The purpose of this site is to salvage the content of the Visual Index to the Virtual Archive 2 — or VIVA 2 — an online project built by The Skyscraper Museum in 2006 using Flash technology, which has recently become unavailable.
The Visual Index to the Virtual Archive 2 was an interactive interface providing access to The Skyscraper Museum's unique collection of more than 1,000 photographs of the construction of the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center towers. Visitors could explore the building progress for each project and view photographs of the rising structures, workers, machinery, ceremonies, and city scenes. Complete with captions and descriptions of the images, VIVA 2 allowed visitors to discover and compare the building technologies and methods of the Empire State Building in the 1930's and of the World Trade Center towers in the 1960's and the 1970's.
Included in VIVA 2 was a scrapbook of over 500 original construction photographs of the Empire State Building compiled in 1931 by its general contractors, Starrett Brothers and Eken, giants in the building industry. The Empire State Building collection also features the "Tower of Plans," which illustrates how the area of the circulation core shrinks as the building rises while the ring of office space remains a constant 28 feet. The supplemental materials for the World Trade Center Towers include structural diagrams, floor plans, and audio clips concerning the construction of the two buildings. Leslie E. Robertson and Associates (LERA), the structural engineering firm behind the Towers, documented nearly every single stage of the construction process, allowing for virtually perfect historical record.
Even though this site offers less interaction than the original VIVA 2 platform, it presents its full content in a simple and practical series of menus and slideshows.