Engineering for High Winds

Season 16

The unprecedented height and size of the towers posed a new kind of challenge: wind.

The structures needed not only to support the sheer weight of the 1,360-ft-tall buildings, but to overcome the even greater loads caused by the high winds of New York Harbor pushing against the wide, flat sides of the buildings, especially along their uppermost floors. The solution: a super-strong lattice of exterior steel columns, creating a remarkably stiff "tube" that could resist high winds.

AIR DATE 9/9/03

Camilo Jose Vergara, Photographer

Camilo Jose Vergara, Photographer

Ed Koch, New York City Mayor, 1978-1989

Ed Koch, New York City Mayor, 1978-1989

Leslie Robertson, Engineer

Leslie Robertson, Engineer

Mike Wallace, Historian

Mike Wallace, Historian

Chapter 1 | Emma Goldman

Chapter 1 | Emma Goldman

The Design of the Twin Towers

The Design of the Twin Towers

Safety Precautions

Safety Precautions

Prefabrication for the Twin Towers

Prefabrication for the Twin Towers

Engineering for High Winds

Engineering for High Winds

Construction of the World Trade Center

Construction of the World Trade Center

James Baldwin from "The Negro and the American Promise"

James Baldwin from "The Negro and the American Promise"

Introduction to "The Negro and the American Promise"

Introduction to "The Negro and the American Promise"

Malcolm X on "The Negro and the American Promise"

Malcolm X on "The Negro and the American Promise"

Martin Luther King on "The Negro and the American Promise"

Martin Luther King on "The Negro and the American Promise"

Emma Goldman and Opposition to the First World War

Emma Goldman and Opposition to the First World War

Videos

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Broadcast Dates

#3506 - Casa Susanna |
Sunday, Jun 29 at 1pm TPT 2
#2306 - Jimmy Carter: American Experience |
Monday, Jul 7 at 8:30pm TPT 2
#2306 - Jimmy Carter: American Experience |
Tuesday, Jul 8 at 2:30am TPT 2
#2306 - Jimmy Carter: American Experience |
Wednesday, Jul 9 at 3pm TPT 2
#2306 - Jimmy Carter: American Experience |
Sunday, Jul 13 at 11am TPT 2

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