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

[[SP]Neo]

Five office towers, a Sept. 11 memorial, a transit hub and a performing center are planned at the 16-acre site.


5 towers??????

[CoolCzech]

Neo;3614157']5 towers??????

Yeah, including the plan for a new tower where the Deutsche Bank building ruin currently stands. Technically, it won't really be inside the "16 acres" of Ground Zero.

[America 117]

isent there 7 differnt towers?

[photoLith]

Theres still a tower that needs to be torn down? what?

[NYC4Life]

Theres still a tower that needs to be torn down? what?


Besides Deutsche Bank building, BMCC's Fitterman Hall is also scheduled for demolition.

[NYguy]

From beginnings, to endings, to beginnings again...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134688/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134715/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134712/original.jpg


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/WTC3.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98595257/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98595247/large.jpg


It's the long climb back up...:tup:

[2-TOWERS]

So Much More Steel Used In The Original Towers, It Seems There Is Alot Less Steel For The New Tower, But All The Concrete And Rebar I Guess Make Up For It. Who Knows If The Twins Had Used Reg. Steel Beams Instead Of The Light Weight Trusses To Hold The Floor Plates Up, And The Core Was Protected With Concrete Instead Of Drywall. I Would Guess The Twins :( Would Still Be Standing .:(

[America 117]

:( i wish they would have done that with the twins too:(

[NYC4Life]

There sure was a whole lot of ugly looking peers in Lower Manhattan pre Battery Park City.

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134715/original.jpg

[NYguy]

There sure was a whole lot of ugly looking peers in Lower Manhattan pre Battery Park City.

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134715/original.jpg

Although some of the site is on landfill, you can see how close it was to the river even then...

[philvia]

yea those older pictures are pretty crazy to me! the river so close! lol

[NYC4Life]

Yea amazing to think the slurry wall at the time was able to hold back the Hudson.

[CGII]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/WTC3.jpg

I'm still struck by how hauntingly beautiful the skeletal remains of the WTC were. I still kind of wish they could've been somehow preserved and incoporated into the memorials, but I suppose in the rush to safely search and excavate the site they needed to come down, and what's more, I suppose the image of the jaunted skeleton of the tower is too traumatising for the space...

[NYguy]

I still kind of wish they could've been somehow preserved and incoporated into the memorials, but I suppose in the rush to safely search and excavate the site they needed to come down, and what's more, I suppose the image of the jaunted skeleton of the tower is too traumatising for the space...

If I recall correctly, part of it was to be reassembled inside the memorial itself.

[Dac150]

That would be pretty powerful if you're able to walk through those gothic arches. I hope that comes to be the case because I never had that pleasure.

[larry141094]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/WTC3.jpg

I'm still struck by how hauntingly beautiful the skeletal remains of the WTC were. I still kind of wish they could've been somehow preserved and incoporated into the memorials, but I suppose in the rush to safely search and excavate the site they needed to come down, and what's more, I suppose the image of the jaunted skeleton of the tower is too traumatising for the space...

umm... yeah sure take the steel out to reasearch it and so on, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO MELT IT ALL DOWN!! melting that steel was a crime, they needed to keep it all and fund ALOT more than what they did, Fact: 150,000 dollars was spent on the 9/11 investigation! vs 27 million for the JFK assasination and 58 million for the Bill Clinton affair! :koko: :hell:

[jjk1103]

........Hi Guys ! ....I don't follow NYC too closely, when is this one due for completion ?

[Kamatzu]

If I recall correctly, part of it was to be reassembled inside the memorial itself.

Like the plan Donald Trump supported?

http://www.triroc.com/wtc/pix/twin.9.2.jpeg
(You can see the old lobbies at the footprints of the old towers)

I thought they were going to put one or two tridents in the memorial, is this what you're talking about? Even though it would be infinitely sweeter if they somehow maintained alot more than just two.

EDIT: (Also, I just noticed that, in the picture of the skeleton that NYGuy posted, you can see an American flag at the top. Thought it was interesting.)

[America 117]

:previous:
they should of built that.
i like the freedom tower and all but i would still rather have the twins.

[photoLith]

If they did that, there would be no way in hell anyone would ever work in them and talk about people having panic attacks seeing those towers again, they would freak out as it would bring back all the memories of lost ones every single freakin day.

[NYC4Life]

Alot of the victims' families and survivors would never want them rebuilt.

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06172008/business/price_of_freedom_115909.htm

PRICE OF FREEDOM
PA'S SHOPPING GROUND ZERO PROJECT TOWER

By STEVE CUOZZO
June 17, 2008


The Freedom Tower is up for grabs.

Although Port Authority of New York and New Jersey insiders deny wanting to sell it outright, the agency has approached major developers about taking the slow-moving Ground Zero project partially or completely off its hands, sources told The Post.

PA Chairman Anthony Coscia and Executive Director Chris Ward have recently had talks with Related Cos., the Stephen Ross-led giant that created the Time Warner Center and has been chosen to develop the West Side rail yards.

Earlier this year, sources said, the PA, advised by Deutsche Bank, made a similar pitch to Brookfield Properties, the publicly traded company that owns the World Financial Center. Reps for Related and Brookfield did not return calls.

With Brookfield, a source said, "The PA was a bit vague as to how it would work, but they basically wanted to privatize the Freedom Tower. But Brookfield didn't regard the project as economically viable."

PA officials declined comment. But insiders said the agency wants a developer to form a "partnership" that would reduce its risk while bringing in a company "fully knowledgeable in their core business of real estate development."

Because the PA owns the land, a transfer would likely take the form of a long-term lease.

It was understood that any developer jumping in would not start from scratch, but complete the $3 billion tower as it's currently designed.

However, the PA does not need a developer merely to finish building the skyscraper - the agency prides itself on its construction expertise. Nor does it need one just to handle leasing, a chore now assigned to Cushman & Wakefield.

The PA has in the past acknowledged the possibility of taking on a financial partner such as Fortress or Blackstone in the delayed tower - but not a development company to take a majority or minority stake.

Now, sources say, both options are on the table - "whichever will alleviate pressure on them."

The PA has proclaimed its commitment to build the Freedom Tower ever since it assumed control of the project from Larry Silverstein 18 months ago.

Steel is slowly rising - more than can be said of anything else at Ground Zero - but it's clearly a fiscal and political burden for the PA. "Office development and leasing is not their strong suit," a source said.

"They have their hands full with the rest of Ground Zero, and they want to clear the decks if they take over Moynihan Station" - as Sen. Chuck Schumer has proposed.

The Freedom Tower was supposed to be an "iconic" skyline reclamation reaching 1,776 feet. But it's since been reduced to 1,368 feet - the height of the original Twin Towers - topped by a broadcast antenna that might never be built.

Last week, Gov. David Paterson asked Ward to audit Ground Zero projects to determine how much they will cost and when they can be completed.

[2-TOWERS]

Like the plan Donald Trump supported?

http://www.triroc.com/wtc/pix/twin.9.2.jpeg
(You can see the old lobbies at the footprints of the old towers)

I thought they were going to put one or two tridents in the memorial, is this what you're talking about? Even though it would be infinitely sweeter if they somehow maintained alot more than just two.

EDIT: (Also, I just noticed that, in the picture of the skeleton that NYGuy posted, you can see an American flag at the top. Thought it was interesting.)
take away the smaller buildings and have these modern twins along with the new # 7 and perhaps a smaller #7 say 20 floors and you have a great complex;)

[Kamatzu]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06172008/business/price_of_freedom_115909.htm

The Freedom Tower was supposed to be an "iconic" skyline reclamation reaching 1,776 feet. But it's since been reduced to 1,368 feet - the height of the original Twin Towers - topped by a broadcast antenna that might never be built.

Whoa, what? That part confused me a little. Are they debating about whether or not install the antenna?! I thought that kind of seemed indispensable at this point.

[RockMont]

1,776 is the height it will be, if the antenna is included.

[Kamatzu]

1,776 is the height it will be, if the antenna is included.
Yes, but that article is implying that the antenna may not be built. Am I reading this right?

[Lecom]

I doubt they'll remove the antena, at least because the city desperately needs a new communications tower.

[Dac150]

I would be highly shocked if that is the route they choose. For the reasoning Lecom stated alone is enough justification to include the antenna.

[Kamatzu]

I would be highly shocked if that is the route they choose. For the reasoning Lecom stated alone is enough justification to include the antenna.
That's what went through my mind as well. At least there's always something interesting going on regarding the WTC! :haha:

[Dac150]

At least there's always something interesting going on regarding the WTC! :haha:

Yes, the fun never ends and the tension always remains.:yes:

[Lecom]

My only fear about the tower is that they'll keep the size and height (I doubt they'll get rid of their coveted 1776 height figure), but to save money would make the design craptacular and uninteresting.

[Dac150]

My only fear about the tower is that they'll keep the size and height (I doubt they'll get rid of their coveted 1776 height figure), but to save money would make the design craptacular and uninteresting.

So you're suggesting that they'll once again redesign the entire tower. That I wouldn't count on. Perhaps finances will effect the materials used, but the design itself, I would think not.

I would think though they'd cut other costs before touching any of the four towers. The PATH Station, the concourse, the mall, the memorial. If I'm correct both the PATH Station and the concourse have already taken cut backs. That's not to say there won't be more but if the PA and Larry intend to fill these four tower then they'll have to make a quality building that'll fill the needs of the tenants.

[Lecom]

So you're suggesting that they'll once again redesign the entire tower. That I wouldn't count on. Perhaps finances will effect the materials used, but the design itself, I would think not.



I was talking only about the transmission tower.

[NYC4Life]

The height with the antenna is symbollic, so it would be foolish and very hypocritical not to include the spire in the final height.

[MikeS]

I love it when the "flutters" break out here. Take a deep breath guys.

[NYguy]

Whoa, what? That part confused me a little. Are they debating about whether or not install the antenna?! I thought that kind of seemed indispensable at this point.

Don't be confused by that. The spire is the only thing taking the building to 1,776 ft. The antenna will be inside the spire. There's no debate about the antenna, which is do or die at this point for the broadcasters. However, there hasn't been a final deal reached about rents, etc. because there has been a disagreement among the broadcasters themselves. What would be nice is if they could push it back up to 2,000 ft like they originally wanted, but its highly unlikely that would happen.

[gramsjdg]

NYguy:
Is there any chance then that the actual building can be modestly increased in height? Say, to 1450 or 1500 ft? As overbuilt as the tower seems, I would think it could easily handle another 80-120 ft.:banana:

[NYC4Life]

That's what I thought also. As symbollic as the final height will be (1,776) it is all due to the spire. This is 1 building that could have always used a roof height increase. It's height is virtually the same as from the original 1WTC, something I always objected. With all the delays that took place, it is only fair to make this building taller, without cheating with an oversized spire that's already big enough.

[jjk1103]

1,776 is the height it will be, if the antenna is included.

......antennas are not considered part of the height of the building ?! ...because they are not considered to be a permanent part of the building.....which is why the Sears Tower is always quoted at 1,450 ft (roof) ....not 1,725 ft (including antennas)

[jjk1103]

.oh, I see ........the antenna is inside the spire !!!

[NYC4Life]

As NYguy mentioned, the antenna at Freedom Tower will be part of the spire itself, so even if antennas are not built, it's height will still remain 1,776 feet. Spires are considered the highest architectural part of a building, while antennas are ony counted as pinnacle height (highest overall height).

[10101000]

Nice to see!

[America 117]

i never get why antennas dont count.
its the same thing as a spire.

[theWatusi]

i never get why antennas dont count.
its the same thing as a spire.

Antennas can be removed from a building while spires are a permanent fixture.

[CoolCzech]

Whoa, what? That part confused me a little. Are they debating about whether or not install the antenna?! I thought that kind of seemed indispensable at this point.


The NY Post was for the rebuilding of the original Twins from Day One. An honorable position, to be sure, though I think what is coming will be equally impressive and of higher architectural caliber. However, this particular statement is misleading: the antennas might not be installed inside the spire, but the spire will be built as surely as the spire of the NY Times and BofA towers were built. You can bank on it.

[Kamatzu]

^Thanks Czech!


Also, I saw this today this on wtc.com. Quite a read, but I found it interesting:

Normalizing Ground Zero?
What’s now under construction is looking like a fairly typical twenty-first-century business district.
By Karrie Jacobs
Posted June 18, 2008

Tourists still flock to the World Trade Center site, almost seven years after the attacks of September 11. What they find when they get there is not a scene of destruction but a busy construction site. While I’m grateful to see Ground Zero filling up with fresh concrete and steel, there’s something about the utter normalcy of the scene that makes me long for that heady period in 2003 and 2004 when the planning process for the site, a grand public pageant bursting with visionary zeal, promised to generate a place brave and powerful enough to heal the city’s wounds. But as the concrete hardens, I can almost see the banality setting in.

The only person speaking with any frequency these days about his “vision” for the site is its developer, Larry Silverstein. Lately, he’s been giving what amounts to a stump speech, promoting the vitality of Lower Manhattan and touting his revised schedule. “The buildings will reach street level approximately one year after the start of construction, and Towers 3 and 4 will top out in mid-2010, with Tower 2 following in 2011,” Sil­verstein told the Downtown Association in April. “Can you count on this schedule? You bet.”

So Silverstein, once thought to be the site’s weak link, is now its master builder. His deal with retail developer Westfield, which for a time was off, is back on so the towers’ lower floors will be lined with 500,000 square feet of shopping and dining. The latest renderings released by Silverstein Properties show four gleaming skyscrapers (including the Freedom Tower, now being developed by the Port Authority) flanking the eight-acre memorial. The most obvious thing suggested by the images is that none of the architects—Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, and Fumihiko Maki—has turned in their most inspired efforts. All of them appear to have been reined in by the limitations of Daniel Libeskind’s oddly conventional master plan; even Foster deferred to Libeskind’s crystalline aesthetic. Back in 2003, Libeskind thrilled us with his rhetorical wizardry, but the portion of his vision that has survived looks utterly unremarkable.

“It turns out that Silverstein is the one who’s implementing Daniel’s plan,” observes Alex Gar­vin, who for 15 crucial months in 2002 and 2003 was the planning czar of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), shepherding Lib­es­kind’s plan to victory. The Silverstein towers stair-step up in height from the southeast to the northwest corner of the site. “One of the things that nobody paid attention to,” Garvin says, “was this spiral that went around up to the top of the Freedom Tower. That’s still there.”

Across a newly remapped Greenwich Street, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, once scheduled for completion in 2009, is now projected to open in September 2011, presumably on the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Mayor Michael Bloomberg stepped up as the memorial board’s chairman in October 2006 to spearhead flagging fund-raising efforts, personally donating $15 million. As of April, the $350 million fund-raising goal had been reached for a project that is currently estimated to cost $530 million (the rest of the budget comes from the LMDC). The memorial still bears a resemblance to architect Michael Arad’s competition-winning design in that it has two water-filled voids in the shape and approximate locations of the Twin Towers’ footprints. But what was once a brooding, minimalist shrine has become a more cheerful, tourist-friendly place. There are some 350 trees, courtesy of landscape designer Peter Walker. The victims’ names, which in Arad’s scheme were to be underground in a sort of tomb, will be inscribed in the sunlight on the parapets of the fountains, something surviving family members advocated. The underground space will be largely occupied by a “state-of-the-art Memorial Museum.” The slurry wall, the concrete retaining structure that was anointed by Libeskind as a symbol and was perhaps the most powerful component of his overall plan, will also be hidden away beneath Walker’s Memorial Plaza.

What the renderings show is a fairly normal twenty-first-century urban place, with many of the original plan’s most unorthodox buildings conspicuous by their absence. The so-called Freedom Center, a cultural facility beautifully drafted by the Norwegian firm Snøhetta, was booted off the site in 2005 when it was determined that its designated clients might exhibit art that would somehow be offensive to 9/11 victims’ families. Snøhetta is now designing a simpler building, an entry pavilion to the memorial, presumably content-free and inoffensive.

Meanwhile, the performing-arts center designed by Frank Gehry, which was supposed to house the Joyce Theater dance company, shows up as an empty green square on the Silverstein rendering. There is as yet no design and no timetable. It has $50 million in LMDC funding, which is not nearly enough to move it forward.

In the rendering, the Santiago Calatrava–designed PATH Station—a hub for commuter trains to New Jersey (and back in 2002, in the moment when all things were possible, home to the still elusive one-seat ride to the airports)—is largely obscured by Towers 2 and 3. That positioning, though accurate, may also be convenient. The station has lately been in the rebidding phase. It was originally budgeted at $2.2 billion, and the Port Authority is now struggling to bring it in for under $3 billion. While Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman says there will be “no significant changes to the renderings the public is accustomed to seeing,” there will likely be less stone and more concrete, less daylight and more fluor­escence. Calatrava’s dove taking wing might wind up being more of a value-­engineered turkey.

But the development I find maddening is the shaky status of Nicholas Grimshaw’s Fulton Street subway station. Back in the days of the public-­spirited process, the announcement that most thrilled me was that the architect responsible for London’s sinuous Waterloo station had designed a circular glass crown for Lower Manhattan’s pivotal subway stop. Actual architecture for subway riders! But public architecture doesn’t come cheap. “Earlier this year the bids came back for major contracting above and below ground,” MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin recently told me. “The budget is $400 million; the bids were $800 million.” As a result, the Grimshaw scheme is in limbo. In April the LMDC embarked on a 30-day study of the feasibility of shifting the Gehry performing-arts center to the corner of Fulton and Broadway as a substitute for Grimshaw’s Fulton Transit Center. How this would benefit subway riders, I don’t know, but it would fill the MTA’s vacant lot.

I’ve recently spent a lot of time trying to find someone in a position of authority who’s dedicated to making sure the remaining visionary bits of the WTC plan—the things that might distinguish it from a simple set of office buildings grouped around a park—still get built, but I can’t say that such a person exists. The LMDC’s current spokesman, for instance, couldn’t even tell me whether Libeskind’s office was still working with the ­agency. The mayor’s office says that the deputy mayor for economic development is trying his best to get the state-run MTA to build as promised, and that, not coincidentally, the Fulton Transit Center is one of the initiatives the mayor’s recently killed ­congestion-pricing scheme could have financed (never mind that the design predates congestion pricing by a good four years).

What I sense at Ground Zero is a power vacuum. It used to be that there were too many big egos down there. Now there appear to be too few. Regardless, Silverstein continues to do what developers do: he builds. If 7 WTC, completed in 2006, is any indication, he can build well. The memorial likewise will find its way to completion, and the Port Authority will surely figure out how to value-engineer Calatrava’s station into existence. But what I can’t see at the moment is how the World Trade Center that someday emerges will be as extraordinary as it ought to be. Maybe it was foolish of me to have ever believed otherwise, but it’s now quite clear that while the hole will soon be filled in, the wounds will remain.

[America 117]

Antennas can be removed from a building while spires are a permanent fixture.

oh
dident know that. but its still kinda the same to me.

[androo3]

Antennas can be removed from a building while spires are a permanent fixture.

Why can't Spires be removed? They are useless ways of getting extra height. They have no structural support for the rest of the building and the building would still stand if you grinded off the welds. So are you saying that the only difference is that the antenna is bolted on and spires are Permanent because for example they are welded. Sorry for ranting just think spires are stupid and are really no different than a big antenna.

[NYguy]

Why can't Spires be removed? They are useless ways of getting extra height. Sorry for ranting just think spires are stupid and are really no different than a big antenna.

Spires are design elements of the buildings they top. Hardly useless.

[NYguy]

Another look at the last version of the Freedom Tower spire...

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01032008/photos/freedom_tower_new.jpg

NY Post

[NYguy]

Posted earlier...
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080423/FREE/284661775/1068

TV coalition head leads digital push
Metropolitan Television Alliance President Saul Shapiro will lead efforts to build a new antenna system on top of the Freedom Tower, and make certain local stations have the technology in place for the nationwide switch to digital from analog television on Feb. 19, 2009.

April 24. 2008
Amanda Fung

Ten stations now transmit their signals from the Empire State; one transmits from 4 Times Square. Mr. Shapiro will use his 16 years of technology and media experience to lead the MTVA’s efforts to design and build a new antenna system at the top of the Freedom Tower, which will be the tallest structure in the city.

Mr. Shapiro’s role at EDC—helping tech and media companies expand in New York—prepared him well for the challenges at MTVA, he says. The group’s plans have been dealt setbacks by delays at the Freedom Tower, initially scheduled to be completed next year but now pushed back to 2012.

“The EDC broadened my perspective on the real estate industry and business practices in the city,” Mr. Shapiro said. Working closely with MTVA’s real estate broker, accountant and law firm, he will negotiate with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owner of the Freedom Tower, on the lease and design of the new antennae system.

____________________________

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01032008/business/faltering_tower_456087.htm

FALTERING TOWER
SLOW GO ON ANTENNA, RENTS

http://www.nypost.com/img/cols/stevecuozzo.jpg
January 3, 2008

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01032008/photos/freedom_tower_new.jpg


The good news is that the PA, which owns the $2.9 billion Freedom Tower, and architects Skidmore Owings & Merrill agree on what the antenna will look like. The shaft will constitute the project's top 408 feet.

That design, shown up-close on this page, looks a lot like the one first unveiled in the summer of 2005, when architect David Childs had to redesign the building because of security concerns.

It was suggested at the time that the final antenna design would be more "sculptural" than the original image, and later sketches and models sported various curlicued motifs.

But Childs says those ideas, which exposed the actual antenna to the air, were impractical. "A broadcast antenna is a very technical piece of equipment - it's like designing a hospital operating room," Childs said.

The more open designs would cause "rain to turn to ice, which would break and fall," and also make the antenna impossible to maintain at such a height.

So it was back to the original notion, which called for a top-to-bottom hood enclosing the actual broadcast spire.

The current design, done in consultation with sculptor Ken Snelson, shrouds the antenna in a synthetic material called Ray-dome - "very hard and permanent, but invisible to the broadcast rays that pierce through it," Childs said.

[CoolCzech]

What exactly is "faltering" about the tower? Construction is in full swing, no one doubts it will be finished, even if it does take until 2012. It will top out before that. The NY Post has had it out for any plan that didn't simply recreate the original Twins from the get-go.

[America 117]

Another look at the last version of the Freedom Tower spire...

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01032008/photos/freedom_tower_new.jpg

NY Post

ive heard that alot of people think the spire is ugly it looks nice to me
and you wont even tell what it looks like from far awey.
but this pix shows all the details.

[NYguy]

ive heard that alot of people think the spire is ugly it looks nice to me
and you wont even tell what it looks like from far awey.
but this pix shows all the details.

Also note that the "ring" is becoming more a part of the tower.

[NYguy]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/chamfer-anyone-cutting-corners-on-a-large-scale/

Chamfer, Anyone? Cutting Corners on a Large Scale

By David W. Dunlap
June 19, 2008

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/19/nyregion/tower-190.jpg

A model of 1 World Trade Center shows the 186-foot-high cutaway, or chamfered, corners at the base of the tower. The first of these distinctive corners is now taking structural form.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/19/nyregion/crane2-190.jpg

Yes, that enormous column at the center of the photograph is bent. No, it is not a structural accident. Instead, it shows the cutaway corners at the base of 1 World Trade Center beginning to take shape.


Where’s the guy with the plumb line?

After five years of designing and engineering, could they actually be building crooked columns at 1 World Trade Center?

As it happens, they are. But this is all according to plan. In fact, the two converging columns at the southeast corner of the building represent a milestone at the trade center site, as the skyscraping centerpiece — also known, but less and less, as the Freedom Tower — begins to assume its distinctive form.

“I was just thrilled to see these pieces coming out of the ground,” said David M. Childs, consulting partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the architects of the tower for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

In simplest terms, 1 World Trade Center is a glass-walled tower sitting atop a glass-clad concrete base. Where base and tower meet, the floor plan is a 200-foot square. At the top of the tower, it is a 142-foot square, rotated 45 degrees.

Reflecting this ever-diminishing floor plan, the corners of the tower taper gradually as they rise, at an angle of 3.8 degrees. This cutaway appearance is called a chamfer, and it is intended as a subtle homage to the chamfered corners of the original twin towers.

Strictly speaking, the base of the building did not need to be chamfered. But Mr. Childs said that as a purely rectangular form, it “looked a little clunky.” So the architects designed a mirror image of the tower’s taper, also at a 3.8-degree incline. As a result, the top of the base will hang over the bottom by 16 feet at the corners.

Most of the base is to be clad in prismatic glass panels, with protective screens behind them, in front of solid concrete walls. At the corners, the facade panels will be made of flat-surfaced glass, Mr. Childs said, so that it will appear as if the prismatic glass fields have had a clean slice taken out of them.

The first step toward this ethereal-sounding composition has now been taken. In brute steel.

[androo3]

Spires are design elements of the buildings they top. Hardly useless.

I think part of the reason spires bug me so much is because a building with 1776ft with spire will always be ranked higher then a building with a 1500ft roof and no spire. When the higher roof always has more impact on a skyline. I must say I like the disc at the base of the spire. I see what you are saying about the design thing but it really doesn't take much thought to design and stick a post on top of a building.

[NYguy]

A closer look at that ever changing spire...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98943545/large.jpg__http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98943545/original.jpg

[Kamatzu]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/chamfer-anyone-cutting-corners-on-a-large-scale/

...The skyscraping centerpiece — also known, but less and less, as the Freedom Tower.
I liked reading this! Haha. For whatever reason, I'm really hoping the name "1 World Trade Center" is the name that will be associated with this building. Either way, it's great seeing the progress being made! Every day is a step closer to completion.

[NYguy]

I liked reading this! Haha. For whatever reason, I'm really hoping the name "1 World Trade Center" is the name that will be associated with this building. Either way, it's great seeing the progress being made! Every day is a step closer to completion.

Well, we've gone over this a thousand times. It is 1 World Trade Center. Freedom Tower is just a name, but all of the towers are part of the World Trade Center. Like the Freedom Tower, those other towers will be known by other names.

[Kamatzu]

Well, we've gone over this a thousand times. It is 1 World Trade Center. Freedom Tower is just a name, but all of the towers are part of the World Trade Center. Like the Freedom Tower, those other towers will be known by other names.
Sorry to bring back up a topic that probably should have died on page 1. However selfish it might sound, I'm just kind of glad that it's tagname is going the way of "Freedom Fries". :haha:

I'll try to refrain from beating any more dead horses.

[NYC4Life]

"Freedom Fries". :haha:



The worst patriotic phrase ever :jester:

[JACKinBeantown]

The worst patriotic phrase ever :jester:

In all honesty, it was more political than patriotic. :2cents:

But anyway, back to the French Tower...

[CoolCzech]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/19/nyregion/tower-190.jpg

The first step toward this ethereal-sounding composition has now been taken. In brute steel.

So we've gone from "bunker" to "ethereal," all with the raising of a few steel beams...

[Lecom]

In all honesty, it was more political than patriotic. :2cents:


Sadly, for the past decade the two were a little too often used side by side. "You don't like my politics so you are unpatriotic!"

[aluminum]

Freedom Tower from the base of new Goldman Sach Tower, using Google Earth. Cool, huh ?
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/7595/ftfromgroundni0.jpg

If this is 417m structure, imagine how 610m Chicago spire will look like...:cool:

[photoLith]

Thats incredible and I love google earth! Thanks for letting us see that!

[NYguy]

Freedom Tower from the base of new Goldman Sach Tower, using Google Earth. Cool, huh ?
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/7595/ftfromgroundni0.jpg

If this is 417m structure, imagine how 610m Chicago spire will look like...:cool:


What I want is the view from the base of the Freedom Tower.

[aluminum]

What I want is the view from the base of the Freedom Tower.

There you go, sir :
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5851/ftfrombasede2.jpg

From the base you can't see the spire, so it looks like a normal 417m building.

Another one, along with 7WTC:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9923/ftfrombase2ec5.jpg

FT from the roof of 7WTC.
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/736/ftfromwtc7vg4.jpg

[jjk1103]

Another look at the last version of the Freedom Tower spire...

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01032008/photos/freedom_tower_new.jpg

NY Post

..:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: ....that REALLY looks like a dressed up tv antenna !!!

[America 117]

wow
those pics of looking up at the FT look amayzing.
the FT is going to be soo iconic.
but i would still do anything to look up and see the twin towers.

[aluminum]

but i would still do anything to look up and see the twin towers.

Me too. I want the twins so bad...

[NYguy]

^ Let's not start that Twin Tower crap, or your posts will be deleted...

There you go:
From the base you can't see the spire, so it looks like a normal 417m building.

Another one, along with 7WTC:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9923/ftfrombase2ec5.jpg


This is closer to the view I'm looking forward to, but more from the center.

[Kamatzu]

Where did you find that for Google Earth, aluminum? Is it some update or something? Nice stuff.

[aluminum]

Where did you find that for Google Earth, aluminum? Is it some update or something? Nice stuff.

Thanks. And yes, its an update.

[NYC4Life]

From the Google Earth image of the base, that is one hell of a vanishing point. The tower itself just disappears into the sky.

[CoolCzech]

..:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: ....that REALLY looks like a dressed up tv antenna !!!

Oh, really?

Can you post a pic of a single antenna from anywhere in the world that is 400 feet high and has a similar shape? :rolleyes:

My only regret about the design is that it minimizes the stay cables, instead of using them to make the base of the spire look more substantial. But as far as the mass of the antenna is concerned, there is no confusing it with a mere antenna, like the NY Time tower's or 4 Times Square's (which actually IS an antenna, actually).

Fact is, this is the closest to a true, classic concept of a spire (as opposed to a mere pole) built in NYC in a long, long time.

[America 117]

From the Google Earth image of the base, that is one hell of a vanishing point. The tower itself just disappears into the sky.

i know some of the pixs made it look like it never ends.

[pattali]

Note that South Core is growing, I think that today is 1 more floor, maybe south core is emerging . I think that south core have rising above street level !

PS : A lot of work at the Old PATH entrance , a structure on the roof is moving !

[Puzzlecraft]

Yep, the South Core framework jumped a whole floor! Looks like the whole thing was raised at once, like what was being done at Burj Dubai. One of these days, weeks, months (sigh) they'll jump the crane to a new level!

Looks like the old PATH entrance is going to be history soon...... yay!

[Puzzlecraft]

By the way, the previous South Core jump took place 47 days earlier. Will be interesting to see how much acceleration there is going forward.

[Kamatzu]

Looks like the old PATH entrance is going to be history soon...... yay!
Out of curiosity, are you talking about the PATH entrance that still has the original doors/steps from the original WTC? I thought those were going to remain permanently.

[MercurySky]

Does anyone know about where the construction of this building will be by early September of this year. I am planning another visit to NYC. Thanx

[37TimPPG]

Note that South Core is growing, I think that today is 1 more floor, maybe south core is emerging . I think that south core have rising above street level !


I noticed the same thing. Could it possibly be the core is FINALLY above street level!?

WOOHOO!:notacrook:

[Puzzlecraft]

Kamatzu, I'm not that familar with the site. I'm referring to the building bottom center. I attempted to create a little gif animation showing the Freedom Tower core jump (upper right) and the movement of the big things on the roof of the former PATH building I think is to be taken down soon. The pictures are dated June 17 and June 23, 2008 from earthcam website.

http://www.custompuzzlecraft.com/temp/Freedom_Tower_Jump_20080623.gif

[philvia]

goldman sachs facade also rose a floor :p

[[SP]Neo]

yeah..nice animation! altough it's only with two shots

[NYguy]

http://www.csemag.com/article/CA6572646.html?desc=topstory

Air conditioning contract awarded for Freedom Tower
McQuay International has been awarded a contract valued at nearly $15 million to supply air conditioning equipment for the Freedom Tower building in New York City.

Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 6/24/2008

http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/2540/20080623205123/www.jckonline.com/articles/images/CSE/library/air_unit.jpg

McQuay International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daikin Industries Ltd., has been awarded a contract valued at nearly $15 million to supply air conditioning equipment for the Freedom Tower building (1 World Trade Center) in New York City.

Currently under construction on the site of the World Trade Center destroyed in the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001, the 105-story Freedom Tower will be 1,776 ft tall. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the Freedom Tower is the tallest of the buildings that will form the new World Trade Center complex.

The air conditioning system will consist of custom-designed air conditioning units to meet the specified requirements of the project, including HFC-410A refrigerant with no ozone depletion potential or phase-out date and low operating sound levels.

The high-efficiency, floor-located self-contained units are ideal for high-rise projects because they eliminate the need for large equipment rooms and chilled-water piping systems and can be operated individually floor-by-floor. The units will be manufactured at McQuay’s plant in Faribault, Minn.

Tishman Construction Corp., New York City, the construction manager, received approval to award the contract to McQuay. The Freedom Tower is being developed by One World Trade Center, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Jaros, Baum & Bolles, New York City, is the MEP engineering consultant on the project.

[philvia]

it's definitely above street level
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/philvia/wtc12.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/philvia/wtc1.jpg

[NYC4Life]

June 26, 2008

Core is above street level indeed and rising fast

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/GhettoRicanBx/WTCSiteFromWinterGarden.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/GhettoRicanBx/WTCSiteFromWinterGarden2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/GhettoRicanBx/WTCSiteFromWinterGarden4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/GhettoRicanBx/FreedomTowerCore.jpg?t=1214595921

[Lt. Washburn]

Thanks for the pictures guys!

[photoLith]

And so it begins! This will be the first major tower for me to see rise from the very beginning to the end on here and I cant wait to see it completed! I love this website!

[NYguy]

^ It's what we've been waiting for....:yes:

JUNE 27, 2008

The sleeping giant begins to stir...

1.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343413/original.jpg

2.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343446/large.jpg

3.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343475/large.jpg

5.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343476/large.jpg

6.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343494/large.jpg

7.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343497/large.jpg

8.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343503/large.jpg

9.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343505/large.jpg

10.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343506/large.jpg

11.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343512/large.jpg

12.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343556/large.jpg

13.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/99343559/large.jpg

[eMKay]

Crap, I was all exited to post a few pics from my business trip, but there are already a ton from the same day. Oh well, here they are anyway :) The core is definitely ABOVE street level, I am glad I was able to see it on one of my trips, I rarely have time to kill when there.

http://www.emkayusa.com/misc/ft03.jpg

http://www.emkayusa.com/misc/ft04.jpg

http://www.emkayusa.com/misc/ft05.jpg

[America 117]

Nice Pic's

[NYC4Life]

From: NY1

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=83192

Port Authority To Reveal WTC Redevelopment Problems

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/images/live/143/284910.JPG

June 28, 2008

Next week, Port Authority will reportedly explain the major problems that are facing the redevelopment at the World Trade Center site.

The New York Post reported today that on Monday Port Authority executive director Christopher Ward will outline more than 20 major problem areas facing the rebuilding plans, including big cost overruns and impractical construction schedules.

Sources tell the Post that Governor David Paterson will take about two months to review Ward's outline before suggesting major changes.

The paper says at least one project, a $2.2 billion transit center originally set to open last year, may not get built at all.

The Freedom Tower and September 11th Memorial are currently slated for completion in 2011, and the other proposed towers are expected to be done by 2012.

[photoLith]

What? Theyre going to scrap Calatravas subway station? Or is that something else?

[NYC4Life]

Another transit hub under construction, "Fulton Street Transit Center" is also facing financial problems, but it is not part of the WTC development, so the story must be a reference to the Calatrava Transit Hub, unfortunately :hell:

[br.reese]

How many days will it take to raise the elevatorr shafts to the next level?

[ZZ-II]

i wonder why they don't progress with the other core-half

[Lt. Washburn]

Is that pedestrian bridge in the distance permanent or temporary?