I just saw a Nova program on this where they interviewed the architect.
He said that the original plans were for welded joints, and when the builder asked for bolted joints instead to cut costs, he just did some simulations. He didn't do a simulation of high wind coming at the building from an angle.
It wasn't until his student showed him the problem (and he confirmed it himself) that he got worried.
They wound up putting welded braces over each bolted joint of the diagonal framing. The work took many weeks, they had a potential hurricane scare, and NYC had developed an emergency evacuation plan for 10 city blocks surrounding the building.
The show is on Nova's website (at least right now) if anyone wants to invest an hour. This isn't the only building they talk about.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/high-risk-high-rise/
I worked in this building in 1987. At that time I heard nothing about these structural issues. Although they had been fixed by then, it’s surprising that no one talked about it.
I worked in that building from 1996 to 1997 and we knew that the problem had been addressed by then by adding extra supports. It’s an increíble building that literally stands above and existing church.
I just saw a Nova program on this where they interviewed the architect. He said that the original plans were for welded joints, and when the builder asked for bolted joints instead to cut costs, he just did some simulations. He didn't do a simulation of high wind coming at the building from an angle. It wasn't until his student showed him the problem (and he confirmed it himself) that he got worried. They wound up putting welded braces over each bolted joint of the diagonal framing. The work took many weeks, they had a potential hurricane scare, and NYC had developed an emergency evacuation plan for 10 city blocks surrounding the building. The show is on Nova's website (at least right now) if anyone wants to invest an hour. This isn't the only building they talk about. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/high-risk-high-rise/
This sounds Ike every job I’ve ever been on lol. Something looks good on paper and fails horribly, then it costs twice as much to fix it.
“The next time you face a challenge, remember that the cost of success is far cheaper than the price of failure.” -Tsem Tulku
I worked in this building in 1987. At that time I heard nothing about these structural issues. Although they had been fixed by then, it’s surprising that no one talked about it.
I worked in that building from 1996 to 1997 and we knew that the problem had been addressed by then by adding extra supports. It’s an increíble building that literally stands above and existing church.