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

[NYguy]

when does the core and steel come above street level?

Early next year.

[JACKinBeantown]

Freedom Tower will sit over the tracks when it is built

Will it make use of those existing beams/pilings? They seem much thinner than the taller, new ones on the south wall.

[charger1966]

Looks to me that they are dismantling the first large crane.

Does anyone have any new pictures from down in the site?

Lance

[winst69]

From what i've read, there was a lot of work going on in the path tunnels to allow for new pilings.

[drew11]

Looks to me that they are dismantling the first large crane.

Does anyone have any new pictures from down in the site?

Lance

it looks like they are getting ready for another one, you decide
http://www.earthcam.net/archives/193899b3cbe1c816351ebbd4098ca14d/2007/04/19/1000.jpg

[zerokarma]

Good updates

[banned]

The mobile crane is being dismantled according to that picture.

[NYguy]

They should have put one massive crane in the middle of West Street to handle both the Freedom and Goldman Sachs towers...;)

[Daquan13]

The mobile crane is being dismantled according to that picture.



Yes, I think the tower crane will now take over the responsibilities of the mobile crane as well as erect the FT. The other tower cranes will be invited to the party once they are erected.

Now I remember! The tower's columns for the base work WILL poke through that portion of the PATH tunnel which helps to support the building.

[DUBAI2015]

I'm gonna miss that red crane.

[H-man]

you can really see GS pickin up some steam

[Daquan13]

Dubai, don't give up hope just yet.

We might see it again when the other towers join the party!

H-man, yes - like a runaway freight train! But from what I heard, that's just the base. The actual tower itself has not started to rise yet.

In my estimation, this tower should be at least 2/3 the way up by the time the Freedom Tower's base frame is erected.

[LSyd]

i was there on sunday. i'll have some pics up this weekend. seeing the tower crane poking up was cool.

-

[DUBAI2015]

Dubai, don't give up hope just yet.

We might see it again when the other towers join the party!



When are they supposed to start? Summer '07?

[Daquan13]

I believe around the 1st quarter. The new bathtub that's being put in on that side should be done by then. The red crane may return by then.

But like the Freedom Tower, we probably won't see steel rising for any of them until the following year.

[CoolCzech]

USA Today

Office space demand up at Ground Zero site

By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — A hot office market is casting a glow over the controversial Freedom Tower.
Rents are up and vacancies down in the financial district surrounding the World Trade Center site, improving the market prospects for the four office towers now being built at Ground Zero, including the 1,776-foot, $2.9 billion Freedom Tower.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the Freedom Tower, says it has talked to investors who want to buy into the building.

"A building that only a year ago people were describing as everything from a high risk to a white elephant is now being viewed as a valuable property," says Anthony Shorris, Port Authority executive director. No deals have been struck, he says.

Office rents in lower Manhattan returned to pre-9/11 levels for the first time during the first quarter of 2007, according to a report from real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield. The vacancy rate for prime office space in the neighborhood fell to 6.3% for the first three months of the year from 12.5% in the first quarter of 2006.

As lower Manhattan struggled to recover from the 9/11 attacks, government agencies promised to lease almost half the space in the Freedom Tower in order to make it financially feasible to build.

The strong real estate market now puts the 10 million square feet of office space being built at Ground Zero "in a very positive light," says John Cefaly, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield. There's "tremendous demand" for office space.

Demolition on the former Deutsche Bank building, the black-shrouded building across the street from the Trade Center site, finally began this month after years of delay. The investment and commercial bank J.P. Morgan Chase may build a tower on the site. When the office market was weaker, the site had been considered for an apartment building.

The cultural building planned for Ground Zero, which originally was to be occupied by four different groups, continues to shrink. Current plans call for the building to house one theater company. Like the World Trade Center memorial, it must be redesigned to cost less, city officials said this week.

The cultural building has been altered so much that planners should scrap it and start over, says Tom Healey of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, a non-profit arts group. He'd prefer an outdoor amphitheater on the site.

[NYguy]

you can really see GS pickin up some steam

That's usually the case with most New York skyscrapers. There's excavation, or demolition, then seemingly months and months of nothing. Then there's a crane, a little more waiting. And finally, things start rising. But when they rise, they rise fast.

[Daquan13]

Yeah, NYguy. I like the part; "Then seemingly months and months of nothing." Haha!!:haha:

As if they seem to be making up for lost time.

In all, 5, count 'em, FIVE NEW TOWERS will eventually be poking up from the ground all at once with the GS Tower included!

Wow!! What a sight that's gonna be! Awesome!!! A skyscraper observer's delight!!:worship:

[M.K.]

Oh... finally a crane. Maybe more 6 years to rise a floor.. :rolleyes:

[Daquan13]

Oh... finally a crane. Maybe more 6 years to rise a floor.. :rolleyes:


To the contrary.

Once more steel is delivered to Ground Zero for the base of the tower, we'll start to see the thing takoff and roar into the sky like a 777!

Usually, the steel frame for a skyscraper is built 2 or 3 tiers (floors) at a time, so we could see this tower sprout up in record time. Remember 7 WTC? Seemed like the steel for that building was all erected in a year!

Even though the FT is about twice the height of 7 WTC, usually steel work rises at an accellerating speed. It happened with NYT, Hearst, and now with the BOFA Tower.

[NYguy]

Oh... finally a crane. Maybe more 6 years to rise a floor.. :rolleyes:


Gee, almost a week since the last such idiotic post. You people are losing your touch...:rolleyes:

[NYC2ATX]

To the contrary.

Once more steel is delivered to Ground Zero for the base of the tower, we'll start to see the thing takoff and roar into the sky like a 777!


Ah yes, and when will that be?

I'm seeing a more-steel-is-being-delivered-to-ground-zero ceremony around ummmm August maybe. ooh! or perhaps for the 6th anniversary in September. oh gee, maybe they'll paint murals on these beams. :haha:

[Realthang]

I'm seeing a more-steel-is-being-delivered-to-ground-zero ceremony around ummmm August maybe. ooh! or perhaps for the 6th anniversary in September. oh gee, maybe they'll paint murals on these beams. :haha:

Oh don't be so negative. You can see that the foundation for the core is virtually complete and that they are preparing the foundations for the next round of columns. The crane will be busy soon.

Also I believe they are now laying down the foundation for the new road that will be passing by the tower.

[Daquan13]

Yeah, Come on Staten, why do you keep making statements like that.

Pataki's not in office now, so there shouldn't be any more blundering for Ground Zero. You gotta realise that this project took more than a ton of delays and setbacks only because of Pataki's foolishness.

And I'm serious, once the base starts rising, the main part shouldn't be too far behind. Have some patience.

[NYguy]

I'm seeing a more-steel-is-being-delivered-to-ground-zero ceremony around ummmm August maybe. ooh! or perhaps for the 6th anniversary in September. oh gee, maybe they'll paint murals on these beams. :haha:

Keep'em comin. You folks are hilarious...:jester:

[NYguy]

APRIL 21, 2007

1.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566378/medium.jpg

2.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566427/large.jpg

3.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566460/large.jpg

4.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566505/large.jpg

5.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566639/large.jpg

6.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566713/large.jpg

7.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566770/large.jpg

8.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566806/large.jpg

9.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566814/large.jpg

10.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566820/large.jpg

11.
http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77566822/large.jpg

^ There was a similar silhouette view at the top of 2 WTC...

[ATLksuGUY]

Nyguy great pics/great building, pic number 11 is almost an inspirational shot about the growth of this tower. There will probably some PBS documentary about freedom tower in like 20 years that pic could be in it.:cheers:

[Daquan13]

Yeah, great pics, NYguy!!!

Not only that. You are the first one to take pics of that crane up close!

And today was a warm and gorgious picture-perfect day to take those beautiful pics of Ground Zero!!

[pattali]

Thank you NYguy for this nice picture , sorry for my poor English
Happy to know that freedom tower and reconstruction of ground zero become a reality.

One more thing , We can see Barclay Building is finished (on the left picture 8 to 10), I saw it next November , Barclay building's crane is removed.

[Daquan13]

Looks like the 2 bottom pics were taken from inside Winter Garden.

[NYguy]

Nyguy great pics/great building, pic number 11 is almost an inspirational shot about the growth of this tower. There will probably some PBS documentary about freedom tower in like 20 years that pic could be in it.:cheers:

Thanks. We'll have our own documentary of sorts...

[NYguy]

One more thing , We can see Barclay Building is finished (on the left picture 8 to 10), I saw it next November , Barclay building's crane is removed.

It's not quite finished. If you check the Barclay tower thread, you'll see a little more on that.

[NYguy]

Looks like the 2 bottom pics were taken from inside Winter Garden.

Correct. It will be an awesome view when the tower(s) start rising above ground...:tup:

BTW, here's the sound of the WTC on a lazy saturday afternoon...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2Dl3T-aagc

[NYguy]

http://www.amny.com/news/local/groundzero/ny-bc-ny--attacks-redevelop0426apr26,0,6573322.story?coll=am-topheadlines

A year after ground zero stalemate, steel rising at WTC site

By AMY WESTFELDT
April 26, 2007T

NEW YORK -- Cranes were idle. A cornerstone for the skyscraper to replace the World Trade Center sat in the dirt, packed in plywood. A nasty, headline-trading battle with charges of greed and inefficiency swirled around the rebuilding of ground zero.

But a year ago Thursday, an agreement was hammered out that ended a months-long stalemate about how to divide power and money to rebuild. And since then, the hole in the middle of downtown has finally turned into a construction site.

"The gratifying thing, of course, is the visual. And the visual now is really there," said David Childs, architect of the Freedom Tower, the tallest of five skyscrapers being built to replace the twin towers. "The believability factor now is real."

The visuals at the trade center site _ where rebuilding of most projects starts 70 feet below ground _ include several steel columns for Childs' Freedom Tower now peeking above street level. More than 4,000 cubic yards of concrete has been poured to make up the 1,776-foot tower's foundation. Over 200 workers are on the site, building a transit hub, the 9/11 memorial and digging up land where three more office towers will be built.

A year ago, a handful of workers populated the site, while the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey battled with trade center developer Larry Silverstein over the lease he signed weeks before the towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Silverstein had the right to build five office towers to replace the destroyed complex. The Port Authority, which owned the buildings, and state and city politicians said he couldn't afford to build them all quickly enough. Silverstein was called greedy for haggling over details of the lease; state officials were labeled hapless bureaucrats most responsible for delays.

The new deal divided billions of dollars in insurance proceeds and bonds to rebuild, as well as responsibility for the five towers. The Port Authority took over building and leasing the Freedom Tower and another skyscraper and said it would excavate land for Silverstein to build three other towers on the site.

A day later, heavy equipment rolled in to work on the Freedom Tower, which had several false starts. A cornerstone was first laid in 2004, then encased in plywood and taken off the site after the tower was moved and redesigned.

"A year ago, that thing was nothing but a political statement, a symbol of government frustration and inaction," said Port Authority executive director Anthony Shorris, pointing at the Freedom Tower this week.

Today, "the politics are over. Now it's about business."

That's also true at Silverstein's offices over ground zero, where architects for his three towers work together on one floor, looking at a digital clock ticking off the days, minutes and seconds until the next planning deadline. More detailed drawings were completed this month; they include ideas like sleek fins on the outside of Norman Foster's tower to control the light, a black marble wall inside Fumihiko Maki's tower and a huge, airy lobby with a video installation inside Richard Rogers' tower.

Janno Lieber, who heads the trade center project for Silverstein, said his team will be ready to build by January, when the Port Authority must deliver buildable land at ground zero or pay penalties of $300,000 a day.

"The agreement struck a year ago has worked out very, very well. All of the stakeholders are still pulling in the same direction," Lieber said. "Before that, we'd been waiting for four-plus years."

The builders are still in the middle of litigation with several insurers who haven't said whether they would honor the new deal by paying Silverstein and the Port Authority their shares. Lieber said so far, the talks haven't kept them from meeting schedules.

The complete rebuilding of ground zero is still years away; the Freedom Tower is scheduled to open in 2011, the memorial and a transit hub two years earlier, and the other office buildings are to be finished by 2013. A fifth tower and a performing arts center are not yet designed.

At the site, workers are performing "the most elegant dance in construction" to get out of each other's way and coordinate many projects in a small space, said Shorris. A search for human remains at the site has diverted construction traffic at times; a staircase that is the last above-ground remnant of the complex is surrounded by bulldozers and dirt piles while officials figure out what to do with it.

Those unforeseen problems will always be unique to the site of the nation's worst terrorist attack, and can't be helped, said Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia.

"I completely recognize that in our construction process ... you're going to have to take a second seat to issues that arise. We're sensitive to that," he said. "It's both unrealistic and inappropriate to ignore even for one day what happened at that site."

[ATLksuGUY]

For some reason i dont really like it when people call it a replacement for the original wtc. But overall a good article about the progress. Still if you want something done correctly, and on time, you have to do it yourself. Tommorow i fly to NY and begin building the Freedom tower myself, Carlos/ NYguy i expect you to be there too. plz bring a hammer, i cant fly with one.

By the way NYguy you are about to pass 10,000 posts... umm... do you have a job too? wow!

[Daquan13]

That's right, it's been a whole year now since construction on the Freedom Tower began!

I think a lot of progress has been made since then.

[CarlosV]

...Tommorow i fly to NY and begin building the Freedom tower myself, Carlos/ NYguy i expect you to be there too. plz bring a hammer...


I'M THRERE...LET'S DO IT MAN :tup:

[RockMont]

It's about bloody time!

[Crunked Up]

This is off subject, but I wish they hadn't built that one ugly tower so close to the Woolworth bldg.

[NYguy]

Tommorow i fly to NY and begin building the Freedom tower myself, Carlos/ NYguy i expect you to be there too. plz bring a hammer, i cant fly with one.

If I join in, we'll have to push the damn thing to 2,000 ft, at least.


By the way NYguy you are about to pass 10,000 posts... umm... do you have a job too? wow!

I actually passed that mark once before. There's just a lot going on now that I try to keep up with. These are good times to be posting in a skyscraper forum...:banana:

[NYguy]

architects for his three towers work together on one floor, looking at a digital clock ticking off the days, minutes and seconds until the next planning deadline. More detailed drawings were completed this month; they include ideas like sleek fins on the outside of Norman Foster's tower to control the light, a black marble wall inside Fumihiko Maki's tower and a huge, airy lobby with a video installation inside Richard Rogers' tower.

Janno Lieber, who heads the trade center project for Silverstein, said his team will be ready to build by January, when the Port Authority must deliver buildable land at ground zero or pay penalties of $300,000 a day.

Next mission for all involved: get ahold of those new renderings...:yes:

[ATLksuGUY]

If I join in, we'll have to push the damn thing to 2,000 ft, at least.

Thats what i was thinking too, however im short on steel beams and concrete, i propose we take the crown and cladding off of the outside of the NY times tower to get us started, its still "under construction", they might not even notice. As far as concrete, isnt the Drake being demolished? I hope you have a truck.

[NYguy]

As far as concrete, isnt the Drake being demolished? I hope you have a truck.

While we're at it, lets just build the Chicago Spire here, save the folks in Chicago the trouble....:cool:

[ATLksuGUY]

While we're at it, lets just build the Chicago Spire here, save the folks in Chicago the trouble....:cool:

OHH, but I think th spire would look way better down here in ATL. You lucky Yanks only get one supertall at a time.

[DUBAI2015]

Look at what's happening to the area to the left of the steel beams (in Black).

I also see that it looks like they are getting ready to attach the second crane (in Red).

http://www.esnips.com/imageable/large/de3cbfec-9fc7-4ae3-85de-07c27e9b6c13

[hi123]

Towers 2 3 and four start next january!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS GREAT! I can't wait:tup:

[NYguy]

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/203443

Firm supports Freedom in N.Y.

By Tom Knapp, Staff
Intelligencer Journal
Apr 27, 2007

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - A local company is working behind — or, in this case, below — the scenes to change the New York City skyline.

Greiner Industries has been hired to fabricate steel column bases for Tower 1, also known as Freedom Tower, of the new World Trade Center in Manhattan.

"This is work that nobody will see," Rick Bockey, manager of quality control for Greiner, said Thursday.

"But it all goes up from here. This supports it all."

Greiner is subcontracting for Tishman Construction Corp. of New York, which is the general contractor for the massive project, Bockey said.

"It's a high-profile job. Everybody's looking at it in regards to what it's replacing," he said.

"The work itself is nothing new to us, but where it's going has some significance."

The first World Trade Center was destroyed Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew a pair of airliners into the Twin Towers, causing both to fall. The four smaller buildings in the WTC plaza sustained heavy damage and were demolished shortly thereafter.

An estimated 2,749 people died in the terrorist attack. Cleanup of the site took nearly nine months.

The original Tower 1 rose to a height of 1,727 feet, including the antenna and spire. Freedom Tower will be a little taller, peaking at 1,776 feet.

Its construction, which began in 2006, is in the northwest corner of the 16-acre site. The new World Trade Center is expected to open for business in 2012.

Bockey said Greiner Industries is fabricating six sublevel base columns for Freedom Tower. He described them as "heavy weldments" that will provide structural support for ground-level columns.

"They are the main base for the entire structure ... and the heaviest columns that you're probably ever going to see," he said.

Each beam is 30 feet long and weighs about 28 tons, Bockey said. The beams range in thickness from 3 to 5 inches, with studs and 10-inch-thick base plates welded along their full length to reinforce them.

"We're contracted to do six of these pieces at this point. We may get more at a later date," Bockey said.

"There's going to be a lot of this going on. This work is going to entail numerous fabricators. ... It's a multiyear project, obviously."

Bockey said he isn't sure how many beams of this type will be used to support Freedom Tower, but said other subcontractors in Virginia and Ohio are making similar pieces for the project.

"I don't have the erection plan for the structure," he said. "We work off fabrication drawings ... that don't show us the whole arrangement of the structure."

The beams will likely be imbedded entirely in concrete, he said.

"And then they build up from there. It's the foundation of the tower."

Fabrication of the beams began earlier this month and should be completed by late May or early June, Bockey said. Dennis Warner is the project manager for the job.

The first two pieces are already completed, Bockey said.

"There's potentially a lot more of this coming this way," he said.

"We specialize in this type of work — heavy columns for skyscrapers. It requires special certification."

Greiner, he said, is certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction for fabricating supports for steel structures and bridges.

http://images.lancasteronline.com/local/203443ijczbeam3a27_ful.jpg

Quality control manager Rick Bockey shows one of the finished foundation beams, which has already been loaded for delivery to the World Trade Center work site.


http://images.lancasteronline.com/local/203443ijczbeam2a27_ful.jpg

Greiner Industries employees Tony Miller, left, and Will Gibson weld pieces of steel together to form foundation pieces for Freedom Tower, the tallest of the new World Trade Center structures being built in New York City.

[theWatusi]

:previous:

So they are making more collums like the ones that are already there? :shrug:

[Daquan13]

I think so. The flatbead looks like it can only carry one beam at a time.

It's nice to hear about that. Great story and pics, NYguy!! Keep it up. You're doing a good job!

[CoolCzech]

"The original Tower 1 rose to a height of 1,727 feet, including the antenna and spire. Freedom Tower will be a little taller, peaking at 1,776 feet."

Kind of a controversial statement: I'm unaware that anyone ever claimed that Tower 1 had a "spire." It was just an antenna; the FT's spire is clearly a part of the tower's structure.

[NYguy]

"The original Tower 1 rose to a height of 1,727 feet, including the antenna and spire. Freedom Tower will be a little taller, peaking at 1,776 feet."

Kind of a controversial statement: I'm unaware that anyone ever claimed that Tower 1 had a "spire." It was just an antenna; the FT's spire is clearly a part of the tower's structure.

They're just quoting numbers, not any kind of official declaration. Just goes to show you how similar the towers are in height.

[Daquan13]

Yeah, but it seems like the media screwed up again as usual. Not you guys' fault.

Like CoolCzech said, there was no spire and the antenna DIDN'T count as part of the structure's height.

Also, to my recollection, Tower One was about 1,368 feet and Tower Two was slightly shorter.

[mcdonnell77]

Does anyone think that it should still be taller?

[skyscraper]

Also, to my recollection, Tower One was about 1,368 feet and Tower Two was slightly shorter.

tower 2 was 1,362 feet tall.

[mcdonnell77]

It will have 108 floors in total.

[Dac150]

It will have 108 floors in total.

Thats including the sub levels right.

[mcdonnell77]

Thats including the sub levels right.

No there are 6 mechanical floors above the observation deck.

[Daquan13]

I thought that the obs deck was on top. Where will the restaurant be?

[mcdonnell77]

The restauraunt will be on the 100th and 101st floor, then there is an indoor observation deck on the 102nd floor. The next 6 floors up to the roof are going to be for mechanical purposes and they still havn't decided if there will be an outdoor observation deck on the roof (but my guess is they're will be).

[Scruffy]

The restauraunt will be on the 100th and 101st floor, then there is an indoor observation deck on the 102nd floor. The next 6 floors up to the roof are going to be for mechanical purposes and they still havn't decided if there will be an outdoor observation deck on the roof (but my guess is they're will be).

Where are you hearing that from, because I'm hearing no, absolutely not. no chance at all of there being an outdoor observation deck. Because that is where all the transmission equipment will be, along with the ring to hide them all. with the original twins, with two towers, tower 1 had all that necessary stuff, while tower 2 had the outdoor deck. With one tower, one thing had to go, and the outdoor deck went.

[CitySkyline]

Where are you hearing that from, because I'm hearing no, absolutely not. no chance at all of there being an outdoor observation deck. Because that is where all the transmission equipment will be, along with the ring to hide them all. with the original twins, with two towers, tower 1 had all that necessary stuff, while tower 2 had the outdoor deck. With one tower, one thing had to go, and the outdoor deck went.

I agree: everything I've heard has been that, officially, there will be no outdoor deck (for the reasons you just listed). If somehow that changes, I'd be thrilled, but I've already accepted that it ain't gonna happen.

[Patrick]

Why dose the tower have so many Mechanical Floors?

I mean the tower has 108 Floors.

2 is for Lobby/Skylobby
18 of them are for the Base.
15 of them are Mechanical Floors, 15!?

The rest is for Offices and Public Space.

Why 15?

Oh and will the Freedom Tower have an observation DECK on the top?

[Scruffy]

observation. on the top. not outdoors on the 101-102 floors

[STERNyc]

Why dose the tower have so many Mechanical Floors?

I mean the tower has 108 Floors.

2 is for Lobby/Skylobby
18 of them are for the Base.
15 of them are Mechanical Floors, 15!?

The rest is for Offices and Public Space.

Why 15?

Oh and will the Freedom Tower have an observation DECK on the top?

Because David Child's was clever, he was directed by Silverstein to only include around 70 floors for office space, all the arguably wasted space gives us a building with the same roof height as the original WTC.

[NYguy]

Because David Child's was clever, he was directed by Silverstein to only include around 70 floors for office space, all the arguably wasted space gives us a building with the same roof height as the original WTC.

Pretty much the number of floors "suggested" by the site plan. It was gonna give us a roof height of around 1,150 ft. Then the tower had to be redesigned, the "bunker" added to the base gave the tower a little life. Childs always wanted to mark the height of the twins (with an elevator that paused at the originals' heights on the way up to an observation deck), so he was able to do it literally with the added height.

[NYguy]

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1177730737120090.xml&coll=7

Freedom Tower a coup for company
Design - Architects say Benson Industries is in a class by itself on creating high-rise exteriors

Saturday, April 28, 2007J
ONATHAN BRINCKMAN and RANDY GRAGG

The announcement Friday by Benson Industries -- of a $160.65 million contract to build and install the windows of New York City's Freedom Tower -- comes after a long and convoluted journey for the company.

The deal was worth the wait. The job, on what will become one of the world's most prominent buildings, will be a showcase for a company already known in development circles for its skilled glass work.

Benson submitted its first proposal for the job in August 2004, just shy of three years after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Then, after a cornerstone was laid in 2004, the proposed tower was relocated.

The first tower design looked great, soaring with a dramatic twist. But it didn't include enough square feet to make it affordable.

At 1,776 feet, the redesigned Freedom Tower, including an antenna, will be the tallest building in North America. Its 103 floors are fewer than the 110 in Chicago's Sears Tower. But that building is 1,450 feet tall, 1,725 to the top of its tallest antenna.

Then came a new financial problem: New York developer Larry Silverstein had the right to build five office towers at the destroyed World Trade Center complex. But Silverstein couldn't afford to build all the replacement buildings quickly enough to satisfy The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land.

The authority and Silverstein struck a deal about a year ago that made the public agency the developer. Benson submitted a revised bid last fall, and the authority's commissioners granted the contract on Wednesday.

"It's been thorough and extensive process," Lou Niles, Benson's president and majority owner, said Friday.

Benson, which has done the exteriors for high-rise buildings around the globe, is ready for this job, said Robert Thompson of TVA Architects, who has worked with the company on projects in Portland.

"Benson operates in their own world. They are unparalleled by any other glazing contractor. From the standpoint of innovation -- look, the feel, the ideas -- they understand how to put a system together," he said.

"They bring such solid research to every project," said John Meadows of Boora Architects who worked with Benson in the Pearl District. "Portland is incredibly fortunate to have their knowledge base here.

"The upside of the Freedom Tower contract is that it (Benson) will be even more amazing. The downside is that not every project can afford them."

Benson's job will be to install about a million square feet of exterior glass that is specially designed to minimize the impact of a terrorist attack, said John Beaulieu, the company's estimating manager.

"The building is designed to withstand any type of attack so we don't have a repeat of what happened," Beaulieu said.

[NYguy]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/04/23/daily54.html

Benson Industries wins Freedom Tower contract

Portland Business Journal
Friday, April 27, 2007

A Portland-based manufacturer will play a major role in the redevelopment of New York's Ground Zero.

Benson Industries Inc. has been awarded a $160.65 million contract by the site's owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to manufacture and install the facade for the new 100-plus story Freedom Tower, which will stand a very patriotic 1,776 feet when complete.

Formed in 1926, employee-owned Benson Industries has specialized in curtainwalls for major high rise buildings since 1980. A curtainwall is the exterior skin of a building and is typically constructed of glass and steel, but does not bear the weight of the building.

Benson clients include Gerding/Edlen Development Co. LLC, which has used Benson-built wall systems on many of its projects. The New York Times Tower is another example of its work.

John Beaulieu, estimating manager for Benson Industries LLC, said the Freedom Tower will have more than a million square feet of surface area. The wall systems will be assembled in its Gresham plant from materials sourced globally.

Benson expects to start installing the curtainwall in the third quarter of 2009, with construction of the tower taking two to two and a half years.

Freedom Tower is to be the centerpiece of the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.

[mcdonnell77]

Where are you hearing that from, because I'm hearing no, absolutely not. no chance at all of there being an outdoor observation deck. Because that is where all the transmission equipment will be, along with the ring to hide them all. with the original twins, with two towers, tower 1 had all that necessary stuff, while tower 2 had the outdoor deck. With one tower, one thing had to go, and the outdoor deck went.

I was talking to someone at the site yesterday and this is what i heard.

[nygirl1]

Well in my office at rbsd they've been sayng no possibility for outdoor decks. It makes no sense mcdonnel. I think you were very much so, misinformed.

[Daquan13]

Why dose the tower have so many Mechanical Floors?

I mean the tower has 108 Floors.

2 is for Lobby/Skylobby
18 of them are for the Base.
15 of them are Mechanical Floors, 15!?

The rest is for Offices and Public Space.

Why 15?

Oh and will the Freedom Tower have an observation DECK on the top?



I thought there wern't going to be any floor space in the concrete base.

And the original plan, I thought, was for about 82 floors. Have more been added to make 102?

Yes Patrick, that DOES seem like an awful lot of wasted floor space to have that many mechanical floors.

I think the 2nd obs deck was scrubbed. And I wonder if the tower is going to be set up like the Twins. That is, I wonder if there will be 3 sky lobbies again.

There will only be 3 public floors that I know of. One is the looby on the street level. The other two are for the restaurant and obs deck. Maybe several down below street level for part of the mall.

Oh yeah, and now that I think of it, possibly some stores in the concrete base.

[NYguy]

When the last redesign came out, the tower was listed as having 102 floors. That didn't mean it would literally have 102 floors. It's similar to the ESB and 7 WTC.

[mcdonnell77]

Well in my office at rbsd they've been sayng no possibility for outdoor decks. It makes no sense mcdonnel. I think you were very much so, misinformed.

Why not? The roof on the freedom tower will not be much different from the roof on the twin towers.

[Daquan13]

Because of the setup for the spire.

The arrangement doesn't leave any substantial space there that would be feasible enough for an outdoor obs deck.

But I'm happy that we're at least getting an indoor one.

[BayRidgeFever]

When the last redesign came out, the tower was listed as having 102 floors. That didn't mean it would literally have 102 floors. It's similar to the ESB and 7 WTC.

But the ESB does literally have 102 floors, so I'm not sure what you're getting at.

[Kent76]

I am confused!!
On wikipedia site of the Freedom Tower I have read that it will have 108 stories, but that the last 6 are unoccupated and don't count and so the stories are 102. Then I have read that the real stories are only 82, because some mechnical floors ( 1-19 and 91-100 floors ) are counted as 3.
What does mean it? I think that if 1 mechnical floor is high 3 meter or 9 meter it is still 1 floor !!!!
On the site is written that there is a proposed OUTDOOR OBSERVATORY on the top of the building.
Can somebody explain me what will be the REAL NUMBER FLOORS of the Freedom Tower ( example 69 office floors, 2 restaurants floors, 2 Tv equipments floors, 2 lobby floors, 1 indoor deck floor and ?????? real mechnical floors )

[Dougall5505]

its cool to know that portland had something to do in building this landmark tower
Portland firm wins Freedom Tower bid
New York - Benson Industries' Gresham factory will build the glass skin for the landmark replacing the World Trade Center
Saturday, April 28, 2007
JONATHAN BRINCKMAN
Portland's Benson Industries will build and install the windows in New York City's Freedom Tower, a 103-floor building rising on the site of the World Trade Center buildings destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The bomb- and fire-resistant windows will be made in Benson's Gresham factory, adding an undetermined number of jobs. The $160.65 million contract with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- the biggest in Benson's 81-year history -- is worth more than half of Benson's 2006 revenue of $250 million.

But the project's importance extends beyond the bottom line for a company that installs glass exteriors on buildings throughout the world, said John Beaulieu, a Benson manager.

"Personally, I think this is the most important building in the world," Beaulieu said. "Our national pride is wrapped around this building in a lot of ways. When the nation sees this building completed, and lit up at night, it will mean a lot."

Freedom Tower a coup for company
Design - Architects say Benson Industries is in a class by itself on creating high-rise exteriors
Saturday, April 28, 2007
JONATHAN BRINCKMAN and RANDY GRAGG
The announcement Friday by Benson Industries -- of a $160.65 million contract to build and install the windows of New York City's Freedom Tower -- comes after a long and convoluted journey for the company.

The deal was worth the wait. The job, on what will become one of the world's most prominent buildings, will be a showcase for a company already known in development circles for its skilled glass work.

Benson submitted its first proposal for the job in August 2004, just shy of three years after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Then, after a cornerstone was laid in 2004, the proposed tower was relocated.

The first tower design looked great, soaring with a dramatic twist. But it didn't include enough square feet to make it affordable.

At 1,776 feet, the redesigned Freedom Tower, including an antenna, will be the tallest building in North America. Its 103 floors are fewer than the 110 in Chicago's Sears Tower. But that building is 1,450 feet tall, 1,725 to the top of its tallest antenna.

Then came a new financial problem: New York developer Larry Silverstein had the right to build five office towers at the destroyed World Trade Center complex. But Silverstein couldn't afford to build all the replacement buildings quickly enough to satisfy The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land.

The authority and Silverstein struck a deal about a year ago that made the public agency the developer. Benson submitted a revised bid last fall, and the authority's commissioners granted the contract on Wednesday.

"It's been thorough and extensive process," Lou Niles, Benson's president and majority owner, said Friday.

Benson, which has done the exteriors for high-rise buildings around the globe, is ready for this job, said Robert Thompson of TVA Architects, who has worked with the company on projects in Portland.

"Benson operates in their own world. They are unparalleled by any other glazing contractor. From the standpoint of innovation -- look, the feel, the ideas -- they understand how to put a system together," he said.

"They bring such solid research to every project," said John Meadows of Boora Architects who worked with Benson in the Pearl District. "Portland is incredibly fortunate to have their knowledge base here.

"The upside of the Freedom Tower contract is that it (Benson) will be even more amazing. The downside is that not every project can afford them."

Benson's job will be to install about a million square feet of exterior glass that is specially designed to minimize the impact of a terrorist attack, said John Beaulieu, the company's estimating manager.

"The building is designed to withstand any type of attack so we don't have a repeat of what happened," Beaulieu said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jonathan Brinckman: 503-221-8190; jbrinckman@news.oregonian.com

[Daquan13]

I think NYguy already posted this story.

[oldpainless]

Somebody may have already answered this earlier so forgive me if this is redundant, but is the Freedom Tower going to have a slight pyramidal shape to it, or is it going to be completely vertical from top to bottom? I've seen renders for both designs -- one with slightly sloped sides, and one with vertical sides. Thanks in advance.

[Daquan13]

Pyramidical shape - much like the formerly proposed NYSE Tower.

[oldpainless]

Pyramidical shape - much like the formerly proposed NYSE Tower.
Cool. The pyramidical shape just looks cool IMO :cheers:

[Dac150]

^yeah something different. Unique in its own way.

[DUBAI2015]

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66458468/original.jpg

Yep, it's Pyramid-ified

[Scruffy]

Why not? The roof on the freedom tower will not be much different from the roof on the twin towers.

Like i said earliar because of all the broadcasting equipment. I have a pic somewhere I took from the outdoor obs of Tower 2 looking at the rooftop of tower 3 and you can see all the mechanicals those broadcasting equipments need. Its not a good place to stick an outdoor deck. That goes pretty much for all supertalls with an antenna. sears, hancock and so on. Empire's outdoor deck isn't at the top and its on a setback. thats different. Luckily for the old twins, they had a second tower that had nothing on its rood, and the outdoor ob deck was born. to reiterate, not the case here. How unprofeshional would it look if you are on an outdoor deck and hovering directly above you is a giant NBC sattelite. not too cool

[SD_Phil]

^^

Doesn't 2 WTC look under-scaled here?

[CoolCzech]

The size of 2WTC in that rendering supposedly reflects the fact that its a considerable distance behind the FT. However, considering that the uppermost tip of 2 WTc should be only something like 12 feet or so lower than the roofline of the FT, I have to believe that it is seriously underscaled in this picture.

[Daquan13]

All four of the towers are kind of reminiscent of towers once planned, under construction or already built.

[ramvid01]

I've pointed this out in another forum, but is that not formwork thats gone up around the steel beams on the far end of the site?

[NYguy]

But the ESB does literally have 102 floors, so I'm not sure what you're getting at.

It doesn't really.

[NYguy]

Somebody may have already answered this earlier so forgive me if this is redundant, but is the Freedom Tower going to have a slight pyramidal shape to it, or is it going to be completely vertical from top to bottom? I've seen renders for both designs -- one with slightly sloped sides, and one with vertical sides. Thanks in advance.

It will be both, depending on the angle you view it...

http://lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/freedom_tower_6.jpghttp://lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/freedom_tower_10.jpg
lowermanhattan.info

[Daquan13]

The first pic make it look straight up, while the 2nd pic make it appear to taper at an angle going up.

[NYguy]

Details from the last unveiling...

(NY Times)

Architects unveil new design for Freedom Tower

By David W. Dunlap and Glenn Collins
June 28, 2006

Eager to avoid creating a fortress that overshadows the World Trade Center memorial, the architects of the Freedom Tower unveiled a new approach today. They would clad its 187-foot-high, bomb-resistant concrete base in a screen of glass prisms rather than metal panels.

This and other notable refinements were described by the building's lead architect, David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Even after the revisions, the building would still evoke the twin towers in its height and proportions. Its rooftop parapet would be 1,368 feet above the street, as was that of 1 World Trade Center, the north tower.

It turns out that in another important respect, the Freedom Tower would echo the twin towers: it would have a sky lobby. Tenants headed to the upper floors of the 102-story building would take express elevators to the 64th floor and then transfer to local elevators.

The basic form of the building has not changed. It is an obelisk on which the corners are both tapered and chamfered, or cut away diagonally. The tip of its spire would still mark the symbolic pinnacle of 1,776 feet. It would be illuminated at night in an echo, however abstract, of the Statue of Liberty's torch.

The biggest changes have been made to the base; in essence, a security pedestal that is meant to lift the glass-clad office tower out of harm's way in the event of a bombing.

Though it looks fairly small in an overall view of the building, the base would dominate almost any view north from the World Trade Center memorial, across Fulton Street. From a pedestrian's perspective, it would be the face of the Freedom Tower.

The only occupied space within the base would be the lobby, with 50-foot ceilings. The rest of this lower structure would be used for mechanical equipment.

Mr. Childs now proposes to cover the base in panels of laminated glass with a saw-tooth face made of prisms in a vertical array. "You know this from high-school physics class," Mr. Childs said. "The sun hits the prism and breaks into color."

Behind the glass would be concrete for the first 60 feet, then an open space known as a plenum, through which air is drawn to cool the equipment inside. At this point, there would be one- or two-foot spaces between the glass panels, backed by a protective aluminum screen.

Mr. Childs said that the base, made of high-density concrete (he would not specify the thickness of the walls, for security reasons), "does the job that the New York City police want it to do, in every respect."

Another noticeable change to the base is that its corners would be chamfered and tapered like the tower above. But the corners on the base would taper outward as they rise, creating four triangular spaces at ground level where small reflecting pools would go.

The main office entrance would be on Vesey Street. Visitors to the observation deck would enter from a triangular plaza off West Street and go down to the concourse level, where they would be screened. From there, they can make their ascent. Restaurant patrons would enter from a small plaza on the east side of the building.

The office tower, 1,182 feet in height, would be clad in 13-foot-high glass panels that cover not only the window openings but the horizontal spaces between them, called spandrels. That is meant to create a seamless, transparent expanse.

This long shaft has eight faces: elongated, interlocking isosceles triangles. The floor plan begins as a 200-by-200-foot square. As the corners taper, the plan turns into an octagon and then reverts to a square again, but one that is only 145-by-145 feet.

Because the base would be so tall, the first office floor atop the base is counted as Floor 20. There would be 69 office floors, ending at Floor 88. Above that would be broadcasting space on the 89th and 90th floors, followed by three mechanical floors so high they are counted as nine stories.

In the upper reaches, a restaurant would occupy the 100th and 101st floors. The enclosed observation deck, which would almost undoubtedly include a gift shop, would be at 102. Above that would be three floors of mechanical equipment.

The last 408 feet of the tower's height would be a structure, clad in fiberglass composite panels, with a gentle convex curve in the middle. Designed in collaboration with the sculptor Kenneth Snelson, it would hide a bristling forest of antennas.

More equipment would be hidden within a halo-like circular structure, 145 feet in diameter, close to the base of the spire. The entire ensemble will be illuminated, Mr. Childs said, with light-emitting diodes and floodlights.

[NYguy]

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/62776423/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/64463214/large.jpg


OLD BASE

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/34056536/large.jpg

[-GR2NY-]

^ ^ BRILLIANT!!

As many complaints as I have about the thing, I'm also pretty happy about it. These mixed emotions I think are pretty common on SSP.

**EDIT**

I'm curious as to how these 4 reflecting pools will play out.

[Daquan13]

Four reflecting pools? I thought there were going to be only two in the Twin Tower footprints.

Unless your counting the top and bottom.

[-GR2NY-]

^ ^

Another noticeable change to the base is that its corners would be chamfered and tapered like the tower above. But the corners on the base would taper outward as they rise, creating four triangular spaces at ground level where small reflecting pools would go.

?

[NYguy]

I've seen it in at least one of the renderings...

[matteovia]

I've seen it in at least one of the renderings...

New renderings??:D

[NYguy]

Look closely here...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/78009053/original.jpg


Harder to see here...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/78009066/original.jpg

[Daquan13]

Ok, around the tower. Got it.

I STILL say that they should put a large wall in the lobby that would feature a gentle water flow going down on it. That would look so cool!!

[CoolCzech]

Pity the original base couldn't have been kept. Oh well, a sign of the times, I suppose...