•A design procedure for mdof aeroelastic modelling is presented and assessed.•Second order mode shapes response has been added to CAARC standard tall building.•A novel wind tunnel test campaign is presented and critically analyzed.•The comparison between the loads of the aerodynamic and aeoroelastic model is presented. A novel approach to full-aeroelastic model design is presented, considering continuous structures and coupled modes. Its validity is proven by building a full-aeroelastic CAARC standard tall building model featuring 12-degrees-of-freedom at 1:360 scale. A complete description of its design, manufacturing, tuning, and dynamic identification is reported. The model is tested in a novel wind-tunnel experimental campaign performed at the CRIACIV facility (Prato, Italy). A comparative study of aerodynamic and full-aeroelastic response in terms of base moment and accelerations shows that the aerodynamic model tends to overpredict the response along the broader side of the model. The contribution of second modes is found to be relevant for induced acceleration at the rooftop.