GLAIZA MARIE P.

MASBATE
BS ARCHITECTURE 4D
AD8- MIDTERM WRITTEN EXAM

Why the Towers Fell?

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 in case 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.