Agriculture Reference
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most large cities have large populations of families with children living in such
environments. In fact, St. Louis had successful luxury townhomes not too far
from Pruitt-Igoe. Another identified culprit was the generalized discrimination
and segregation of the era. Actually, when inhabited originally, the Pruitt section
was for blacks and Igoe was for whites.
Costs always become a factor. The building contractors' bids were increased
to a level where the project construction costs in St. Louis exceeded the national
average by 60%. The response to the local housing authority's refusal to raise unit
cost ceilings to accommodate the elevated bids was to reduce room sizes, eliminate
amenities, and raise densities.
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As originally designed, the buildings were to
become “vertical neighborhoods” with nearby playgrounds, open-air hallways,
porches, laundries, and storage areas. The compromises eliminated these features;
and the removal of some of the amenities led to dangerous situations. Elevators
were undersized and stopped only every third floor and lighting was inadequate
in the stairwells. So another lesson must be to know the difference between
desirable and essential design elements. No self-respecting structural engineer
involved in the building design would have shortcut the factors of safety built
into load bearing. Conversely, human elements essential to a vibrant community
were eliminated without much, if any, accommodation.
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Finally, the project was mismatched to the people who would live there. Many
came from single-family residences. They were moved to a very large, imposing
project with 2800 units and almost 11,000 people living there. This was quadruple
the size of the next-largest project of the time.
When the failure of the project became overwhelmingly clear, the only rea-
sonable decision was to demolish it, and this spectacular implosion became a
lesson in failure for planners, architects, and engineers. In Yamasaki's own words,
“I never thought people were that destructive. As an architect, I doubt if I would
think about it now. I suppose we should have quit the job. It's a job I wish I
hadn't done.”
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Engineering is not only applied natural sciences; many engineers, especially
when they advance to leadership positions in engineering, find themselves in
professional situations in which the social sciences, including ethics, would be the
set of skills that would be more valuable in determining their success as engineers.
Teaching our students first to recognize and then to think through social problems
is crucial to green design. We often overlook “teachable moments.” For example,
we repeatedly miss opportunities to relate engineering and social science lessons
from even the most life- and society-changing events, such as the fall of the World
Trade Center towers.
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The next stage of green engineering will require new thought processes.
Thinking of engineering and architecture as “applied social science” redefines
engineering and architecture from professions that build things to professions
that help people. The extension of this conclusion should encourage educators
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