Search the Internet          Tips

'Tall buildings attract mad men and fanatics'

George Joseph in New York

The World Trade Center (WTC) would have survived several hundred years, says Dr R Shankar Nair, who left the post of chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, last month, after a three-year term.

The council, which had given the tallest status to Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, is an international organization based at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania.

"The WTC was capable of withstanding earthquakes of high magnitude. The recent earthquake in Gujarat would not have done any damage to it," Chicago-based Nair claimed.

"In fact, earthquakes are not the biggest threat to tall buildings," said Nair, who built several tall buildings, ranging from 30 to 70 stories. Strong winds and typhoons are a bigger threat in New York and Chicago, he added.

''Tall buildings may attract terrorists, mad men and fanatics. But that is no reason to do away with tall structures,'' he said. "We are an open society and a democracy. People want to live in open buildings. They cannot live in fortresses in fear of terrorists."

''The only way to protect such buildings is not to give anyone an opportunity to let such things happen. There is no know-how to prevent damage from such mad acts.''

A bomb explosion would not have caused the fall of the structure, Nair claimed, as the building was not dependant on any single element for its survival. Even if one or two elements were destroyed, he explained, the building would have stood intact, as it was 'very much flexible'.

It is possible to rebuild the structure exactly as it was, he said. If there is no sentimental reason, it could be rebuilt with a new appearance, he added.

He said that buildings like the WTC last many centuries. ''But sometimes they may be abandoned for reasons of the needs of time. That is no reflection on their strength to withstand wear and tear.''

He said that there was nothing wrong with the concept of tall buildings. ''We cannot stop building tall building fearing mad people.''

Dr Nair is the grandson of K P S Menon, India's former foreign secretary and ambassador to the Soviet Union. He is also vice president of Teng and Associates in Chicago.

Some of the tall buildings he built are unique. At 900 North Michigan in Chicago, various needs were accommodated, by stacking a 40-story concrete structure atop a 30-story steel structure. For the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center, he conceived a structural design that cantilevers two 40-story office towers over the largest column free trading hall in the US, with a diaphragm transfer system.

At the 36-story Morton International Office building, the tower was placed on stilts above a rail yard, and part of the building was suspended from trusses on the roof.

Nair has received several international awards for his works.

The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report