loads.
i would never desgign the shielded area for zero wind pressure, there will be some wind loads exerted by gusts..

no, leveling the surrounding area will never happen in the future.
i have yet to run a seismic analysis.
i am planning on obtaining wind loads by using the maximum height and width of the building, fairly conservative, but practical. do you think this is a reasonable thing to do?
what about geographic effects from the upwind slope?
i think all that you are saying is justifyable under code but personally i would err a little on the conservative side.

i have one more question that i would like to pose:
when finding net line loads on the roof purlin of a "high rise building", it seems like the canadian code does not have any internal suction/pressure for the roof, except suction for the edge and corners. the suction on the edge/corners counteract the snow load when putting these forces into a combination, which got me thinking...is this the way it should be? also, why would a high rise building (h>120m, h/w>4) not have any internal suction or internal pressure? thanks!
i guess i should reiterate my question to make it more understandable:
1. when finding load applied on roof to find the required cladding capacity, the suction on the roof when placed counteracts when placed in a combination with snow load. am i understanding something wrong here?
2. should i use specified loads when determining loads on cladding? also, should i be using the 1-10 year wind or the 1-50 year?
thanks.
i would design for full height of building and width without considering any shielding of the retaining wall.
1 in 50 year is the design wind for both asd and lrfd.
consider partial snow loading in a place that adds to the wind effect(possibly the leeward side).