Floor Plans as Weapons... Dan Szparaga at the Mortgage Bankers Association tipped me off to a fascinating article, Corporate Websites Overlooked as Potential Terrorist Targets by Verton and Mearian (now posted at LinuxWorld.com.au, Sep 2, 2004).

It's hard to believe the authors' claims that the "details of the Citigroup building's history of structural design weaknesses, including its susceptibility to toppling over in high winds, the construction of its central support column and the fire rating of the materials used in the building, are readily available on the Web."

But it took me only a few minutes of Googling to find lots of details on the Citigroup Center building in New York City at New York Skyscrapers. Here's a typical paragraph:

"In addition to the mechanical and window-washing equipment, the tower top houses a Tuned Mass Damper -- in effect, a 360 metric ton concrete block on an oiled plate moved by computers -- that lessens with its inertia (the sway) caused by strong winds to about half. Strong winds are a constant enemy of high buildings, especially those standing on stilts: there are four 10-story pillars under the middle of each facade (22 meters from the corners) and a large center core for elevators etc. The tower stands on its 'feet' 40 meters above the street level."

Citigroup Center is owned by Boston Properties, which displays very limited information at its own web site. But lots of information is available in the public domain. And, of course, leasing brokers need floor plans for vacant space which Internet listing services frequently make available. So now I'm wondering, what's the right amount of information that building owners should display?

--Peter Pike