We had a chance to see a PBS special on the WTC. What an incredible show.
The program focused on the history of the buildings and included how they were constructed. Some statistics:
15,000,000 square feet of floor space without any center columns.
It took 20 years for the WTC to become profitable. In the first decade it was mostly empty.
Once profitable the buildings netted $130,000,000 in 1987
There were 97 employees at Windows On The World (top of North tower).
The buildings disappeared in just two hours.
The floors descended at 135 miles per hour.
Seismic readings were picked up 40 miles away.
These are just a few of the interesting facts.
There were many interviews. Interviews of people involved in it's planning, construction, and even the Sky Walker, Philippe Petit, who walked the 130 feet from tower to tower (eight times), a quarter of a mile in the air. It took him eight months of planning.
A must see.
(Unrelated to the WTC but related to skycrapers, check out this story on "How to determine the height of a skyscraper.")
...dave
"... a building must be both background and foreground. As foreground, it must have some exceptional qualities. But it must also try very hard to knit into the fabric..." -Cesar Pelli
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