Episode
How one design flaw almost toppled a skyscraper - Alex Gendler
- Podcast
- TED-Ed
- Published
- Jul 22, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 480
- Processing state
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- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG2154110556.mp3
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Summary
Dig into the unique engineering of New York City’s Citicorp Center tower, and the design flaw that threatened to topple it.--In 1978, Diane Hartley was writing her undergraduate architecture thesis when she made a shocking discovery. After weeks of poring over the Citicorp Center’s building plans, she’d stumbled on an oversight that threatened to topple the 59-story tower into one of New York City’s most densely populated districts. Alex Gendler digs into the skyscraper’s potentially deadly mistake.Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Nicholas Paim, Alopra Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-one-design-flaw-almost-toppled-a-skyscraper-alex-gendlerDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-one-design-flaw-almost-toppled-a-skyscraper-alex-gendler#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://alopra.com/ ----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasqu…