No need to apologize. I’m sure there were other architects involved. The only reason I know anything about Yamasaki is because he also designed the SeaFirst Bank tower out here in Seattle.
This whole argument about the Trade Center is pointless anyway. If there is anything dirty about it none of us will live long enough to hear the truth. I told my wife when we were still watching the fires that those buildings were toast but I figured it was going to be a very nasty demolition job after the fires were put out. It was amazing how quickly they collapsed.
We had a fire out here in Los Angeles, and the fire-fighters fought the blaze aggressively. They saved a 40 plus story building.
During the coverage of this fire and the dynamics involved, they spoke about temperatures and how those can compromise steel beams.
When I saw those planes impact the WTC towers, I had a pretty good idea those structures were in jeopardy. The fire temperatures were bound to be very high. When they did go down, it didn’t shock me at all.
I was surprised at the dynamics of them as they went down.
I had always thought a building like that would topple rather than collapse in on itself. I think the construction strategy contributed to the failure. It was a different type of construction.
The program I watched explained it quite well, but I don’t remember the intricacies of it now.
They did go down fast, but we’re talking so many floors, the weight of them in motion, the structure wasn’t built to withstand that sort of impact. It couldn’t possibly resist.
I know some folks want to make something of that, but it isn’t that hard to understand. The centrifugal force of the weight in motion can’t be stopped. The farther down the building the collapse goes, the more weight.