after first online publication: Majd Armaly's surname has been corrected from 'Majd Armali' to 'Majd Armaly'] The increase in population especially in third world countries demands taller, more flexible, and lighter buildings. Most of these countries are subjected to a high risk of earthquakes, which requires more control of building seismic response. However, several techniques exist to minimize the vibrations induced by an earthquake shock. This paper will discuss the effectiveness of using friction dampers as a passive dissipative device and proposes some design optimization of the number and position of dampers in the building. Friction dampers offer a supplemental damping in conjunction with appropriate stiffness, offering an innovative and attractive solution for the seismic response control of tall structures in risky areas. The originality of this work is in the detailed seismic study of an asymmetric reinforced concrete (RC) building, located in a risky seismic zone and using real earthquake seismic waves. The seismic response of this dissipative structural method is compared with the response of the conventional method (shear wall system) for the high rise building. To accomplish this objective, a nonlinear modal time history analysis using the El Centro earthquake record for a 40-storey RC high rise building, is performed with four different damper type formats using ETABS software. To illustrate the response improvement by dampers, storey accelerations, storey displacements, base shear forces, and storey drifts are compared with a conventional fixed base system (shear wall system) for the same building. Results show that using an optimum position and number of dampers, a tall building can remain operational during a seism.