International Building Codes HandbookEditor's Note:

The short and simple answer: NO! A longer, more complex response: In 2002, Witold Rybczynski, emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the initial investigation into 9/11 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) "...did not reveal any design deficiencies [in the WTC towers] or any 'specific structural features that would be regarded as substandard,' nor did it make any definite recommendations to safeguard tall buildings."

"Such recommendations will come," he added confidently, noting that NIST would be spending two years and $16 million to investigate the cause of the Twin Towers collapse, and that their findings would surely lead to new regulations resulting in safer structures.

NIST did make assertions about causation, as Rybczynski predicted. Curiously, though, no significant changes have been made to date either in international building standards [the International Building Code (IBC) of the International Code Council (ICC)] or in the New York City code to address their central thesis regarding the towers' collapse, according to scientist and 9/11 researcher Kevin Ryan.

In his September 7, 2012, blog post, "Are Tall Buildings Safer As a Result of the NIST WTC Reports?," Ryan explores this inexplicable and surreal outcome. By reprinting his piece below, AE911Truth is asking supporters to ponder the significance of the fact that the stated causes of "progressive global collapse," as NIST termed the dissolution of the WTC towers, have not been taken seriously. No one with any expertise in this arena has publicly called relevant changes to guidelines and regulations for the construction of tall buildings anywhere in the world — and yet high-rises keep being built. What does this tell us about the credibility of the NIST conclusions? What does it tell us about the architects and engineers worldwide who should be, one would think, recommending remedies that would prevent "progressive global collapse" from ever occurring again?

Here is Kevin Ryan's in-depth look at the answer to his own question — and to our FAQ: Are Tall Buildings Safer As a Result of the NIST WTC Reports?