It seems that the WTC was built of cheapo quality (see article below).
Now you can calculate what this may mean in a country where you can sue
for millions for a "too hot" coffee spilled on your lap -- and win.
Also note that the high amount of asbestos in the WTC has exposed
thousands to potentially lethal doses of asbestos dust.
Chris
P.S.: Regarding the airline ticket debate: German Lufthansa _increases_
ticket prices by 8 DM per ticket -- a "security tax".
__________________________________FWD__________________________________
[Mr Seidler, an American, designed quite a few of Sydney's high-rise
buildings from the 1950s on--and definitely knows what he's talking
about. --BJ]
Sydney Morning Herald, 24 Sep 01
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0109/24/world/world16.html
Towers collapsed 'because of cheap, poor construction'
(pic) Mr Seidler ... "It was all a question of costs, of course."
New York's World Trade Centre towers collapsed because they were cheap and
poorly constructed, the Sydney architect Mr Harry Seidler says.
Other buildings, such as the Empire State Building, would have survived the
impact, an Austrian newspaper, Kleine Zeitung, quotes him as saying.
The construction of the World Trade Centre was so poor it would not have
been approved in most other countries, Mr Seidler said.
However, the New York Port Authority, which owned the site, was also
responsible for granting the building approval, he said.
"It was all a question of costs, of course", he said.
The Kleine Zeitung reported last week that Mr Seidler inspected the site
shortly before the World Trade Centre was completed.
"I was extremely surprised at the time that the construction was so
delicate. It was the lightest I have ever seen."
Other concrete buildings would not have collapsed, he said. The World Trade
Centre had been built as if it was made from cardboard. Its steel girders
were only sprayed with asbestos and melted "like spaghetti" in the heat.
The lift shafts and staircases were clad with plaster, which explained the
white plaster dust on the faces of survivors. And the floors were made of
metal plates with only a thin layer of concrete, Mr Seidler said.
The Empire State Building, a steel design, would have withstood the impact
because it was clad with concrete, he said.
[Actually the ESB was hit by a bomber in 1947, with hardly any damage.]
Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Sears Tower in Chicago, two of the
highest buildings in the world, also would have survived, Mr Seidler said.
"All of this would not have happened with a concrete construction.
Impossible."
The Herald was unable to contact Mr Seidler yesterday.
--Geesche Jacobsen
Copyright SMH
