American Experience
The Center of the World: Interview Outtakes

Leslie Robertson:
video | transcript

Close Columns and Narrow Windows 1 -- The Trade Center's Sculptural Quality2 -- Close Columns and Narrow Windows3 -- The World Trade Center and Empire State Building4 -- The Skin Structure of the Trade Center5 -- Wind Load and the Towers6 -- Differences Between the Two Towers

Mike Wallace Pete Hamill Carol Willis Guy Tozzoli
Leslie Robertson Camilo José Vergara Niall Ferguson Philippe Petit
William Langewiesche Ed Koch Mario Cuomo Ada Louise Huxtable

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We had done a variety of projects with quite narrow windows. And indeed if you look at [Yamasaki's] work, it's pretty much like that. He's not a -- never was a great window-wall kind of person. I think he felt that people would be more comfortable at high, with more control over the kind of physical enclosure. And glass is sort of but not quite a physical enclosure.

For example, during the construction, when there was no glass in the windows, just the steel work was there, you could get almost anyone to walk up to the outside wall of the building, put their hands on the column, and look out. But if there was a little bit of breeze from behind, just a little bit, maybe five feet from the edge is as close as a lot of people would get, just -- I think people are quite sensitive to that.

And Yama was sensitive to that. I've heard it said on the television that Yamasaki was afraid of heights. I think he was insecure with heights. Fearful, I don't think he was fearful of heights. He -- because he walked up to the outside wall. I don't recall that he walked up with a wind from behind, but probably he did at some time. So I think it was just his feeling that it would create a more -- a warmer and more satisfying workplace, to have the windows close together -- have the columns close together.