Structural engineer William LeMessurier designed this bracing structure (second image) for the Citicorp Building in NYC. Without LeMessurier’s knowledge, a member of his firm had approved a change from welded joints to bolted joints, as the construction team was looking for a more cost-effective solution. LeMessurier, upon checking the plans after construction, uncovers this and calculates that the odds favor a collapse during the next storm, which was right around the corner. The centered stilts were placed to save the church shown in images 1 and 3, but they made the building more susceptible to lateral forces than corner stilts, hence the problem with the bolts. Thankfully corrections were made to reinforce the structure, which took about a month, and the storm set to hit NYC during that time happened to take a detour… #WilliamLeMessurier #StructuralEngineer #CiticorpBuilding #CloseCall #CiticorpTower https://www.instagram.com/p/CaSUInSJ8wW/?utm_medium=tumblr
