Terrorism and design.

Abstract
In recent times the issue of terrorism really became a top priority in day-to-day life but more specifically in design techniques. When the Twin Towers were hit the tragedy would not have been so massive had the building not crumbled the way it did. These buildings were designed so if they came under attack the floors above and below would not have been affected. The core and main structure of the building were supposed to be able to withstand extremely high heat levels. When they were hit they just fell one on top of the other in a domino effect.
“The dislodging of fireproofing material when the hijacked planes crashed into the towers contributed greatly to their collages.”
This was when the real severity of terrorism and its impact on the way we had to change building design occurred.
These changes are nowhere more obvious then in the Twin Towers new design. The new building known as The Freedom Tower will have many changes to make it safer such as:
“200 foot base will be a reinforced concrete wall covered in steel and titanium.”
Concrete core with state-of-the-art fireproofing on its steel beams.
Separate staircases for fire fighters.
90cm thick walls for all stairwells, elevator shafts and risers.
“Biological and chemical filters throughout its ventilation system.”
Windows facing the main street are going to be tempered blast-resistant plastic.
With these and many more changes they believe The Freedom Tower will be a lot safer in the event of another terrorist attack. But with the many changes they have done there are a few areas, which haven’t really been looked into. For example
Is it really a good idea to rebuild a building with a height of 1776 feet?
How cost effective is it going to be? “The Freedom Tower will cost $12 billion dollars to rebuild” can we afford to spend that much on all buildings?
With the advancements in materials being blast-resistant or state-of-the-art fireproofing, what is going to stop the advancement of bomb design? Will these changes really do anything?
As young designers what can we do to help? We can keep going forward with the state-of-art changes and hope for the best but realistically can we change it? Or does it come down to what politicians can do to make relationships between countries better?

Reference List
New WTC tower design made public, 20/06/2005, http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/29/wtc.tower.redesign/index.html, From Phil Hirschkorn CNN New York.
New WTC tower design made public, 20/06/2005, http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/29/wtc.tower.redesign/index.html, From Phil Hirschkorn CNN New York.
Freedom Tower, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Tower, From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopaedia.
New trade centre design unveiled duelling architects reach creative compromise, 20/12/2003, http://www.msnbc.msn.comlid/3757111/, MSNBC staff and news service reports.