Citicorp Tower

Citicorp Tower

Facts

The story of the design flaw that never almost wiped out an NYC skyscraper was about a tower, Citicorp Center, which was constructed in 1977, and it had 59 stories (Warner, 2014). After its completion, the building became the seventh-tallest in the world. The building was unique because the nine stories in the base were stilts. The architect of the building was Hugh Stubbins, and its chief engineer was William LeMessurier. The building had an ingenious-cutting edge design, and it was arrived at after considering the presence of St. Peters Lutheran Church, located at one corner of the building. At some point, LeMessurier was called by an undergraduate student who was learning architect and informed him that the tower would be blown away by the wind. According to the student, the tower was not able to tolerate quartering winds that would strike the building at its corners. The engineer did his research and validated the claims by the student, and the engineer had taken into consideration the perpendicular winds and assumed the quartering winds. LeMessurier secretly organized his team for emergency repairs. The building was very risky because the author states that it had a 1-in-16 chance of collapsing.

Analysis

Conceptual Issues

The chief engineer of the tower violated several NSPE Fundamental canons of the engineering profession. To violate is to go against established rules and regulations. The engineer, after being notified of the collapse of the building, made secret emergency repairs, and this posed a threat to the safety of the public. The chief engineer did not take into consideration the welfare of the church and hence broke the first canon, which states that “Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” (Baligar, P., & Joshi, 2017). The author notes that the building had about a 1-in-16 chance of collapsing. Therefore, the engineer was endangering the lives of the public. Endangering is the act of putting at risk of harm or injury. The engineer had taken into consideration only the perpendicular winds and assumed the quartering wings despite being aware of the consequences, and this was a show of irresponsibility. Consequently, he broke the sixth canon, which states that “Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically and lawfully to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession” (Baligar, P., & Joshi, 2017).

Moral Issues

According to the ethical principles of the engineering profession, it was not moral for the chief engineer to assume the quartering winds because they would blow away the building, as the student lamented. Blowing the building away would cause mass destruction. To prevent this, the engineer would have factored in the perpendicular winds. After realizing that the building would collapse, the engineer would have informed the occupants to vacate to mind their safety. The engineer would also have made it a public announcement to create public awareness (Baligar & Joshi, 2017).

Conclusion

The chief engineer would have designed the building in a better way to uphold the safety of the public and uphold the first canon of the engineering profession, which talks of preserving the safety of the public. The stilts were less stable and posed more threat to the public. Also, the engineer would not have assumed the quartering winds to avoid acting irresponsibly and tainting the reputation of the engineering profession.

References

Warner, J. (2014). The Design Flaw That Almost Wiped Out an NYC Skyscraper. Slate. Retrieved from www.com/blogs/the-eye/2014/04/17/the-citicorp-tower-design-that-could-have-wiped-out-the-skyscraper.html

Baligar, P., & Joshi, G. (2017). Engineering Ethics: Decision Making Using Fundamental Canons. Journal of Engineering Education.