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The twin towers had more floors (at 110) than any other building before the completion of the Sears Tower in 1973. [102] They were not surpassed until the construction of the Burj Khalifa, which opened in 2010. [107] [108] The towers were also the world's tallest twin towers until 1996, when the Petronas Towers opened.
Of the 110 stories, eight were set aside for technical services in mechanical floors (floors 7/8, 41/42, 75/76, and 108/109), which were four two-floor areas that evenly spaced up the building. All the remaining floors were free for open-plan offices. Each floor of the towers had 40,000 square feet (3,700 m 2) of space for occupancy.
The Twin Towers' facades were made of high-strength, load-bearing perimeter steel columns which acted as Vierendeel trusses. [43] [44] Although the columns themselves were lightweight, they were spaced closely together, forming a strong, rigid wall structure. [45] [46] There were 59 perimeter columns, narrowly spaced, on each side of the building.
The Twin Towers remained the tallest buildings in New York City until they were destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks, leaving the Empire State Building again as the city's tallest building. [12] [13]
The towers were designed as framed tube structures, which provided tenants with open floor plans uninterrupted by columns or walls. The buildings were square and 207 ft (63 m) on each side but had chamfered 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) corners, making each building's exterior roughly 210 ft (64 m) wide. [ 22 ]
The Port Authority hired architect Minoru Yamasaki, who came up with the specific idea for twin towers. The towers were designed as framed tube structures, which provided tenants with open floor plans, uninterrupted by columns or walls. This was accomplished using numerous closely spaced perimeter columns to provide much of the strength to the ...
Look back at the twin towers and the World Trade center through the years: The towers were destroyed in the September 11 attacks, killing over 2,000 people that were within their walls or in the ...
The original World Trade Center complex. At the time of their completion the "Twin Towers"—the original 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower), at 1,368 ft (417 m), and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower)—were the tallest buildings in the world.