Reports from urban centers around the country indicate that owners of high-rise buildings and government office centers stepped up interior and exterior security measures following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. To shore up property perimeters — and greatly curtail threats from groups or individuals using vehicles as a means to damage or destroy buildings — owners turned to precast concrete median barriers. In Chicago, barrier installations included areas around the a) 1,136-ft. Aon Center (left), whose major tenant, Aon Corp., also occupied the 92nd, 99th and 100th floors of the World Trade Center's South Tower; and b) the Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Building (right), which houses a U.S. District Court and Federal Bureau of Investigation field office. The latter is one of three Chicago high-rise buildings designed by German architect Mies van der Rohe and is home to an Alexander Calder sculpture. Calder's “Bent Propeller” sculpture at 7 World Trade Center — the 47-story structure that collapsed late in the afternoon of September 11 — lies among Ground Zero rubble.

Plainfield, Ill.-based Utility Concrete Products LLC shipped from stock upwards of 300 Illinois (6-in.-wide top) and Indiana (10-in.-wide top) DOT barriers for the Aon, Dirksen and other properties. At the request of building owners, the company and its carriers delivered the barriers primarily in the evening. The September 11 terrorist events appear to have necessitated fundamental changes for high profile developments. Precast concrete producers are well situated to craft more aesthetic, permanent components and structures designed to augment security. One established line for which California specialty producers are especially known — oversized, decorative planters — should figure into offerings.