WTC Ground Zero
You can see the scale in these photos.
These huge buildings were not brought down by jet fuel.
Part of Tower One's Antenna
For Before September 11, the team gathered remnants of everyday life at the World Trade Center — artwork, flagpoles, office equipment, furniture and paper documents. Parts of the building were included as well, like a piece of Tower One's antenna (above). "It was so big — the size of a bus — that at first nobody realized what it was," says Wagner.
The WTC 1 Antenna came down in Large Chunks... they must have forgotten to blow it to “bits” as they did the rest of the buildings.
Furniture
This office furniture is from World Trade Center 6. "People asked me if I saw a lot of furniture in the debris," said Wagner. "But just about everything from the Towers was pulverized. It was surprising to find anything recognizable."
Twisted Steel
For the second chapter — On September 11th — the team sought items to represent the hellish forces unleashed that day. "We saw a lot of pieces like this," said Wagner. "Typically, when steel bends, it buckles and tears. The smooth bend on this piece shows the steel became malleable — a pretty good indication of how hot it was."
RICH GARLOCK: Going below, it was smoky and really hot. We had rescue teams with meters for oxygen and carbon dioxide. They also had temperature monitors. Here WTC 6 is over my head. The debris past the columns was red-hot, molten, running. I did some quick numbers with Gary Panariello, an engineer from Thornton-Tomasetti, to try and determine what the load on WTC 6 was and how much of the lateral system of the building the contractor could take down. There were a lot of judgment calls; people had immediate needs and needed immediate responses.
Assessing Buildings
DAVE PERAZA: On September 12th and 13th, as rescue workers were scouring Ground Zero for signs of life, seven teams of engineers, police and firefighters conducted emergency assessments of the surrounding buildings. Working from the street, and gaining entry where possible, we looked for structural as well as superficial damage that might be hazardous to the workers. Structural engineers systematically assessed about 400 buildings in late September, then repeated the job in October. About 30 buildings, having suffered structural damage or extensive damage to their facades, underwent more detailed inspections. Engineers went floor by floor, examining structural systems, fire alarms, sprinklers, and other life-safety systems. Remarkably, while all seven World Trade Center buildings and the St. Nicholas Church behind the South Tower were a total loss, no other buildings were beyond repair.
Video: The Surviving Structures
Engineers assess the buildings still standing
The Expeditious Destruction
of the Evidence at Ground Zero