Hi. I hope that this is not an insensitive question, because it certainly isn’t meant that way.
I have had a long interest in skyscrapers and have always wondered what the plans were when it came time to demolish one of the 80+ story leviathans found around the globe. Even though the destruction of the north WTC tower was uncontrolled, it was a nearly perfect implosion and I believe it is more clear now than ever that such a method will never really be attempted for something that large (the tallest building ever imploded is less than 45 floors).
So, what is to be done? The Empire State building is pushing a hundred years old and can’t be expected to last forever. What if either or both WTC towers had not collapsed, but had been crippled beyond repair?
In most situations, I assume that a systematic disassembly is the expected procedure, but what about the cases where a two-year plus demolition isn’t reasonable (or safe, such as with a heavily damaged structure)?
Any thoughts?