New York City’s Tallest Building: One World Trade Center

MAITLAND, Fla. - June 18, 2013 - PRLog -- It was an aching gap in the NYC skyline: the space where the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center once stood. After the towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001, a debate began about how to use the empty site. When a basic plan for a “Freedom Tower” was finally unveiled, it had to go through revision after revision until the final version was approved in 2005. Construction began ceremoniously in May 2006, and the building underwent its topping out (placement of the last beam) in the summer of 2012. Completion is projected for late this year. Along the way, the 104 story tall structure’s name has been changed to the simpler “One World Trade Center.”

A New Landmark

Although One World Trade Center has yet to be finished, it is already one of the most visited New York landmarks, as tourists and locals come to remember the lives that were lost in the 9/11 terrorist attack and reflect on the rebuilding that is rising out of the ashes of that painful day. The tower is not being constructed on the exact spot where the Twin Towers once stood, however. That space is occupied by a memorial landscape of waterfalls and reflecting pools, with the names of the victims inscribed around their edges, called “Reflecting Absence.” One World Trade Center is the second of five new towers which are to be built around the memorial. The 52 story Seven World Trade Center was completed in 2006.

Design Details

The architect for this immense project is Daniel Libeskind, whose portfolio includes, as well as residential projects, a large number of strikingly handsome public buildings including Dublin’s National Theater, the Wohl Center at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University and museums in a variety of European and North American cities. His plan for One World Trade Center is designed for beauty, sustainability and security, with a 187 foot concrete base topped by a tapering tower. The total height is symbolic – 1776 feet, symbolizing the date of the American Declaration of Independence.

How It Will Be Used

The principal owner of the building, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will be the landlord to a diverse group of businesses. A major tenant is the State of New York. Condé Nast Publications is moving their substantial headquarters to the tower. The Vantone Industrial Company, based in Beijing, is setting up a “China Center,” in cooperation with the Port Authority, to provide facilities for both business and culture. As well as office space, the building contains a sky lobby on the 64th floor and an observation deck three stories high, from the 100th to the 102nd floors. Below the 65 foot lobby are parking for tenants, shopping areas and access to the subway, PATH trains and the World Financial Center.

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