AbstractThe mitigation of wind‐induced excitations of tall buildings was investigated. The shape of a building can be aerodynamically modified by changing the taper of the cross‐section. This modification alters the flow pattern around the building, and reduces wind‐induced vibration of tall buildings. A tapered tall building that spreads the vortex‐shedding over a broad range of frequencies more effectively reduces cross‐wind responses. In this paper, to investigate the tapering effect on the reduction of wind‐induced responses of a tapered tall building, a high‐frequency force‐balance test was conducted. Six types of building model of differing taper ratios—2·5%, 5%, 7·5%, 10%, 15%, and a basic building model of square cross‐section—were tested on two typical atmospheric boundary layers representing suburban and urban areas. The effect of wind direction was also considered. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.