AD 8 Midterm Written Exam

Instruction:

After watching the documentary video Why the Tower Fell, I want
you to express your own thought about the Twin Tower Design starting from Space
Efficiency, Core location, Structural System, Fire Exit Stair Design, and your
take on Why the Tower Fell.

Floor space efficiency: The Twin Towers

The Twin Towers featured a central core design, with elevators and utility shafts grouped together in the
center of the building to maximize the usable floor space around the perimeter. The buildings also
included a unique structural system that allowed for large open floor plans, which were popular with
tenants in the financial industry. Overall, the Twin Towers were notable for their impressive size and
efficient use of space, although their energy consumption was high due to their size and the demand for
heating and cooling.

Core location of the Twin Towers

The central core design of the Twin Towers allowed for a large, open floor space around the perimeter
of each tower. This was desirable for commercial tenants who required a flexible, open-plan layout for
their offices.

The location of the central core in each tower was near the center of the building. The core was
positioned closer to the south end of the North Tower and closer to the north end of the South Tower,
which allowed for a larger open space on one side of each tower. The location of the central core also
allowed for unobstructed views from the offices on the perimeter of each tower.

Structural System of the Twin Towers

The structural system of the Twin Towers consisted of a central core and an external steel frame. The
central core housed the elevators, stairs, and utility shafts, and provided the main structural support for
the towers. The core was made of steel columns and beams, which ran from the foundation to the roof
of each tower.

The external steel frame was made up of steel columns and beams that formed a grid-like structure
around the perimeter of each tower. The steel frame provided additional structural support and helped
to distribute the weight of the towers evenly.

The combination of the central core and the external steel frame allowed the Twin Towers to be both
structurally stable and flexible. The towers were able to withstand the force of high winds and other
environmental factors, while also allowing for a large, open floor space around the perimeter of each
tower.

Fire Exit and Stair Design of the Twin Towers

In addition to the core staircases, each tower also had a total of 99 elevators, including express elevators
that could travel from the lobby to the top floors in less than a minute. The elevators were also designed
to be fire-resistant and equipped with emergency communication systems.

Why the towers fell

The Twin Towers, which were part of the World Trade Center complex in New York City, collapsed on
September 11, 2001, after being struck by two commercial airliners hijacked by terrorists.

The impact of the planes and the resulting fires caused significant structural damage to the buildings,
weakening their ability to support their own weight. As a result, the upper floors of the buildings began
to collapse onto the lower floors, which in turn caused a progressive collapse of the entire structure.

The combination of the impact of the planes and the subsequent fires was the primary cause of the
collapse of the Twin Towers. The buildings were not designed to withstand such an event, and the
intensity of the damage they sustained was beyond what they were able to withstand.

The collapse of the Twin Towers resulted in a tragic loss of life and had a significant impact on global
politics and security.

The Twin Towers were one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived in terms of size and scale.
Before being destroyed in 2001, the Twin Towers dominated the Manhattan skyline for three decades.
Despite initial criticism for their audacious height and severe architectural style, the buildings became
iconic in the public imagination, becoming symbols of New York City and America in general.
However, the Twin Towers' fame and symbolism made them the targets of two terrorist attacks. The first
was on February 26, 1993. A van carrying approximately 1,200 pounds of explosives was driven into the
public parking garage beneath the World Trade Center on that day. The bomb's blast created a crater
several stories deep in the complex's underground levels, killing six people. Despite being carried out by a
different group of extremists than the 9/11 attacks, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred
within the context of an emerging radical Islamist ideology and foreshadowed the much larger attack
eight years later.
The Twin Towers featured a central core design, with elevators and utility shafts grouped together in the
center of the building to maximize the usable floor space around the perimeter. In terms of Floor space
efficiency the buildings included a unique structural system that allowed for large open floor plans,
overall, for me the Twin Towers were very notable for their impressive size and efficient use of space,
even though their energy consumption was high due to their size and the demand for heating and cooling.
The location of the central core in each tower was near the center of the building. The core was positioned
closer to the south end of the North Tower and closer to the north end of the South Tower, which allowed
for a larger open space on one side of each tower. The location of the central core also allowed for
unobstructed views from the offices on the perimeter of each tower. I think that this core design and
location provides a high degree of stability to the building, allowing it to withstand the force of high
winds and other environmental factors.
The structural system of the Twin Towers consisted of a central core and an external steel frame. The
central core housed the elevators, stairs, and utility shafts, and provided the main structural support for the
towers. The core was made of steel columns and beams, which ran from the foundation to the roof of each
tower. The external steel frame was made up of steel columns and beams that formed a grid-like structure
around the perimeter of each tower. The steel frame provided additional structural support and helped to
distribute the weight of the towers evenly. The combination of the central core and the external steel
frame allowed the Twin Towers to be both structurally stable and flexible. The towers were able to
withstand the force of high winds and other environmental factors, while also allowing for a large, open
floor space around the perimeter of each tower. But with the terrorism attack I think that the structural
system wasn’t very efficient as the trusses failed to support the building leading to a progressive collapse
of the structure due to the destruction of the fire-resistant foam covering the steel trusses. It would have
been better if there are backup supports for the building incase the key load bearing system failed.
In terms of Fire Exit and Stair Design of the Twin Towers, each tower had three staircases located in the
core of the building, which were made of reinforced concrete and enclosed in fire-resistant materials. The
staircases were designed to be wide enough to accommodate a large number of people evacuating the
building quickly and safely. In addition to the core staircases, each tower also had a total of 99 elevators,
including express elevators that could travel from the lobby to the top floors in less than a minute. The
elevators were also designed to be fire-resistant and equipped with emergency communication systems,
but it failed during the terrorism attack, I say it would have been better if the stairs have been hardened
better and the building have had stronger and better fire-resistant materials, the building might have
survived and not collapsed leading to deaths of many people in the Twin Towers.
Based on what I have watched I think other than the fact that the terrorism attack is the main cause of the
fall of the Twin towers, the faulty trusses and weak fire resistant materials that have caused the Twin
towers to fall. As a result of the impact, load, and fire that caused the towers to fall, it is clear that the
tower failed to protect the building's connections, failed to install backup supports for tit, failed to install
better fire-resistant materials, and failed to harden stairwells, which could have resulted in other people
being unable to exit the building. Overall, this has taught a lesson to improve the structural design and
materials used in the construction of tall buildings, as well as an example of why it is critical to consider
everything in construction for current buildings and future buildings to be built in the coming years.