Crackpot American Architects and Engineers: Why New York's World Trade Center Towers Collapsed

The resolution accepted for debate at the May 2015 annual convention of the American Institute of Architects (see text below) raises many questions including the following:

Did New York's Twin Towers plus World Trade Center Building 7 (a 49-story building not hit by an aircraft) collapse on 9/11 because they were designed by crackpot architects and engineers, thus becoming the first and only steel-frame high-rise buildings anywhere in the World to collapse because of fire (as claimed by the US Government-sponsored NIST report)?

Or are the architects and engineers who reject the conclusions of the NIST report on the collapse of Building 7 not crackpots at all?

And, if the Twin Towers and Building 7 collapsed on 9/11 due, not to office fires, but to explosives-driven demolition, then does that not transform the US Government's "War Against Terror" into the "Terror War Against Americans and the World"?

Collapse of World Trade Center Tower 7: Resolution for Debate at the 2015 Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects

WHEREAS, under the AIA Public Policies and Position Statements, it is the responsibility of architects to design a resilient environment that can more successfully adapt to natural conditions and that can more readily absorb and recover from adverse events; and

WHEREAS, architects and others involved in the design and construction of buildings depend upon the information obtained from investigations into building failures to inform the development of model building codes; and

WHEREAS, on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story high-rise building, suffered a complete collapse; and

WHEREAS, on November 20, 2008, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the final report of its three-year investigation into the complete collapse of 7 World Trade Center, which concluded that fires, an unprecedented cause of failure for a modern high-rise building, were the primary cause of failure; and

WHEREAS, the cause of failure identified by the NIST investigation would mean that hundreds of high-rise buildings in the United States are susceptible to similar failure from fire; and

WHEREAS, thousands of members of the architecture and engineering professions, including the 55 sponsors of this resolution, believe the NIST investigation did not adhere to the principles of the scientific method and, as a result, the conclusions of the NIST investigation are fatally flawed.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the AIA Board of Directors shall adopt a Position Statement, to be published in the AIA Directory of Public Policies and Position Statements, stating:

The AIA’s belief that incidents involving the catastrophic failure of buildings and other structures must be investigated using the highest standards of science-based investigation and analysis in order to provide accurate and meaningful information in the development of model building codes;

The AIA’s recognition that many members of the architecture profession believe the NIST investigation into the complete collapse of 7 World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, did not adhere to the principles of the scientific method and, as a result, the conclusions of the NIST investigation are fatally flawed;

The AIA’s belief that this perspective merits further study; and

The AIA’s support for a new investigation into the complete collapse of 7 World Trade Center.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is advised that this Position Statement be incorporated as Position Statement #3 under the Construction Industry Regulation Public Policy. The recommended language of this Position Statement is as follows:

World Trade Center 7

The AIA believes that incidents involving the catastrophic failure of buildings and other structures must be investigated using the highest standards of science-based investigation and analysis in order to provide accurate and meaningful information in the development of model building codes. In adherence to the scientific method, investigations should:

Consider all available data;
Consider hypotheses that most readily explain the available data;
Test those hypotheses and analyze the results without bias; and
Provide for external review and replication by making all data available.

The AIA recognizes that many members of the architecture profession believe the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation into the complete collapse of 7 World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, did not adhere to these principles and, as a result, the conclusions of the NIST investigation are fatally flawed. The AIA believes this perspective merits further study and supports a new investigation into the complete collapse of 7 World Trade Center.