Contractors sees merit in using technology and building information modeling (BIM). Bill Klorman calls technology "an accelerator."
For decades, industry professionals have debated the performance characteristics and benefits between steel frame structures and concrete frame structures in mid- and high-rise buildings. Until the tragic events of September 11, 2001, specifically those involving the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, such debates had revolved primarily around theories. As terrible and tragic as the destruction of the WTC is, we, as industry professionals, have the responsibility of looking deeply into the performance of our building structures to reasonably and responsively prevent such immediate destruction and catastrophic failure from happening in the future. The following discussion is not intended to capitalize on this tragedy but to analyze several key factors surrounding the structural failure of the WTC and consider whether a concrete frame would have performed differently.
