Environment, Energy and Transportation Program
Pentagon Design Leads to Recommended Building Code Changes
February 2003
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has issued a report, Pentagon Building Performance Report, that provides recommendations for building code changes to save lives in future terrorist attacks. The Pentagon Building Performance Study Team investigated the damage done by the September 11, 2001, attack on the building and found that significant reinforcement of the concrete columns from a spiral bar prevented more floors from collapsing. "That's one feature that we recommend engineers take a look at as an option for future design and construction," reports Paul Mlakar in the January 28 issue of Emergency Preparedness News, the study team leader and a technical director with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Another design feature was a floor system that redistributed weight loads without collapsing when the adjacent supporting columns were removed. Mlakar recommends that code developers consider the potential for terrorist attacks in making changes to buildings. In comparison, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., lacked the continuity of supports, and multiple floors collapsed following the explosion; the Murrah building was in complete conformance with the building code at the time of the attack.
To order the report (for a fee), link to the ASCE web page at www.asce.org. Contact Paul Mlakar, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at (601) 634-3251.
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