Abstract
The diagrid structural system for constructing tall buildings is a recent invention. Debuting in 2004 with the construction of the Swiss Re Tower in London, this aesthetically driven structural system has centered the perfecting of its technology on the development of the nodes that form its innovative deviation from standard steel tall framing methods. The paper examines variations in node design, understanding the linked dependence the modularity and the choice to expose the steel in the building, as well as on advances in digital modelling that allow an increasingly seamless line of communication from the engineering design through to the actual fabrication of the nodes. This advanced design and fabrication technology will be seen to have resulted in the expanded use of the technical term "node" to inform the design and construction of a range of other applications in the structuring of tall buildings, including the use of steel castings.