Quote:
Originally Posted by Roadcruiser1
Again the World Trade Center was well built. The building stood after the plane hit it. Again AFTER THE PLANE HIT IT. What brought it down was the fire that came from the results of the plane impact. They stood long enough for people to get out of. It was a pretty sturdy design. It would have held up longer if it had better fire proofing. It should have better emergency routes for escape though which was the major flaw. The truth is you can't design a building that can ever take the impact of the planes that hit the World Trade Center it's just impossible. It's like asking someone to design a car that can drive off a cliff and it would still be okay. It's impossible. Your best option is to give more options to protect the occupants like more staircases that are wider, elevators that work to allow people to flee, safety floors for people to have air and for people to stop for a while before continuing down the stairs, special elevators for the firefighters, and etc. That is all you can do. Just like how you give cars airbags, and seat belts. You can't make a building that would never collapse but you can give them a way to get out, or to be safe.
"But I don't think it is necessary for us to go out and start designing all our buildings for the impact of jet aircraft. It would create buildings that are not so wonderful places to live and work. They should be robust they should be strong oh yes of course, but special circumstances should not be dictating the way we design high rise buildings."-Leslie Robertson (Engineer of the original and new World Trade Center)
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It's an issue that doesn't need to be debated. The building was designed for its time. Structurally it was very strong, but it certainly wasn't up to the life safety standards of today. Fire enclosures for cores are far more robust today than they were decades ago. You also have wider stairways and protected standpipes, and even more organized procedures in case of a tragic event.
Where you can't make up in structural invincibility, you make up in life safety to ensure all occupants can leave a building before the worst happens. In fact, if you read up on past highrise fires, you'll find most, or at least all lives could have been saved if proper emergency escape plans were followed or if emergency systems were working properly (sprinklers, p.a., smoke exhaust, unlocked doors, etc.)