[Leica] Boston 1980: help locate

[r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard S. Taylor)]

Actually what they did was replace the panes that blew out with 
unpainted plywood so the building looked for all the world like a 
skinned tree for the first years of its life.  Actually, sucked out 
is more correct.  They popped loose due to the vacuum that formed on 
one side of the building in high winds.

Part of the solution, as I recall, was to modify the damper at the 
top of the building to reduce sway in high winds.  That plus changes 
to the window frames did the job.

This may be apocryphal, but after the fix people were still very wary 
of working in the building in high winds until one of the lead 
engineers got a running start and threw himself at one of the floor 
to ceiling windows on a top floor.  The window didn't pop out and 
everybody relaxed, at least a little bit.

Glad I never had to demonstrate the veracity of one of my designs 
quite so personally.



>It is the "New" John Hancock building at Copley Place.  Designed by I.M.
>Pei, construction was completed, I think, circa 1976.  They had enormous
>problems with the glass skin; window panes kept popping out and crashing
>to the street and the tower spent much of its first years swaddled in
>scaffolding.  The window problem eventually was solved by replacing the
>gaskets or some such engineering miracle.
>
>       Buzz Hausner

(snip)
-- 
Regards,

Dick
Boston MA