9/11 Research Paper
Many people believed that the Twin Towers would never collapse and that it was invincible due to the complexity of its structure. The North Tower was constructed in December 1970, followed shortly by the South Tower in January 1972. The complex design of the World Trade Center was conceived as an urban renewal project and were used to restore confidence and help bring a halt to the decline of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 terrorist attack was a series of four attacks on the United States on the morning of September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, and cost at least $10 billion in property damage and infrastructure. The greatest factor that contributed to the loss of life of 9/11 was the construction of the towers
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because of the lack of fireproofing, poor ductility and quality of construction material and the lack of use of the code in the construction of the towers. One of the reasons that construction contributed to the loss of life on 9/11 was because of the lack of fireproofing the towers.
The fire that was created at the World Trade Center was far greater than anyone would have anticipated and, “Despite the gravity of these doubts, the evacuation policies at the trade center assumed that the towers were sturdy and fire-resistant,” (Dwyer and Flynn 69). Considering the fact that many buildings codes were not a requirement for the World Trade Center due to its complex structure, not fireproofing the towers became more acceptable, especially because no one had thought that the towers would be brought down by a fire. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, many building designs were modified to become safer because the International Buildings Safety Codes adapted their codes in order to keep all buildings safe in case of a fire occurring. According to International Codes, as a result of the 9/11 attack, there have been some changes made to their code. Some of these changes include having a higher standard for fire resistance in high-rise buildings more than 420 feet tall and robust fire proofing for buildings more than 75 feet tall, which will be less likely to be dislodged by impacts or explosions. As a result of these changes to international building codes, there have been many preventative measures taken and it has had a major impact in making sure that more survive situations similar to the 9/11 terrorist
attack. Another one of the major contributors to the loss of life on 9/11 was the use of poor constructive materials and ductility. The use of poor constructive materials made it that the towers had poor ductility, especially in the case of a fire. The Twin Towers were made of steel columns that lost strength rapidly when the fire reached 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The blast itself and how close it is to the structure leads to intense stress in the concrete, which caused the collapse of the towers because the building could not uphold the amount of pressure that was being applied on it. Many people believe that concrete is virtually fireproof and should not have collapsed if there was too much heat near it. Although concrete can withstand hours of fire pressure, it can still burn, and with the combination of other materials used in the construction of the towers, the concrete could not have kept the structure of the towers standing for much longer, (“Why is Concrete Fire Resistant”). The World Trade Center was built at a time where people wanted a new and complex structure, “The new approaches made it possible for the Port Authority to build higher and cheaper, with the twin towers the first skyscrapers to use virtually no masonry in their construction,” (Dwyer and Flynn 103). The constructioneers wanted to fulfil that want, but they knew that it would cost far more than they anticipated, which led to the use of cheaper and poorer constructive materials being used. Another factor that contributed to the loss of lives was the lack of use of the code in the construction of the towers. The World Trade Center was built with a lack of the use of code, “While not legally bound by code, the agency had announced that it would “meet or exceed” the code’s requirements… negative results could have forced a new design---one that might have increased the construction costs so much that the towers could not have been built, at least on the scale that was planned, “(Dwyer and Flynn 67). The code that was supposed to be used during the erection of the World Trade Center required there to be tests done on the fireproofing and the lightweight structural steel to make sure that they were adequately protected. Since the principal figures had died before September 11, 2001, if the tests would have had negative results, they would not have been able to build the towers on the scale they had wanted to. Due to the complexity of its structure, the World Trade Center was not required to follow all of the codes, but even some of the ones that were put into place for the safety of all buildings were not applied in its construction. Building codes in construction are put into place, “to provide a means to safeguard life and protect the private and public welfare through regulating the design, construction practices, construction material quality, location, occupancy and maintenance of buildings and structures,” (“What is the Importance of Building Codes in Construction?”, 2012). It is important that buildings follow these codes because they provide safety and contribute to the withstanding of the structures. If the towers would have been built according to code, more people would have survived because the towers would not have deteriorated as fast as they did. As a result of the attack on 9/11, there were many changes made to international building codes. For example, shafts enclosing elevators and exit stairways have to have impact resistant walls, additional stairways for high-rises were included for buildings taller than 420 feet tall, and elevators were required in high-rise buildings more than 120 feet tall so that it is easier for firefighters to get to them. The lack of fireproofing, poor ductility and quality of construction material and the lack of the use of code in the construction of the towers contributed to the loss of life on 9/11. The loss of lives on September 11, 2001 had a huge impact on the construction of buildings that followed. The International Code Council has developed new codes for buildings in order to keep everyone safe and make sure that buildings are more sturdy than they were during the 9/11 attack to make sure that if something like this happens in the future that there will be a way to prevent as much of it as possible.
because of the lack of fireproofing, poor ductility and quality of construction material and the lack of use of the code in the construction of the towers. One of the reasons that construction contributed to the loss of life on 9/11 was because of the lack of fireproofing the towers.
The fire that was created at the World Trade Center was far greater than anyone would have anticipated and, “Despite the gravity of these doubts, the evacuation policies at the trade center assumed that the towers were sturdy and fire-resistant,” (Dwyer and Flynn 69). Considering the fact that many buildings codes were not a requirement for the World Trade Center due to its complex structure, not fireproofing the towers became more acceptable, especially because no one had thought that the towers would be brought down by a fire. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, many building designs were modified to become safer because the International Buildings Safety Codes adapted their codes in order to keep all buildings safe in case of a fire occurring. According to International Codes, as a result of the 9/11 attack, there have been some changes made to their code. Some of these changes include having a higher standard for fire resistance in high-rise buildings more than 420 feet tall and robust fire proofing for buildings more than 75 feet tall, which will be less likely to be dislodged by impacts or explosions. As a result of these changes to international building codes, there have been many preventative measures taken and it has had a major impact in making sure that more survive situations similar to the 9/11 terrorist
attack. Another one of the major contributors to the loss of life on 9/11 was the use of poor constructive materials and ductility. The use of poor constructive materials made it that the towers had poor ductility, especially in the case of a fire. The Twin Towers were made of steel columns that lost strength rapidly when the fire reached 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The blast itself and how close it is to the structure leads to intense stress in the concrete, which caused the collapse of the towers because the building could not uphold the amount of pressure that was being applied on it. Many people believe that concrete is virtually fireproof and should not have collapsed if there was too much heat near it. Although concrete can withstand hours of fire pressure, it can still burn, and with the combination of other materials used in the construction of the towers, the concrete could not have kept the structure of the towers standing for much longer, (“Why is Concrete Fire Resistant”). The World Trade Center was built at a time where people wanted a new and complex structure, “The new approaches made it possible for the Port Authority to build higher and cheaper, with the twin towers the first skyscrapers to use virtually no masonry in their construction,” (Dwyer and Flynn 103). The constructioneers wanted to fulfil that want, but they knew that it would cost far more than they anticipated, which led to the use of cheaper and poorer constructive materials being used. Another factor that contributed to the loss of lives was the lack of use of the code in the construction of the towers. The World Trade Center was built with a lack of the use of code, “While not legally bound by code, the agency had announced that it would “meet or exceed” the code’s requirements… negative results could have forced a new design---one that might have increased the construction costs so much that the towers could not have been built, at least on the scale that was planned, “(Dwyer and Flynn 67). The code that was supposed to be used during the erection of the World Trade Center required there to be tests done on the fireproofing and the lightweight structural steel to make sure that they were adequately protected. Since the principal figures had died before September 11, 2001, if the tests would have had negative results, they would not have been able to build the towers on the scale they had wanted to. Due to the complexity of its structure, the World Trade Center was not required to follow all of the codes, but even some of the ones that were put into place for the safety of all buildings were not applied in its construction. Building codes in construction are put into place, “to provide a means to safeguard life and protect the private and public welfare through regulating the design, construction practices, construction material quality, location, occupancy and maintenance of buildings and structures,” (“What is the Importance of Building Codes in Construction?”, 2012). It is important that buildings follow these codes because they provide safety and contribute to the withstanding of the structures. If the towers would have been built according to code, more people would have survived because the towers would not have deteriorated as fast as they did. As a result of the attack on 9/11, there were many changes made to international building codes. For example, shafts enclosing elevators and exit stairways have to have impact resistant walls, additional stairways for high-rises were included for buildings taller than 420 feet tall, and elevators were required in high-rise buildings more than 120 feet tall so that it is easier for firefighters to get to them. The lack of fireproofing, poor ductility and quality of construction material and the lack of the use of code in the construction of the towers contributed to the loss of life on 9/11. The loss of lives on September 11, 2001 had a huge impact on the construction of buildings that followed. The International Code Council has developed new codes for buildings in order to keep everyone safe and make sure that buildings are more sturdy than they were during the 9/11 attack to make sure that if something like this happens in the future that there will be a way to prevent as much of it as possible.