Creative Brief

This short video conveys the story of some of the unsung engineering heroes of the World Trade Center disaster and recovery. It relates firsthand accounts of their initial – and often emotional – responses to the news of the attacks and chronicles Thornton Tomasetti’s rapid deployment to ground zero. It illustrates, through photos and spoken narrative, how employees facing unprecedented hazards assisted in the recovery and helped ensure the safety of rescue workers and first responders at the site. The speakers then discuss Thornton Tomasetti’s groundbreaking forensic investigation of the attacks. This study was the first comprehensive airplane impact analysis of a civilian structure. It debunked many conspiracy theories about the attacks by demonstrating that the collapse of the first tower did not cause or contribute to the collapse of the second one. The video concludes with a discussion of how the attacks, recovery effort and investigation have influenced the ways we approach structural engineering and protective design today.