SUMMARY This paper discusses modelling, analysis and design issues for a 55-storey hotel building recently planned for New York City, USA. The lateral force resistance of the investigated building primarily makes use of exterior reinforced concrete shear walls in one direction and exterior reinforced concrete moment frames in the other direction, in which tube action credited to the connection of the walls and frames was designed to play a significant role in the lateral stiffness and strength. In addition, a full-storey belt wall system, enclosing the entire perimeter of the building at approximately the mid-height, is expected to provide a considerable contribution to the lateral force resistance. In this paper, the contribution of tube action and the belt wall system to structural behaviour is investigated in terms of quantitative measures such as lateral drift, building dynamic properties and flange frame contribution to overturning moment resistance. In addition, axial force distribution among the various vertical members under lateral forces is discussed for each of the two principal building directions. Finally, the seismic behaviour of the investigated building is qualitatively discussed in order to propose a seismic force-resisting system classification into which this concrete tube system would fit. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]