Twin towers design query

[Mal Jones]

Hi All

I have been reading through an MIT report that JREF pointed me to in Critic's Corner and in one section, refering to the design of the twin towers, the authors state:

"This shape allows the building not only to withstand wind loads, but 'reportedly' also a collision with a large commercial airplane flying at lower speed. The validity of the latter claim is questioned in this article."

Since getting into this 9/11 malarkey I have always taken it as an article of faith that the towers had been built with aircraft impact in mind and, though it doesn't affect one iota my doubts about the actual collapse, I would appreciate it if someone could point me towards any info on the design criteria so that I can clear this up.

Thanks
Mal

[dodgy]

There's a wee bit here: http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/analysis/design.html

[Mal Jones]

Nice one, Dodgy - I'll check it out.

Cheers
Mal

[James C]

Hi Mal,

There was an interesting radio interview with Aaron Swirski, one of the architects of the WTC, recorded on 9/11. He confirms that the buildings were designed to withstand a plane impact. He also describes the fact that the twin towers were designed to act like pipes; "make a hole in a pipe and the entire pipe doesn't collapse", he says.

Radio clip here - click on link