(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The images of airliners hitting skyscrapers on Sept. 11, 2001 are seared into our collective memory.
While architects have done what they can to address the engineering lessons learned on that tragic day, a sense of anxiety is always lurking around the corner.
"For all the things you can do to make a building stronger, what happens if something supersedes all of that? That falls under the category of what I call general anxiety," said Adam Rubin, director of interpretation at the Chicago Architecture Center.
He said the changes in building design were gradual after 9/11. Management of tall skyscrapers in downtown Chicago took action to address the one thing they could immediately control: the flow of people into and out of an office tower. Within months, lobbies were redesigned to have checkpoints.
Office identification went from flimsy laminated ID cards to plastic badges that could open electronic locks. Skyscrapers also focused on evacuation plans so that people knew how to quickly exit a building in the event of an emergency.
"Even with an existing building like the Hancock or the Sears (Tower), there's a lot you can do to make the building safer," Rubin said.
He added that the lasting legacy of 9/11 is that it changed the way we view buildings and cities.
For newer generations of office workers, this “new normal” is all they know.
"We came of age in a moment that heightened security was the norm," Rubin said.
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