The building built on stilts
summary
A famed structural calculation shows Citicorp Center is vulnerable: quartering winds produce 40% higher load on four chevrons than original design assumes. Analysis combines hand math, wind-probability modeling and the building’s tuned mass damper; failure probability reaches a 55-year storm (worse if the damper loses power), so crews retrofit by welding two-inch plates at critical joints, add generators and 24/7 monitoring. The retrofit succeeds, the tower stands and litigation ends with a $2M settlement.
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chapters (21)
- 0:00Intro
- 1:13NYC in 1973
- 2:12Citibank
- 3:30St Peters Church
- 5:00Bill The Measure
- 6:00Compression Strength
- 11:07Completed
- 14:11Welded Joints
- 15:12We dont need welded joints
- 15:44A subtle conceptual error
- 16:44A summer retreat
- 17:51Storm probabilities
- 19:31The decision to make
- 20:05The next morning
- 20:23John Reed
- 20:47Walter Wriston
- 21:55Backup Generators
- 22:20Repairs
- 23:49Hurricane Ella
- 25:35Settlement
- 26:30Lessons Learned
