World Trade Center, PPG Place, USX Building Architect to Speak at Pitt

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 9 -- The architect responsible for the structural design of the World Trade Center, PPG Headquarters, and the United States Steel (now USX) Headquarters will speak as part of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering's 2000 Landis-Epic Lectureship on Friday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m., in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Oakland.

Leslie E. Robertson will address ways architects control physical movements of structures in his lecture, "Post-Tensioning of Architectural Structures in Structural Steel." Rather than focusing on high technology, Robertson's lecture will discuss ideas and concepts, all within the grasp of persons interested in architecture and structural engineering.

Robertson, whose restoration of the World Trade Center after the 1993 terrorist bombing earned him the Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, is noted for his designs that appear off-balance, most notably the Puerta de Europa in Madrid, a pair of towers that lean inward toward each other.

Among Robertson's other designs of note are the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland; the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California; and the Continental Arena in the Meadowlands, New Jersey.

For reservations to the free lecture, call 412-624-9575.

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