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Model citizen

In the aftermath of 9/11, Jiří Boudník stood tall

October 24th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Images courtesy of Jiří Boudník. Boudník, an expert in tall building construction, helped guide the workers who gathered at Ground Zero to start searching for survivors amid the ruins.
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COURTESY PHOTO
Boudník later created sophisticated computer models of the site.
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By Miles White

For the Post

Czech architect Jiří Boudník remembers Sept. 11, 2001 as a brisk, beautiful day in New York City, one of those autumn mornings when the sunlight painted the sky a bright, translucent blue. From his vantage point just across the Brooklyn Bridge, he could see the gleaming towers of the World Trade Center rising above lower Manhattan.
The next thing he knew, he was picking up human body parts from the rubble of those buildings, reduced to a mass of twisted steel and stone by the terrorist attacks that killed thousands that day.
“It would have been worse just walking away and leaving them there,” he says in a somber voice. “I felt it would have been so disrespectful. We wanted to give those people some last shred of dignity and respect.”
The next morning Boudník was one of the first to arrive at the epicenter of the devastation, offering his help as an expert in the construction of tall buildings. He describes the scene in apocalyptic terms: deserted streets and buildings, lights from police cars and fire engines flashing like beacons through thick clouds of dust, the shadowy silhouettes of rescue workers floating through the white moonscape. In an area normally teeming with people, the silence was broken only by the wailing of cell phones going unanswered, as thousands of dead lay entombed beneath what had been one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.
“It was all dead,” Boudník recalls. “Not even birds were flying.”
Boudník recounted that day as part of a talk he gave at the American Center Oct. 11 describing his experiences at Ground Zero and the contributions he made in the aftermath of the tragedy. Huddled around a set of drawings with a team of rescue workers and architects trying to make sense of the wreckage, he remembered himself as child in his hometown of Plzeň, cutting paper diagrams out of a magazine to construct little 3-D models.
“All of a sudden I realized these guys needed a 3-D model,” he recalls with boyish excitement. “It was a paradox. I connected with the child I was 20 years ago. I was pinching myself.”
Boudník quickly constructed a three-dimensional chipboard model of Ground Zero after the attacks, giving rescue workers a visual orientation of the devastation. They now knew where buildings, offices, and elevators had once stood, and where people might still be alive.
Boudník helped as they climbed through the ruins with cadaver dogs looking for signs of life. Prying open an elevator shaft hoping to find survivors, they found only a pile of bodies.
“Everywhere everybody was yelling ‘body bag, body bag,’” he remembers. “Thinking back now, it was very depressing. We didn’t find anybody alive. Even the dogs were depressed.”
Boudník then led a group of architectural students from the Cooper Union, where he had graduated in 1997, in constructing a Plexiglas model of the subterranean levels of the towers. Finally, Boudník and two friends completed the first computerized 3-D model of the site, and later, an even more sophisticated 4-D computer model considered the most accurate multidimensional computer model of the WTC site anyone has made.
Strengthening ties
On the first anniversary of the attacks, a documentary segment called “Unsung Heroes” was broadcast on American television recognizing two volunteers whose extraordinary contributions deserved special recognition. Boudník was one of them.
The following week, the New York Czech Center sponsored an exhibition of some of the photos he took of Ground Zero. Then-President Václav Havel reviewed the exhibition at St. Paul’s Chapel, and presented an honorary medal to former Mayor Rudolf Giuliani on behalf of the Czech people. Boudník got to shake hands with Havel and accept his compliments.
“I was happy to meet the president of our country,” he says. “That was the reward.”
In his talk at the American Center, Boudník showed some of the slides he took during his time working at Ground Zero. Part of his task was helping to figure out why buildings designed to withstand aircraft collisions came down so quickly.
“The buildings withstood the impact, but what they couldn’t survive was all that burning jet fuel,” he concludes. “Those planes were loaded with hundreds of gallons of fuel that exploded all over the place, and when steel gets hot enough it turns to jelly. [The hijackers] knew what they were doing.”
A charismatic and youthful 37, Boudník occasionally relaxes into the easygoing style that signals how American he has become. He speaks English fluently, and sees himself at the vanguard of a new generation of Czechs throwing off what he describes as the morose mood of the country during communism.
“I used to see a lot of this,” he says, using a finger to draw a downward curve across his lips. “Now I’m seeing more of this” — he outlines a smiley face.
Boudník defected from Czechoslovakia in 1987, and says he’s unlikely to return. He loves living in New York, where he works for an architectural firm that constructs high-rise residential buildings. He sees his presentations of his experiences at Ground Zero as a way to help strengthen ties between the Czech Republic and the United States.
“They welcomed me with open arms, so I want to do something good for the United States in the Czech Republic,” he says. “I want to show that the United States and the Czech Republic are two countries that are united.”
Boudník spoke openly about the controversial subject of the proposed radar defense system the United States wants to build here, which he believes is necessary in a world where a number of nations now possess nuclear technology. He also thinks the issue has been misrepresented to locals who oppose the project.
“It makes us safer, it makes Europe safer,” he says. “I would like to assist in opening up the forum for all voices to be heard. We are a democratic country. I think it should be decided at the government level, but all points of view should be taken into consideration.”
Miles White can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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