The World Trade Centre

Architecture > Buildings
Hot Topics > Terror and 9/11

A discussion of whether the World Trade Center was defectively designed and whether it should still remain standing today.

1,009 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2002 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the chronological events that occurred on September 11 2001 that led to the eventual collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC). It provides structural information on the exact architecture of the two towers and examines how the downfall of these two buildings occurred through a series of steps that eventually led to the cataclysmic chain reaction of each floor smashing into its corresponding lower floor, eventually destroying both towers. The primary factor leading to this disaster was the immense heat the structural design withstood and the impact of the airliners that hit them. It concludes that the WTC Towers were not defectively designed since no designer could have ever anticipated a catastrophe of the magnitude that occurred.

From the Paper:

"The structural integrity of the WTC depended on these closely spaced columns around the perimeter. Lightweight steel trusses spanned between the central elevator core and the perimeter columns on each floor. These trusses support the four-inch concrete slabs that separate each floor and tied the perimeter columns to the core. These trusses supported the vertical forces acting on the building. These steel structures were coated with an aluminum alloy for extra strength."