I was interested to read that signature architect Ken Yeang has proposed the construction of two 40-storey towers to developer St Modwen at the Elephant & Castle shopping centre in south London (30 July, page 9).

In the light of the 9/11 terrorist attack in the USA, as well as numerous threats to the UK, it is of paramount importance that two towers such as the ones proposed are safeguarded from such eventualities. Instead of relying solely on the resistance of the construction materials, which incidentally, failed to offer any protection in the attack on the World Trade Centre, it would be better to provide an external defence in the form of fenders.

Fenders are very common in offshore platforms and port and harbour structures as they protect the structures from being hit by supply vessels. The fender structure can be elegantly designed as a stand-alone structure. In the case of a terrorist attack, the fender would form the first line of defence. I hope the people involved in this prestigious project will consider the advantages of this suggestion.

TS Thandavamoorthy, via email

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