NEW YORK | One World Trade Center | 1,776' Pinnacle / 1,373' Roof | 108 FLOORS

[randy1991]

http://archives.earthcam.com/archives5/ecnetwork/us/ny/nyc/gzmpr/gzmpr288_8.jpg

[weidncol]

The spire was lit white tonight. Will this be the color it is every night unless there is a special occasion?

http://i.imgur.com/3sOrKfW.jpg

[King DenCity]

^I hope so

[MadGnome]

Those artifacts that look like waves coming off the spire are pretty cool. Makes it look like a radio transmitter.

[hunser]

CTBUH (http://skyscrapercenter.com/new-york-city/one-world-trade-center/98/):

Figures
Height: Architectural 541.3 meter / 1776 feet
Height: Occupied 386.6 meter / 1268 feet ???
Height: To Tip 546.2 meter / 1792 feet
Height: Observatory 386.6 meter / 1268 feet
Floors Above Ground 94 ???
Floors Below Ground 5
# of Elevators 71
Top Elevator Speed 10.16 m/s
Tower GFA 325,279 m² / 3,501,274 ft²

[islandxtreme26]

Here are more of my shots, taken on Saturday night of the spire lighting for the Super Bowl.

Flickr/chrisswann26
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisswann26/12309182193/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/12309182193_f66e5cf96f_b.jpg

Flickr/chrisswann26 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisswann26/12309182293/in/set-72157640507363255)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/12309182293_a30596093d_b.jpg

Flickr/chrisswann26 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisswann26/12309460714/in/set-72157640507363255)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7292/12309460714_0cff4d24fd_b.jpg

Flickr/chrisswann26 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisswann26/12309182103/in/set-72157640507363255)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5540/12309182103_3bce7cbeb5_b.jpg

[NYguy]

When you look closely at the beacon, it vaguely resembles the very top of the Met Life tower. It's unfortunate that the only nice looking part of this spire is at the very tip.


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/154387038/original.jpg



http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/154387037/original.jpg




kylenolin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kylenolin/12309483863/sizes/z/in/photostream/)

[img]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/12309483863_b2f1be4f04_z.jpg



http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/12309483863_72eb4cfce4_h.jpg

[KevininPhx]

Review of PBS's Super Skyscrapers: One World Trade Center tonight on PBS

http://www.tvfirstlook.com/2014/02/review-super-skyscrapers.html

[Yackemflaber69]

best idea for any show ever

[NYguy]

takegoro (http://www.flickr.com/photos/takegoro/12326037634/sizes/h/in/photostream/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/12326037634_2db3fcffa8_h.jpg

[Zackalax13]

Because the spire is made of steel and is not painted, will the spire start to get a rusty look over time?

[Harley613]

Incredible how much this has come along since the summer of 2010 when I took this from the Circle Line

http://imgur.com/7kW4gVh.jpg

[King DenCity]

^Oh, the beginning of projects. Such a wonderful time of excitement and impatience.

[ThatOneGuy]

Because the spire is made of steel and is not painted, will the spire start to get a rusty look over time?

No.

[MadGnome]

Because the spire is made of steel and is not painted, will the spire start to get a rusty look over time?

If it was plain steel it would have been rusted a week after they put it up. It's stainless.

[islandxtreme26]

Quick video of the spire changing from Green to Red on Super Bowl Eve.... (http://youtu.be/s1EiUXQWGOM)

Youtube/islandxtreme26

[jsr]

Review of PBS's Super Skyscrapers: One World Trade Center tonight on PBS

http://www.tvfirstlook.com/2014/02/review-super-skyscrapers.html

On the program they claimed wind tunnel testing had revealed issues with the covered spire. I don't recall ever hearing about that.

[soulcapn]

On the program they claimed wind tunnel testing had revealed issues with the covered spire. I don't recall ever hearing about that.

Yes, I saw that. The paranoid conspiracy theorist in me wants to say "they faked" the wind tunnel tests to give themselves a non monetary reason for eliminating the spire covering. But the other voices in my head find him annoying and don't usually give him opportunity to speak. :)

Wind tunnel testing a big spire like that is normal procedure. An extreme oscillation of the spire could potentially rip it from its mount and bring a 400 foot, couple hundred ton spear of steel down on the streets of lower Manhattan. Not good.

If truly the case, the "monetary reason" for canceling the spire covering could actually be referring to the redesign costs that would have needed to be incurred in order to correct the design flaws causing the oscillation. It would have probably meant a completely new steel inner structure and outer covering design. All very costly if the simple answer was to continue using the steel structure, but just not use the outer covering.

Nevertheless, I think the oscillation at low wind speeds pretty much puts an end to speculation that one day they might actually outfit the spire with its outer covering.

[jsr]

On the program they claimed wind tunnel testing had revealed issues with the covered spire. I don't recall ever hearing about that.

Or maybe I just haven't been paying close enough attention

Finlike “strakes” will protrude from the radome. These were added after wind tunnel testing revealed the need to mitigate vortex shedding — a phenomenon that creates wind eddies on two sides of a cylinder, inducing side-to-side movement that could cause structural fatigue. - Architectural Record Sept 2011

http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/2011/09/one-world-trade-center.asp

[manchester united]

CTBUH (http://skyscrapercenter.com/new-york-city/one-world-trade-center/98/):

Are 85 or 94 the real floors ? However to change that RIDICOLOUS title of 108 ( !!!! ) floors !!!!!

[NYguy]

On the program they claimed wind tunnel testing had revealed issues with the covered spire. I don't recall ever hearing about that.

Yeah, it was mentioned when they talked about the "maintenance" of the radome. I don't know how they do it at the CN tower, but that's all irrelevant. Using that as an excuse is the biggest piece of BS concerning construction of this tower. For one thing, the issue never came up until Durst was brought onto the project and wanted to remove it - which the Port Authority wouldn't allow, and didn't allow until they got a new director. And secondly, the initial plan was to build an open spire around the antenna. The radome was only added as "protection" against the elements. If it were going to be an issue (and whether you buy the story or not, its irrelevant) they could have gone back to the initial plan. But neither plan was going to be free. This will always be a Durst issue, not a practical one. I wish there could be a "Christie" type investigation into how that whole thing played out in conversations. Maybe a few years down the line when someone wrights the book about the construction process.



juanamarie33 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanamarie33/12313291024/sizes/h/in/photostream/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/12313291024_6a2c1d8375_h.jpg

[sbarn]

I saw that the spire is lit tonight, and I've got to admit it looks pretty sweet!!

[randy1991]

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Webcam (http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/live-camera.html)

http://oxblue.com/archive/487d07189e5fd2b7edce94fc0bcf4b68/800x600.jpg

[weidncol]

The spire lights are now permanent, I believe. It's been lit every day since the 29th of January. BTW, it may look purple in the camera but it's actually more of a white color.

[randy1991]

:previous:

Your right, here the proof

From EarthCam (http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/brooklynbridge/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7362/12354093313_ef7793e979_b.jpg

[NYguy]

I saw that the spire is lit tonight, and I've got to admit it looks pretty sweet!!

The lighting itself is not bad. With all of the lighting in Midtown, the Downtown skyine has been too dark too long. Hopefully they get around to lighting the whole thing, it would be pointless to have the top of the building totally dark. The building itself shines and glimmers in the daytime. The live morning shots from the skycam on Good Day NY are epic. It all comes abruptly to an end where the parapet ends. The opposite would be true if they don't get the lighting proper with the rest of it. We'll just have to wait until the building gets completed for lighting effect.


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/154371839/large.jpg

[weidncol]

The beacon appears to be stuck in this position.

http://i.imgur.com/jOK5nBMl.png (http://i.imgur.com/jOK5nBM.png)

nyharborwebcam (http://www.nyharborwebcam.com)

[Otie]

Or maybe I just haven't been paying close enough attention

Finlike “strakes” will protrude from the radome. These were added after wind tunnel testing revealed the need to mitigate vortex shedding — a phenomenon that creates wind eddies on two sides of a cylinder, inducing side-to-side movement that could cause structural fatigue. - Architectural Record Sept 2011

http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/2011/09/one-world-trade-center.asp

Those strakes are visualized here below, curling around the radome.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6230/6377120307_111ee75b9c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62018165@N04/6377120307/)
Fog (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62018165@N04/6377120307/) by Otie O'Daniel (http://www.flickr.com/people/62018165@N04/), on Flickr

From Encyclopedia Britannica
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/22/70822-004-B85BF4BD.jpg

[CityGuy87]

So the spire's default lighting is definitely white? I was thought Durst was gonna do the random color changing and strobe effects with this spire like he does with his Bank of America and Conde Nast towers.

[Guiltyspark]

So the spire's default lighting is definitely white? I was thought Durst was gonna do the random color changing and strobe effects with this spire like he does with his Bank of America and Conde Nast towers.

I hope so, the white has looked better than any of the other colors.

[CityGuy87]

I hope so, the white has looked better than any of the other colors.

I have no real issue with the white lighting per se but I remember Durst saying he wanted 1 WTC's spire to play off BoFa's and Conde Nast's spires. Besides, it gives Durst a chance to show off 1 WTC at night and I love the LED color-changing interplay on his other towers. I mean, they're all his buildings and I think a 3-way downtown/midtown light-show would be pretty flippin' sweet to watch.

[dendenden]

Yeah, it was mentioned when they talked about the "maintenance" of the radome. I don't know how they do it at the CN tower, but that's all irrelevant. Using that as an excuse is the biggest piece of BS concerning construction of this tower. For one thing, the issue never came up until Durst was brought onto the project and wanted to remove it - which the Port Authority wouldn't allow, and didn't allow until they got a new director. And secondly, the initial plan was to build an open spire around the antenna. The radome was only added as "protection" against the elements. If it were going to be an issue (and whether you buy the story or not, its irrelevant) they could have gone back to the initial plan. But neither plan was going to be free. This will always be a Durst issue, not a practical one. I wish there could be a "Christie" type investigation into how that whole thing played out in conversations. Maybe a few years down the line when someone wrights the book about the construction process.



juanamarie33 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/juanamarie33/12313291024/sizes/h/in/photostream/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/12313291024_6a2c1d8375_h.jpg

One of the few shots of 1WTC that takes my breath away and the spiretenna looks good. I'd still rather seen some design to it though.

[mudvayneimn]

Don't mean to drag the spire talk on too much longer but I've always wondered why after the decision was made to scrap the radome, this design was not used.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/meh_cd/wtc/NEW%20wtc/original.jpg
Source (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=93434261&postcount=35333)

I know this was one of the first designs for the antenna/spire, but was this design just completely tossed out when the communications ring was redesigned? Has there ever been comments from the developers as to why this was not resurrected after the radome was scrapped? To be honest I always preferred this version; it seemed to have enough grace and simplicity to match 2/4 WTC, all while having an industrial and purposeful design to match up with 3/1 WTC.

[Hudson11]

The lighting itself is not bad. With all of the lighting in Midtown, the Downtown skyine has been too dark too long. Hopefully they get around to lighting the whole thing, it would be pointless to have the top of the building totally dark. The building itself shines and glimmers in the daytime. The live morning shots from the skycam on Good Day NY are epic. It all comes abruptly to an end where the parapet ends. The opposite would be true if they don't get the lighting proper with the rest of it. We'll just have to wait until the building gets completed for lighting effect.


I agree. The only standout buildings at night are Woolworth, 7 WTC and Goldman sachs. 70 Pine used to have its crown regularly lit and formed a nice nighttime peak, but that hasn't been the case in awhile. The old WTC didn't need any special lighting because they had such presence that the office lights were enough for an iconic nighttime image. The new WTC won't be similar in that respect. There's more focus on design so it needs more artificial lighting. The beacon and spire are excellent, but there's also 2 WTC's diamonds + pyramidal spire and 3 WTC's crown with its spires. 4 WTC also has the leds which will standout much better when the construction lights are gone.

70 Pine Street:
http://www.gp1.hr/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lower_Manhattan_by_night.jpg

old WTC:
http://www.dis.uniroma1.it/~demetres/photos/Dec-26-2000/images/manhattan-by-night.JPG

New WTC, rendering by Dbox (its big, sorry)
http://www.archdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/1316089927-rising-dbox-004.jpg

[fimiak]

Don't mean to drag the spire talk on too much longer but I've always wondered why after the decision was made to scrap the radome, this design was not used.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/meh_cd/wtc/NEW%20wtc/original.jpg
Source (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=93434261&postcount=35333)

I know this was one of the first designs for the antenna/spire, but was this design just completely tossed out when the communications ring was redesigned? Has there ever been comments from the developers as to why this was not resurrected after the radome was scrapped? To be honest I always preferred this version; it seemed to have enough grace and simplicity to match 2/4 WTC, all while having an industrial and purposeful design to match up with 3/1 WTC.

This looks even more expensive than the previous plans. Durst just wanted to save money and to finish on time.

[dendenden]

Don't mean to drag the spire talk on too much longer but I've always wondered why after the decision was made to scrap the radome, this design was not used.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/meh_cd/wtc/NEW%20wtc/original.jpg
Source (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=93434261&postcount=35333)

I know this was one of the first designs for the antenna/spire, but was this design just completely tossed out when the communications ring was redesigned? Has there ever been comments from the developers as to why this was not resurrected after the radome was scrapped? To be honest I always preferred this version; it seemed to have enough grace and simplicity to match 2/4 WTC, all while having an industrial and purposeful design to match up with 3/1 WTC.

that latticed design was always my favorite too. i wonder if in the future that could be incorporated into the current framework?

[mrnyc]

^ no chance. it will just be lighting effects from here out.

[MadGnome]

Or maybe I just haven't been paying close enough attention

Finlike “strakes” will protrude from the radome. These were added after wind tunnel testing revealed the need to mitigate vortex shedding — a phenomenon that creates wind eddies on two sides of a cylinder, inducing side-to-side movement that could cause structural fatigue. - Architectural Record Sept 2011

http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/2011/09/one-world-trade-center.asp

That's not really a discovery Any solid cover would obviously need some sort of vortex control. Usually vortex generators that make little vortex's to break up big ones before they form. Wind tunnel testing would have been to identify and test solutions, not to discover the problem.

[drumz0rz]

Falling Ice from 1 WTC closed the PATH terminal today. Initially they were routing everyone through to the WFC but then (while my train was in the tunnel...) they declared the terminal closed and rerouted trains to JSQ.

Do you think this will be a problem for the building or is it likely that the ice was falling from the construction elevator?

[QUEENSNYMAN]

So the Spire is now lit every night from here on in? If so this is great!

[dendenden]

^ no chance. it will just be lighting effects from here out.

Makes me sad that this building won't live up to it's full potential. I still think she's handsome.

[StoOgE]

70 Pine used to have its crown regularly lit and formed a nice nighttime peak, but that hasn't been the case in awhile.

70 Pine has been undergoing pretty extensive renovations for a while now (North of a year I think).

It would be nice to see some of the other big boys downtown lit up. Especially 40 Wall since it's such a magnificent building.

[Skyguy_7]

New glass, happy Friday!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-92it4tOigbI/UvUThduRwXI/AAAAAAAAAb8/lQ1ZwSlK9GA/w847-h474-no/NYC171.jpg

[Submariner]

How are they going to finish the glass at the very top?

[Hudson11]

How are they going to finish the glass at the very top?

BMU's should work

[NYguy]

I have no real issue with the white lighting per se but I remember Durst saying he wanted 1 WTC's spire to play off BoFa's and Conde Nast's spires. Besides, it gives Durst a chance to show off 1 WTC at night and I love the LED color-changing interplay on his other towers. I mean, they're all his buildings and I think a 3-way downtown/midtown light-show would be pretty flippin' sweet to watch.

We have to wait until its finished and open to see what lighting will be. Just because its lit now doesn't mean that's the way it's going to be.


Don't mean to drag the spire talk on too much longer but I've always wondered why after the decision was made to scrap the radome, this design was not used.


Durst's foremost concern was for a functioning broadcast center. Had someone else been in charge in the governor's office, or the head of the Port Authority, you might well have seen some form of the earlier spire. Remember, it was governor Pataki who insisted on the spire in the first place.



This looks even more expensive than the previous plans. Durst just wanted to save money and to finish on time.

He was never going to finish anything on time. This building is and always has been behind schedule. And the mast won't actually be used for television broadcasting probably for a couple of years.



http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/weather/ice-briefly-shuts-world-trade-center-path-station-article-1.1605818

New World Trade Center design may be to blame for falling ice that disrupts morning commute
The building’s sloping corners functioned like a ski jump for falling ice. The Port Authority officials shut the PATH station over safety concerns,
causing a massive rush hour log jam.


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1605812.1391793015!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/path-station-closed.jpg


By Matt Chaban AND Barry Paddock
February 7, 2014


Falling ice from One World Trade Center led to the closure of nearby streets, the PATH station and a memorial pool Friday morning.

Port Authority workers closed the main entrance to the World Trade Center station about 8:45 a.m. after ice began plummeting more than 1000 feet off the nearly-completed building, officials said. Service to Newark and Hoboken was suspended

The tower's distinctive design made matters worse, witnesses said. The building’s sloping corners functioned like a ski jump for falling ice.

"The ice just comes down the side and shoots off," said one PATH worker, who declined to give his name.

Disembarking PATH passengers were diverted to the World Financial Center, now known as Brookfield Place, where they were confronted by a maze of plywood because the entire ground floor of the four building development is being renovated for new stores and lobbies.

One building executive dismissed the problems as just a fact of life in New York.

"When you have tall glass buildings and icy conditions, that ice is going to start falling," the executive said. "It happens all over town."

The station reopened just before 9:30 a.m., but at 11 a.m. the north pool of the World Trade Center memorial was closed due to hazardous conditions, officials said.

Nobody was hurt by the falling ice.

[QUEENSNYMAN]

Here is my video from early this evening with the lights of the spire and beacon as seen from Rockaway, hope ya like.

By: QUEENSNY121:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic4lkrTStW4&feature=youtu.be

[weidncol]

The lights on 1 WTC are so dim!

[QUEENSNYMAN]

Video from this morning, from Broad Channel, Queens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMz1yk9igmc&list=UUa3fF4f0jp_YrtzeCuNTf5A&feature=c4-overview

[randy1991]

From Earth Cam (http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7440/12394693195_4df1d8601e_b.jpg

[Tectonic]

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/397x600q90/829/ua6d.jpg
©tectonic

[Hypothalamus]

As of January 24th, 2014...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7441/12241318374_be994ab5c0_h.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianchappel/12241318374/)
Freedom Tower (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianchappel/12241318374/) by Ian Chappel (http://www.flickr.com/people/ianchappel/), on Flickr


As of February 7th, 2014...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7356/12388922914_396a8018fe_h.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angeljimenez/12388922914/)
One World Trade Center (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angeljimenez/12388922914/) by angeljimenez (http://www.flickr.com/people/angeljimenez/), on Flickr


One WTC south entrance continues to take shape thanks to all of the hard working men and women at the WTC.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bf5Ob_WCEAAzRHN.jpg:large
WTCProgress (https://twitter.com/WTCProgress/status/431868857033035776/photo/1) on Twitter

[NewYorque]

As you probably noticed, some glass panels have been added quite recently compared to others. Especially when they removed the first exterior elevator. So you can notice a "vertical line" on the facade that is much brighter than the rest of the tower. There will be the same effect once they will have removed the other exterior elevator, probably.

I was wondering if washing the tower after completion would make all the panels look like new, and would make these "vertical lines" no more visible.

Thanks!

[NYguy]

Daily News gets hysterical...

http://www.nydailynews.com/cmlink/nydn.CoverContent?newsletter=true&ctype=front&cdate=20140209&dt=landscape_235_300


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ice-continues-fall-world-trade-center-article-1.1607337

Ice continues to fall from World Trade Center as pedestrians run for cover


http://static1.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607346.1391931943!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/index_635_390/chunks-ice-sliding-1-world-trade-center.jpg


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607331.1391922905!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/ice9n-6-web.jpg

Ice continued to fall Saturday from buildings at the World Trade Center, including the Freedom Tower, which is the nation's tallest building.


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607333.1391922889!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/ice9n-4-web.jpg

Ice on the side of the Freedom Tower, also known as 1 World Trade Center.


February 9, 2014



For the second day in a row, chunks of ice fell from the Freedom Tower — but this time streets remained open and Port Authority officials didn’t close the nearby PATH station. Instead, pedestrians had to fend for themselves, scurrying for cover about 11 a.m. Saturday in the shadow of the nation’s tallest building.

“We just saw ice falling down the building,” said startled Austrian tourist Katharina Amann, 24, who is visiting the city with her family. “It was scary. Then I heard it shatter.”

Ice also fell from 7 World Trade Center, which is 52 stories tall, some chunks even bouncing off the building’s awning.

Pedestrians escaped injury and PA officials downplayed the danger.

“Each incident was fully investigated and proper protocols were followed,” Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman told the Daily News. “Ice falling from buildings occurs in urban environments such as Manhattan, and we are taking all appropriate safety measures when the situation arises.”

On Friday, workers closed the main exit of the World Trade Center PATH station during morning rush hour to keep commuters from walking out into falling ice beginning just before 8 a.m. The subsequent overcrowding forced the temporary suspension of service and the whole station to briefly close. The north pool of the 9/11 Memorial was also closed for several hours Friday.

Nicole Gregory was on her way to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Saturday when the sidewalk was blitzed with ice again.

“We were talking about 9/11 on our way over here — and about the people who jumped,” said Gregory, 45. “Then all of a sudden we heard ice fall. It’s just surreal.”

Her husband, Stan Gregory, 47, agreed. “It’s crazy,” he said. “They should figure out the problem and use heat to stop it.”

Architects often use heating strips on sloped surfaces to help prevent snow and ice from accumulating. Coleman could not confirm if heating strips were to be used in the Freedom Tower, but noted that the building remains under construction.

Witnesses and experts told The News the building’s sloped roof and rounded corners could be partly to blame.

“Any sloped surface can cause a problem,” said Prof. John Fernandez, head of the building technology program at MIT.

But no skyscraper is immune from the danger of falling ice, Fernandez said.

“There is no geometry that in every weather condition can avoid ice accumulating — and then shedding,” he said.

One Bryant Park, at the corner of Sixth Ave. and 42nd St. also has a sloped roof. Three winters ago, falling ice shut down the intersection. Ice has also fallen from the New York Times Building on Eighth Ave. and 40th St., which is covered with cylindrical steel ribs.

On Wednesday, a worker at the H&M store on Lexington Ave. at E. 59th St. survived a heart attack after ice or snow fell on him.

The danger exists anywhere ice forms. In December, video of massive sheets of ice falling from an apartment building onto parked cars in Plano, Tex., went viral.

Workers around the World Trade Center site said that sidewalks were regularly blocked off due to falling ice in the weeks before Friday’s shutdown of the whole PATH station.

A halal truck vendor who works across the street from 7 World Trade Center said his truck was hit by four chunks of ice in Friday’s deluge.

“There was a big bang,” said Mohammed Mohammed, 32, of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. “It was worse than rocks. The ice is sharp like a knife. It was shattering like glass. If someone got hit with it, it would really hurt.”

A Columbia University physicist estimated the ice would be falling about 100 mph. “If it’s falling from that height you can imagine it getting to that speed before it hits the ground,” said Prof. Jeremy Dodd, senior lecturer in the discipline of physics. “Obviously if it were to hit you on the head it could cause pretty catastrophic damage.”

A spokesperson for David Childs, architect of the Freedom Tower, still had nothing to say. He again referred questions to the Port Authority on Saturday.

The Durst Organization helped finish the design of the Freedom Tower, also known as 1 World Trade Center, and is overseeing the leasing of space there.

“The building is still under construction and minimally heated and we don’t expect this to be a permanent condition,” said Jordan Barowitz, director of External Affairs for Durst.

The 1,776-foot tower is expected to be finished later this year.

[dendenden]

Daily News gets hysterical...

http://www.nydailynews.com/cmlink/nydn.CoverContent?newsletter=true&ctype=front&cdate=20140209&dt=landscape_235_300


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ice-continues-fall-world-trade-center-article-1.1607337

Ice continues to fall from World Trade Center as pedestrians run for cover


http://static1.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607346.1391931943!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/index_635_390/chunks-ice-sliding-1-world-trade-center.jpg


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607331.1391922905!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/ice9n-6-web.jpg

Ice continued to fall Saturday from buildings at the World Trade Center, including the Freedom Tower, which is the nation's tallest building.


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607333.1391922889!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/ice9n-4-web.jpg

Ice on the side of the Freedom Tower, also known as 1 World Trade Center.


February 9, 2014

Can they install heating coils to prevent this?

[NewYorker2009]

It amuses me how people can be. They will complain about the PA closing the PATH Entrance and pedestrian traffic being diverted to the former WFC now Brookfield Place to complaining about not being able to walk through the PATH entrance because they have to get work. They need to all STFU. My advice to them is you see the falling ice from the building, DON'T go near it. Keep away, plain and simple. For those who want to risk their lives being on time for something go right ahead, it's your own choice. I hope to god no one gets hurt as we've had enough tragedy at the WTC. Hopefully when the building is completed they will find a way to solve this problem. People are also so quick to blame the architect David Childs and I don't blame him for avoiding comment. He had a job to do, he designed a building that the PA approved and wanted built. All tall buildings have this problem, not just 1 WTC. The tapered corners make no difference. It's obvious the cladding is the issue here. If the corners weren't tapered the ice would still fall vertically down.

[hunser]

Once tenants start moving in, this will hardly be an issue (inside heat).

[NYguy]

Once tenants start moving in, this will hardly be an issue (inside heat).

Maybe not, but it continues to be an issue at the BofA, and that's been open for a few years now. It's not as unusual as people may think.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ice-falling-off-bank-of-america-building-2013-12



mik_leach (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_leach/12389615215/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

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Kelly Hafermann Photography (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellyhafermann/12417396095/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

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[NYguy]

Architectural Digest on its new home...


http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2014/01/one-world-trade-center-new-york?mbid=nl_social_facebook_post3_blog-architecture

New York City welcomes One World Trade Center to its skyline


http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2014/01/one-world-trade-center-new-york/_jcr_content/par/cn_contentwell/par-main/cn_blogpost/cn_image_1.size.viewpoint-february-2014-01-one-world-trade-center-aerial.jpg


by Samuel Cochran
January 27, 2014


The New York City skyline has a new king. One World Trade Center, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and now nearly complete, tops off at a majestic 1,776 feet (a nod to the year the U.S. declared its independence), earning it the title of tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Its height includes a 408-foot spire, which was officially deemed part of the architecture and not, as some argued, a superfluous antenna. That needle serves as an elegant crown for the 104-story glass tower, which rises from a square footprint but angles inward after the 20th floor, creating a crystalline form consisting of eight isosceles triangles, each a gleaming curtain wall. A striking beacon for the World Trade Center complex (and the future home of Architectural Digest and other Condé Nast publications), the building now stands as a symbol of resilience and pride not just for New Yorkers but for all Americans.


http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2014/01/one-world-trade-center-new-york/_jcr_content/par/cn_contentwell/par-main/cn_blogpost/cn_image_3.size.viewpoint-february-2014-02-one-world-trade-center-ground-view.jpg

[Onn]

I don't get this obsession with the colored lights on the spintenna. It's making Gotham City look more like Candy Land. I sure hope this is not a long term trend, making the city's architecture look like a joke. :sly:

[NYguy]

I don't get this obsession with the colored lights on the spintenna. It's making Gotham City look more like Candy Land. I sure hope this is not a long term trend, making the city's architecture look like a joke. :sly:


I don't think it looks like a joke. The City itself was supposed to come up with a plan to light up all of the financial district. Midtown has had lighting for years, and it looks great.



http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/police-close-blocks-ice-falls-world-trade-center-day-article-1.1608002

Police close street blocks as ice falls from World Trade Center for third day


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1608001.1391998955!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/ice10n-1-web.jpg

Ice continued to fall from buildings at the World Trade Center for the third day in a row Sunday.


By Reuven Blau , Tina Moore AND Barry Paddock
February 9, 2014


Police cordoned off two full blocks of lower Manhattan Sunday as chunks of ice from 1 World Trade Center crashed into the ground for the third day in a row.

The extra safety measures came a day after pedestrians scurried for safety when human-sized blocks of ice, once lodged high up the 1,776-feet-tall skyscraper and neighboring 7 World Trade Center, shattered around them.



http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lupica-wtc-ice-problem-port-authority-falling-safety-article-1.1607469

Lupica: World Trade Center's ice problem makes it seem like Port Authority is really falling down on safety


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607485.1391942935!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/article-lupica-ice-0209.jpg

Ice falling from the nearly completed Freedom Tower results in areas around the building being closed to pedestrians Friday morning. The danger continued on Saturday.


Mike Lupica
February 9, 2014


When you add up everything that has been happening lately, and even before we know who is to blame for those lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, you at least had to think that the Port Authority was doing much better on the New York City side of our bridges and tunnels.

But since ice was still coming off the Freedom Tower and off 7 World Trade Center on Saturday, still hitting sidewalks like this was some polar vortex version of mortar fire, it is fair to ask why the Port Authority — with a day to think about all this — hadn’t closed off enough streets to make people walking around down there feel a lot safer than they did. And as safe as they’re supposed to.

There were PATH train employees still walking around on Saturday saying into their walkie-talkies that they weren’t sure exactly which building ice was coming from. It meant this wasn’t the kind of fun-filled winter theme park we had up at Times Square during Super Bowl Week.

By the way? This is a part of New York that is not supposed to have danger coming out of the sky, even in a hard winter like this one. And it’s not as if ice shooting off those buildings hasn’t been happening all winter, all you have to do is talk to people who work down there or live down there or are walking around down there, at least on days that don’t feel like some kind of cross-country skiing event in Sochi.

Of course these aren’t the only buildings in the city that have ice falling off them and scaring the living daylights out of pedestrians. It is a fact of life in any city of tall buildings, especially in Manhattan, the capital of tall buildings.

Still: Listen to one worker at an information booth near the entrance to the World Trade Center PATH station talking about all this Saturday, the worker not wanting to give his name, talking about what he has seen — and sometimes heard — in the big-city winter of 2013-14.

Any time there’s inclement weather,” he said, “we see stuff falling. Sometimes you see something fall right in front of or behind someone. It could potentially be lethal.”

No one is saying that pedestrians in the city are ever going to be completely safe from ice falling off buildings, especially after the weather we’ve had this winter, one that’s made people all over the whole city feel as if they’re living in International Falls, Minn.

But if ice was still scaring people on Saturday, a day after the Port Authority thought it had closed enough sidewalks and established enough of a perimeter, guess what? It wasn’t enough of a perimeter. It wasn’t safe enough downtown.

Sometimes you really do wonder if these people know which was is up. At least we can’t pin this on Christie.


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1607467.1391942804!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/path-station-closed.jpg

Workers closed the main exit from the World Trade Center PATH station due to ice falling off 1 WTC. Commuters were redirected to the Brookfield Place entrance.

[NYguy]

Older photo, but I like the WTC towers backdrop...


nycmayorsoffice (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycmayorsoffice/11694223473/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

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http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5533/11694223473_a1ffe7f165_h.jpg

[Camstonisland]

Why don't they just build an ice catching thing like rain gutters on houses? As you can tell, i lack the proper terminology, so my idea is probably invalid.

[dfiler]

Why don't they just build an ice catching thing like rain gutters on houses? As you can tell, i lack the proper terminology, so my idea is probably invalid.
They would have to be as wide as the entire street, like a roof over the entire street. ;)

Bu seriously, they would.

[SteveD]

:previous:

Yes. As an example, punch these coordinates into Google Earth to see an ice shield constructed along Freedom Parkway in Atlanta adjacent to a radio transmission tower.

33°45'50.35"N 84°21'39.12"W

[Zapatan]

maybe they should have just designed it like a normal building without sloping sides. :rolleyes:

[1Boston]

I don't get this obsession with the colored lights on the spintenna. It's making Gotham City look more like Candy Land. I sure hope this is not a long term trend, making the city's architecture look like a joke. :sly:

I couldn't agree more. I had high hopes for the lighting but so far it has done nothing for me, I just hope it improves when the building is completely finished. It wouldn't look as bad if Durst never got involved. Although I think the lighting on the IFC(Guangzhou) looks great and everyone else things it looks tacky so maybe I'm wrong.

[weidncol]

maybe they should have just designed it like a normal building without sloping sides. :rolleyes:

The Twin Towers had the same issue as well, especially the North Tower...

[ih8pickingusernames]

^
I think that was only because of the antenna? I saw a video of this a while ago.

[weidncol]

^^ That was a part of it, however it also formed between the columns and mechanical vents.

[NYguy]

maybe they should have just designed it like a normal building without sloping sides. :rolleyes:

7 WTC doesn't have any sloping sides, yet ice is still falling there. It's something that happens every year, but it's not a big deal because there are safety precautions.
However, when you have ice falling down onto a busy railroad terminus where thousands of people are exiting, its a bigger problem.



Marlin2121 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindam2296/12390432803/sizes/h/in/photostream/)

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Larisa Shorina (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mintcity/12445996705/sizes/o/in/photostream/)

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[hunser]

carleton rodgers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/117139713@N02/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/12448048294_ff8b230bda_b.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jXZv5j)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/12448052434_44b9b4d092_b.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jXZwiG)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7331/12448056944_c481528f97_b.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jXZxDs)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/12448066184_c5c8019700_b.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jXZAoL)

[drumz0rz]

7 WTC doesn't have any sloping sides, yet ice is still falling there. It's something that happens every year, but it's not a big deal because there are safety precautions.
However, when you have ice falling down onto a busy railroad terminus where thousands of people are exiting, its a bigger problem.
Exactly, and this isn't a unique problem to this building. All the skyscrapers in NY shed ice.

1 WTC will likely reduce this issue once it's open. It looks like most of the ice formed around the mechanical vents / construction elevator. Those will be pumping out heat once they are in operation. There are also ways to employ electric heaters to prevent ice build up however the probably won't go down that route unless they really have to.

[dfiler]

Agreed. Nearly every building ever constructed sheds ice in certain conditions.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if the design of 1wtc is especially bad in regard to ice. It is my suspicion that none of the articles yet written are well informed either. For example, if those vents at the top of the tower aren't finished and in service, we don't know how that will affect ice build up. It could increase or decrease.

Similarly the cladding on those levels isn't finished yet either. Etc...

In other news, my own home suffers from the same problem, as does every home on my street. From the walkway next to my house to the eaves is 27 feet. 40 pound slabs occasionally fall and smash into the ground so hard they shatter into a million pieces. A couple years ago my neighbor's basement window was broken by one of those pieces.

This isn't to say there is no problem. Only that I don't think we have good info yet. All we know is some ice fell. Everything beyond that seems like conjecture, including speculation that the sloped sides are problematic.

I could be wrong though. Is well informed analysis available?

[JSsocal]

The only reason this is a newsworthy issue is because the PA decided to close the PATH entrance, and people's commutes were inconvenienced-- Otherwise, as has been stated, this has been happening for a while

[NYguy]

Rc0ExsmZcrc


Last year...


guzt_znvRpg



lippediak (http://www.flickr.com/photos/87956110@N08/12467278234/sizes/h/in/photostream/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3810/12467278234_c76d347a97_h.jpg

[NYguy]

PeteTsai (http://www.flickr.com/photos/petetsai/12443998394/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/12443998394_e78e4bbaad_h.jpg

[JSsocal]

Security concerns aside- compositionally speaking it might have been interesting to 'reverse' the spiral, putting 1wtc in place of 4, and stepping down up greenwich street, and putting the current '4wtc' where 1 is now. It might have reinforced a more prewar shaped skyline.

[cadiomals]

carleton rodgers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/117139713@N02/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/12448048294_ff8b230bda_b.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jXZv5j)

Finally, at least part of the elevator shaft has been removed :cheers:

That dumb shaft, while necessary, always kept one side of it from looking complete, and the only decent pictures ended up being from the western angle across the hudson river. Can't wait till its gone and the rest of the glass is put up.

[uaarkson]

I can confirm that the spire is brighter now than it was last week. I could see both the WTC and ESB coming home from work and they were both just about as bright, even though I was closer to midtown.

Also, some shots I took while measuring a job in Tribeca today. I figured the forum would appreciate them.

432 Park and One57 both peaking out here, and a sliver of 400 Park Ave's tower crane.
http://i.imgur.com/I9l7bpW.jpg

In this shot you can clearly see the slimming effect of the external hoist removal on 1WTC.

http://i.imgur.com/LxARjFL.jpg

[Zapatan]

I really hope someday someone comes to their senses and covers that "spire" with something.

Or at least bulks up the communications ring with radio dishes.

[CityGuy87]

I really hope someday someone comes to their senses and covers that "spire" with something.

Or at least bulks up the communications ring with radio dishes.

The latter of what you said will definitely happen, it's just matter of when.

[supertallchaser]

I really hope someday someone comes to their senses and covers that "spire" with something.

Or at least bulks up the communications ring with radio dishes.

you get used to it

[NYguy]

^ Getting "used to" is not the same as liking.


Security concerns aside- compositionally speaking it might have been interesting to 'reverse' the spiral, putting 1wtc in place of 4, and stepping down up greenwich street, and putting the current '4wtc' where 1 is now. It might have reinforced a more prewar shaped skyline.

Silverstein wanted to swap the locations of 1 and 2, since the governor insisted tower 1 be built first, which wasn't the actual plan. Silverstein's reasoning that it would be closer to the PATH transit center didn't make sense.


I can confirm that the spire is brighter now than it was last week. I could see both the WTC and ESB coming home from work and they were both just about as bright

I've been wondering why the Empire State lighting is so much better (visible), but realize that the Freedom Tower is still a work in progress.

[Hudson11]

I think for the sake of testing they're messing around with the luminance. The beacon has been kind of inconsistent from the angle I can view it from. At times it will easily catch your attention, but at other times it just looks like an average aircraft light in the night sky.

[NYguy]

soundspade (http://www.flickr.com/photos/soundspade/12490839334/sizes/o/in/photostream/)

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Hank Rogers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hankrogers/12499724263/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

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Slightly older...

moonman82 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25830962@N06/11982415004/sizes/h/in/photostream/)

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eschipul (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/10243161193/sizes/k/in/photostream/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3785/10243161193_e430154527_k.jpg

[drumz0rz]

I think for the sake of testing they're messing around with the luminance. The beacon has been kind of inconsistent from the angle I can view it from. At times it will easily catch your attention, but at other times it just looks like an average aircraft light in the night sky.

I agree. When I first saw the beacon it was hugely underwhelming. It was little more than a white light high up, completely lacked the ray of light, lighthouse type light. I saw it again the other night and it was a lot brighter and the beam could clearly be seen spinning across the sky. I'm really hoping they keep it as bright as possible. It doesn't have the same effect if it's just a blinking light...

[Hypothalamus]

As of February 12th, 2014...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7364/12499066643_a95ae5d1d1_h.jpg
1975 Lower Manhattan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelzimmer/12499066643/) by JoelZimmer (http://www.flickr.com/people/joelzimmer/), on Flickr

[eleven=11]

cnnmoney.com has a nice video ........

[NewYorque]

Does someone know what is the exact height of the "rooftop", that supports the communication rings?

As we all know the height of the parapet is 417m.
But the actual rooftop is a bit lower. As far as I could judge, on the pictures, I would say that the height of the rooftop is approximatively 10 meters lower than the parapet (so 407m ?), but I'm not sure.

Another way to ask the question would be:
you are standing on the rooftop. How high is the parapet in front of you?

[1Boston]

^Now that is some lighting! Don't think its ever looked so good. Now we just need to get some lighting in the upper mechanical floors.

[supertallchaser]

the lighting makes up for the spire

[hunser]

NY on Air (https://www.facebook.com/NYonAir)

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/1619122_523878014397919_397560709_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/1619219_523191651133222_1910005754_n.jpg

[chris08876]

the lighting makes up for the spire

It does. I noticed on the days when the spire doesn't have the lights on that it looks skinny from far away. With the lights, it seems to give the illusion of a thicker spire.

[NewYorker2009]

Does someone know what is the exact height of the "rooftop", that supports the communication rings?

As we all know the height of the parapet is 417m.
But the actual rooftop is a bit lower. As far as I could judge, on the pictures, I would say that the height of the rooftop is approximatively 10 meters lower than the parapet (so 407m ?), but I'm not sure.

Another way to ask the question would be:
you are standing on the rooftop. How high is the parapet in front of you?

1,334' 8" or about 407m so you're right on the money.....

[NYguy]

bbohannon4 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/108448209@N03/12501688735/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/12501688735_cbab0814ce_b.jpg



http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/12501688735_ac1bb7ff17_h.jpg

[NYguy]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1/1620534_745245188822082_707380857_n.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=745245188822082&set=a.277717382241534.76756.277496392263633&type=1&relevant_count=1

[RobEss]

Here are two panoramas I hastily stitched earlier - they were both taken from Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Great hi-res versions posted below.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/12525229695_57ecf00347_k.jpg
Click through here for a super-duper hi-res version - http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/12525229695_4366bc3046_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/12525356813_1bd2066a97_k.jpg
Click through here for another super-duper hi-res verion - http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/12525356813_c95853ab03_o.jpg

[JSsocal]

^^Hey we got a Pratt guy

[Fluffybagel]

Does anyone know if there's any substantial reason regarding why the beacon hasn't been rotating for the past week or so?