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

[M II A II R II K]

One World Trade Center construction webcam:
http://www.earthcam.com/clients/groundzero/groundZero.swf


http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/live-camera.html


Daily cam shots:

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-rising/ground-zero-pictures-04.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-rising/ground-zero-pictures.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-rising/ground-zero-pictures-02.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-rising/ground-zero-pictures-03.html


Archived cam shot
http://archives.earthcam.com/archives5/ecnetwork/us/ny/nyc/gzmpr/gzrobotic1.jpg

_____________________________-

Related figures:

* 1-6 – tower base (including 60ft tall lobby and 5 mechanical floors)
* 20-63 – offices
* 64 – sky lobby
* 65-88 – offices
* 89-90 - Broadcast
* 91-93 - mechanical
* 100-101 – Restaurant
* 102 Observation Deck
* 103-104 – mechanical floors
* 105 - Roof
* 106 - Cooling tower catwalks
* 107-109 Communications Rings

Note: there are no floors 7-19 or 94-99.

The top platform of the communications ring is going to be 1,401' 5" above the lobby floor.


_____________________________

Port Authority WTC construction schedule:
http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/milestones.html


_____________________________

Renderings:


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_1.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_3.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_2.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_4.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_5.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_6.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66466735/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/85401223/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/104641641/original.jpg


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


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


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/78077746/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/78077798/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/117239818/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/117239851/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/117239872/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/117239882/original.jpg

[Dac150]

Thanks for the pic's Mark, haven't seen those ones in a while. The Freedom Tower's glass really compliments the facade of the WFC. Its give the skyline from that angle a whole new perspective. Even though those are older renderings (just of the other towers, not FT).

[DUBAI2015]

You didn't include the pictures of the Freeddom Tower with the NWTC
Plus most of them are the old renderings.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/New_wtc.jpg

[NYguy]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/06/29/nyregion/tower_slide_1.jpg



Those are all old renderings, not pics of the current tower.

[NYguy]

Back to the construction:

Overheard some people at ground zero yesterday talking about how disgraceful
it was that nothing has been done. But at least now we have something that
we can actually point to and see it's there, even if just the early stages...

JANUARY 14, 2007

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101583/medium.jpg


Even as it just peeks at street level...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101590/medium.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101592/medium.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101583/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101586/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101590/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101592/large.jpg

[NYguy]

More renderings of Freedom:

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/62745560/original.jpg


http://www.tropolism.com/28cnd-freedom.7.650.jpg


http://www.tropolism.com/28cnd-freedom.6.650.jpg


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

[NYguy]

More Freedom:

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


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66458472/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66462361/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66753660/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66811562/original.jpg_http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66811565/original.jpg

[NYguy]

More Freedom:

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/72105228/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/72105229/original.jpg

[Dac150]

Thanks for the renderings NYguy, especially the one of the FT on street level. I never really knew what that looked liked. Construction should continue to move on a steady pace. Spitzer should have it all under control.

[Daquan13]

Probably the most striking pic to me, is the rendering of how the lobby will look!! The setup seems quite familiar with the one in 7 WTC.

[Wheelingman04]

Those towers are just gorgeous. They are definately fitting replacements for the old twins.

[STERNyc]

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66753660/original.jpg

Foster is proudly and happily pointing to his building as is Rogers. Pataki and Silverstein are both pointing to the Freedom Tower as each claim responsibility for that one. Libeskind still is on the outside forced to look in.

[TAFisher123]

Back to the construction:

Overheard some people at ground zero yesterday talking about how disgraceful
it was that nothing has been done.

It seems like its picked up, I checked the construction cam numerous times today during my boring work day and saw multiple cement trucks in every shot......hopefully a sign of things to come

[Rise To The Top]

I would really like to see this project move a little faster. It seems that they havent done anything since last year, exept make some minor design changes (not including the rest of the complex), and even considering the design changes in the rest of the complex, they should still be working on Freedom.

[Realthang]

I would really like to see this project move a little faster. It seems that they havent done anything since last year, exept make some minor design changes (not including the rest of the complex), and even considering the design changes in the rest of the complex, they should still be working on Freedom.

Nah, there's alot going on. They're working almost every day of the week now. Lots of concrete has been poured over the last week. The excavation of the tower is virtually complete. Steel is going up. They've started to pour concrete for the other bathtub's outside walls... the foundations for the memorial are ongoing. lots and lots happening!

Question 1: from the webcam it appears that there are columns for the east wall going up. Can anybody from NYC confirm?

Question 2: On the last 2 columns, they have attached something about midway up the columns. I can't make out what it is. Can anyone else?

[Ghost]

Question 1: from the webcam it appears that there are columns for the east wall going up. Can anybody from NYC confirm?

You mean this? I'd like to know also...
http://www.webbis.org/images/ft/pic07011515595900.jpg

And I have also question. What's the thing with that one thin column?

Edit: This one is much more clear:
http://www.renewnyc.com/WebCamImages/pic07011611595900.jpg

[NYguy]

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66753660/original.jpg

Foster is proudly and happily pointing to his building as is Rogers. Pataki and Silverstein are both pointing to the Freedom Tower as each claim responsibility for that one. Libeskind still is on the outside forced to look in.

LOL, Libeskind probably wants to bitch-slap Larry.

[RockMont]

I think we all should bitch slap Libeskind. He's the one that almost fucked this whole thing up in the first place.

[2-TOWERS]

i said the same thing,i can not figure out the thin column,it just seems out of place,it is also strange not seeing any i-beams

[Downtown Bolivar]

This was supposed to be a monument to New York's strength and determination, but instead it's turned into a monument to New York's government gridlock.

[RockMont]

As for government gridlock, there is absolutely no excuse. However because of the size of the project, it's going to take a while for it to start to take shape.

[Bergenser]

Do you know when this tower will start growing over ground lvl?

[Dalton]

As for government gridlock, there is absolutely no excuse. However because of the size of the project, it's going to take a while for it to start to take shape.

I'm glad there was gridlock. What if everyone had barged ahead with that original twisted Libeskind nightmare scenario? Time was needed for proper perspective. This is going to be a center of finance and commerce long after people have forgotten about 9/11. No offense meant here, but I still think the memorial is too elaborate and costly. Keep in mind that in 20 years almost no one who hadn't lost someone in the attacks will care about it in the least. It will just be two large fountains to them.

[Dougall5505]

^this is bolgna! i guarantee the freedom tower will be a tourist attraction forever. why would people forget about it in twenty years. people still visit pearl harbor don't they.

[Dalton]

^this is bolgna! i guarantee the freedom tower will be a tourist attraction forever. why would people forget about it in twenty years. people still visit pearl harbor don't they.


Please don't misunderstand. I didn't say the Freedom Tower and the other towers of the WTC won't always be a major tourist attraction. They will. I'm just not sure that the symbolism of the fountains and their association with the footprints of the Twin Towers will necessarily be appreciated deep into the future. Not to the tune of $1 billion+ dollars, anyway.

[BINARY SYSTEM]

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/66753660/original.jpg



Look at Maki,... he looks like he understands how pathetic his tower is compared to Foster/Rogers towers. Why the hell was a minimalist chosen for this projecct? I hope with the news about tower 5 going to JP Morgan Maki will revise his tower to better respect Rogers tower 3.

I'm very happy about tower 5 coming into the picture though. :dancing:

[RockMont]

I'm glad there was gridlock. What if everyone had barged ahead with that original twisted Libeskind nightmare scenario? Time was needed for proper perspective. This is going to be a center of finance and commerce long after people have forgotten about 9/11. No offense meant here, but I still think the memorial is too elaborate and costly. Keep in mind that in 20 years almost no one who hadn't lost someone in the attacks will care about it in the least. It will just be two large fountains to them.


You're right. However at the time, right after the mess was cleaned up, I thought the best scenario would have been just to rebuild the twin towers without hesitation. I would have rather, have had that, but since such is not the case, what we have now, that is starting to go up, as I've said before, and will say again, numerous times, it is alot better than that putrid farce, that was originally designed to go there.

[RockMont]

Please don't misunderstand. I didn't say the Freedom Tower and the other towers of the WTC won't always be a major tourist attraction. They will. I'm just not sure that the symbolism of the fountains and their association with the footprints of the Twin Towers will necessarily be appreciated deep into the future. Not to the tune of $1 billion+ dollars, anyway.



I believe they will be, just like the memorial is, in Oklahoma City.

[NYguy]

I believe they will be, just like the memorial is, in Oklahoma City.

Not only that, but even if they weren't for the memorial, say somewhere in Midtown like Bryant Park, they would become as much a part of New York as Lincoln Center, Rockefeller Plaza, or Central Park. The fact that these fountains will be surrounded by other icons just make it more so.

[NYguy]

Do you know when this tower will start growing over ground lvl?


It's not expected to rise much higher than this for a while...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101590/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/73101586/large.jpg

But I don't think you can see as much at the Goldman site...

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Hooray! Vertical steel! A sight for sore eyes.

[Independence]

I think we all should bitch slap Libeskind. He's the one that almost fucked this whole thing up in the first place.


Amen.

[NYguy]

^ Those bad days are all behind us now, nothing to stand in the way of the towers rising. In fact, towers 2, 3 and 4 would be rising already if not for the PA's delay in constructing the bath tub, which it's currently doing...

[Daquan13]

I heard that JP Morgan plans to move into Tower 5, and that it will also be a hotel as well. I thought Blooper wanted that as a residential tower.

Any truth to that, or is it just a rumor? Also, that a designer for the tower has been chosen.

[Scruffy]

all speculation. no concrete info at all has been released about t5. just conjecture on what everyone wants to be there. i dont think any real news will come out for that tower till 2008 minimum

[Dac150]

:previous: Read NYguy's article in the WTC5 thread. Thats what it's there for.

[dbee84]

Im sorry but I think it doesnt match the rest of the NYC skyline... 2 modern twin towers wouldve followed better in my opinion.

Just something interesting, look how similar this building under construction in madrid is: (although smaller at 850ft)

http://static.flickr.com/33/56343033_9d7cb6962a.jpg

[RockMont]

Im sorry but I think it doesnt match the rest of the NYC skyline... 2 modern twin towers wouldve followed better in my opinion.

Just something interesting, look how similar this building under construction in madrid is: (although smaller at 850ft)

http://static.flickr.com/33/56343033_9d7cb6962a.jpg



They can have it. The Freedom Tower is much better. Sad to say, that one in Madrid looks more like one of Liebeskind's contraptions.

[NYguy]

Im sorry but I think it doesnt match the rest of the NYC skyline... 2 modern twin towers wouldve followed better in my opinion.


That's ironic, because the Twin Towers never matched the rest of the New York skyline. This tower, with its spire, is a throwback to the Empire State and Chrysler days, when spires dominated New York's skyline.

[NYguy]

I heard that JP Morgan plans to move into Tower 5, and that it will also be a hotel as well. I thought Blooper wanted that as a residential tower.

Any truth to that, or is it just a rumor? Also, that a designer for the tower has been chosen.

Since the PA's last agreement with Silverstein, they have been talking of building an office tower on site 5. I don't know anything about an architect though...
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=123656

[Daquan13]

Thanks.

I saw your thread on Tower 5 after I wrote the post here.

[tuy]

I think that the placing of the first beams was a symbolic act that the tower is under construction. There is still a lot of foundation work to finish before they can place many more beams.

[Cypherus]

The tower is architecturally better than its first model, and it does match the rest of the city's skyline. However, it has to lose its "bomb shelter" base.

[CGII]

The tower is architecturally better than its first model, and it does match the rest of the city's skyline. However, it has to lose its "bomb shelter" base.

Lamentably it can't.

[Ghost]

Really, I don't get the point with that huge lobby. If someone blows a bomb infront of the building, there's many more worries than the hole tower coming down (smoke for example) and I don't think that base is gonna help with those. Plus I think it's ugly, but hey, that's just my opinion.

[BINARY SYSTEM]

Freedom Tower has MAJOR ISSUES all over the board, mainly due to political cronyism. The Freedom Bunker is its unofficial name!

http://gutter.curbed.com/archives/28cnd-freedom.4.450.jpg

It's sad isn't it!

[NYguy]

More news on the WTC front....(NY Times)

Behind the Scenes, Three Towers Take Shape

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2007/01/18/nyregion/blocks600.jpg

Larry A. Silverstein, seated right, attended a presentation on Tuesday about the World Trade Center project.

By DAVID W. DUNLAP
January 18, 2007

FOSTER Maki Rogers,” it says on the doors leading to an 11th-floor design studio overlooking ground zero.

No such high-powered international architectural partnership actually exists. But Norman Foster, Fumihiko Maki and Richard Rogers all have employees working together in an unusual collaborative office as the second, third and fourth towers of the new World Trade Center take shape.

Tower 1, the Freedom Tower, was born in a flurry of headlines as its architect battled ground zero’s master planner, then had to return to the drawing board after the police questioned the building’s security.

Tower 2, designed by Mr. Foster, has already generated controversy, since it will displace what is called the survivors’ stairway on Vesey Street, the only aboveground remnant of the original trade center still standing where it did on 9/11.

But except for that, the towers have largely been out of public sight since the first renderings and models were unveiled last September by the developer, Larry A. Silverstein.

That is not to say they have been out of mind. Up to 120 architects, engineers and design consultants are working to meet a March 1 deadline for schematic design. This is the phase between the conceptual outline and highly detailed construction documents. The sheer scale is astonishing. Tower 2, for example, will be taller than the Empire State Building, less the antenna.

Though Mr. Rogers is credited as the architect of Tower 3 and Mr. Maki as the architect of Tower 4, the truth is that all three towers are intertwined, with one another and with the World Trade Center transportation hub being built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

So three weeks ago, Silverstein Properties opened a blocklong studio on the 11th floor of 7 World Trade Center with desks for Foster & Partners, Maki & Associates and the Richard Rogers Partnership; for Adamson Associates, the architectural firm coordinating the entire project; for W.S.P. Cantor Seinuk and Leslie E. Robertson Associates, the structural engineers; for Jaros, Baum & Bolles, the mechanical and electrical engineers; and for the Port Authority.

The office is modeled on a collaborative studio created last year for the conceptual design phase, but it is about six times larger.

“We’re looking forward to enormous productivity,” Mr. Silverstein said. The goal of bringing everyone together in one studio, he said, was to create “a degree of interaction that couldn’t possibly exist if they were in their separate domains.”

Michael Jelliffe, a partner in the Foster office, described the arrangement a bit more directly.

“You can’t hide behind e-mail,” he said. “There’s a definite dynamic to it. It speeds things up.”

The pin board, where drawings are displayed, stretches about 150 feet and is in view of almost every desk, meaning that architects can keep an eye on the others’ progress.

“You can’t say, ‘I wasn’t aware of it,’ because you pass it on your way to get a coffee,” Mr. Jelliffe said.

EVERY month, the architects report directly to Mr. Silverstein. It was Mr. Jelliffe’s turn on Tuesday.

Tower 2, at Greenwich and Vesey Streets, will have four trading floors at its base to accommodate a financial service tenant. The architects originally proposed to locate the elevators for these floors at one end of the trading space, leaving a span of 150 feet for desks. Mr. Jelliffe said that by moving the traders’ elevators from the center to the perimeter of the building, space on the trading floors could grow by 40 feet.

He also told Mr. Silverstein that the architects had squeezed four inches out of the mechanical space in the ceiling of each office floor without diminishing the 9-foot-6-inch height of the tenant space. This means that, without an increase in the tower’s overall height, the number of office floors can be increased to 63 from 62. (What landlord wouldn’t appreciate an extra 36,000 square feet of leasable space?)

Among Mr. Silverstein’s concerns was the preservation of unobstructed views. He made a point of assuring himself that trusses being added to the perimeter of the structure would be only on mechanical floors, so as not to cut out windows.

He made similar points on Dec. 14 as Gary K. Kamemoto, a senior associate at Maki & Associates, presented Tower 4. The discussion that day began with the facade. The original concept had been to sandwich perforated metal mesh between panes of glass, to provide both shading and some transparency.

Mr. Kamemoto said other approaches were under study, including the use of a ceramic pattern etched onto the exterior pane of glass with a mirror-coated pane behind it. But he emphasized that the architects would be flexible and creative.

“You know us Japanese,” he said to Mr. Silverstein. “We build buildings out of paper.”

[Daquan13]

Freedom Tower has MAJOR ISSUES all over the board, mainly due to political cronyism. The Freedom Bunker is its unofficial name!

http://gutter.curbed.com/archives/28cnd-freedom.4.450.jpg

It's sad isn't it!



It's the way of the world.

But you don't like it anyway, so why even bother to poke the threads with your extreme hatred for the tower?

It's a hell of a lot better than the first three designs, which everyone thought had stunk.:banana:

[NYguy]

But you don't like it anyway, so why even bother to poke the threads with your extreme hatred for the tower?


Not everyone likes the design. I think it's actually better than the other 3. As far as the other post, better left ignored...

[wong21fr]

Really, I don't get the point with that huge lobby. If someone blows a bomb infront of the building, there's many more worries than the hole tower coming down (smoke for example) and I don't think that base is gonna help with those. Plus I think it's ugly, but hey, that's just my opinion.

The base is meant to protect the occupants of the tower against a explosive attack whether from the outside or in. A vehicle cannot be driven into a lobby, and a dentonation outside pr inside by a man-portable explosive device would not have disasterous effects on the occupants due to the stand-off distance and protection provided by the pedestal.

It's meant to protect the tower, outside of it the vulnerabilities a greater and mitgated primarily by stand-off distance and surveillance.

Nontheless, if a explosive device is used, there are going to be casualties no matter what.

[CoolCzech]

I can't say I'm crazy about the base, but Hey! Who cares? Just finally build the damned thing!

[CoolCzech]

Mr. Kamemoto said other approaches were under study, including the use of a ceramic pattern etched onto the exterior pane of glass with a mirror-coated pane behind it. But he emphasized that the architects would be flexible and creative.

“You know us Japanese,” he said to Mr. Silverstein. “We build buildings out of paper.”

_______________________

Just as long as they don't decide to cover the damned thing with ceramic rods... :yuck:

[Daquan13]

I can't say I'm crazy about the base, but Hey! Who cares? Just finally build the damned thing!



I second that emotion. Just finally build the damn thing!!

We've waited long enough, and I think that it's high time that they just get off that high horse of theirs and put their words into action!:hell:

[NYguy]

Today's cam spectacular...

http://www.renewnyc.com/WebCamImages/pic07011814595900.jpg

[Patrick]

I second that emotion. Just build the damn thing!!

We've waited long enough, and I think that it's high time that they just get off that high horse of theirs and put their words into action!:hell:

Yeah this building is taking an awfully long time. :slob:

[Daquan13]

Yes, and even though the tower is under construction, it doesn't look like the core has gotten any taller.

What in the hell are they doing down there, sleeping?:shrug:

[TAFisher123]

:previous: the teamsters have taken over the rebuilding process, they are relocating jimmy hoffa :notacrook:

[NYguy]

Yes, and even though the tower is under construction, it doesn't look like the core has gotten any taller.

What in the hell are they doing down there, sleeping?:shrug:

For people having trouble understanding the pace, just look at the Goldman Sachs tower under construction accross the street. That one got underway a long time before this one did. The BofA tower had a similar start. It was nearly a year before it started to rise above ground.

So it's useless to keep posting the same redundant comments about the pace and asking the same questions. It's not expected to reach above street level until this time next year.

[M II A II R II K]

So what exactly would be taking place in the foundation that would necessitate an entire year before it starts rising.

[STERNyc]

That is my problem with the ceremony to install the first steel beams. They were erected earlier in the process than they would be in a conventionaly scheduled construction process. People now expect a timeframe comparable to other construction sites where steel beams have appeared, but alot still has to be done with the foundation. It will be about a year untill the project pokes above the streetlevel and then it will take off at a quick pace. Remember at BOFA that it took many many months until the lowrise portion started rising, then the lowrise section topped off and it took many months more untill the tower portion started to rise above streetlevel. Now BOFA is rising at a quick pace and the long wait for the steel to make an appearance is forgotten. It'll be the same with the Freedom Tower.

If you come back in a month it'll probably look more or less the same, if you come back in two years the Freedom Tower will already be dominating Lower Manhattan.

[kznyc2k]

If you come back in a month it'll probably look more or less the same.

Right. It looks like they're at least a good month or two off from even being able to pour the concrete slab for the ground there, and usually that occurs many, many months before any steel is erected.

[Cypherus]

What in the hell are they doing down there, sleeping?

I agree. It seems that they have been playing around in that over-grown sandbox for quite some time, pushing dirt here and there like I used to do in my backyard when I was a child. :sly:

[Scoutthedog]

I was just wondering, is there supposed to be a new mall in the base of the new WTC, like the old one?

[Ghost]

I think there is somekind of mall in the trans. hub...

[hella good]

well at least something is finally going up on site

[STERNyc]

What in the hell are they doing down there, sleeping?

I agree. It seems that they have been playing around in that over-grown sandbox for quite some time, pushing dirt here and there like I used to do in my backyard when I was a child. :sly:

They're on schedule. If you think its going slow now, don't come back for awhile because nothings much is going to change.

[Dac150]

You have to just stop with all the criticism. You have to give these guys credit. There doing work no one else wants to do. It takes time. Saying this construction is taking too long isn't going to make it any faster. Be thankful that what is going up is a reality, and a small memorial with a field around it isn't. When it's built it's built and thats that. Unless your down there in the cold everyday building this thing, you have nothing to say.

[A-town]

Whats taking this building so damn long, I haven't been to this thread in a month, and I still can't tell a dramatic difference, they really need to get a move on it.

[Scruffy]

I honestly believe they had alot more work to do below street level before raising those beams. I think they were forced into raising those beams prematurely just so that Pataki can have a photo op before the end fo the year and can leave with that accomplishment. As of the new year, he is out of office. And now i feel that the workers are trying to get the rest of their shit together.

But all seriously, who do i have to sleep with to get into that office on the 11th floor of 7wtc. all three architects in there together, with their whole team, and a 150 foot board of their ideas and renders and proposals. that is too tempting for me not to try a mission impossible style breakin.

[Lecom]

Scruff, instead of sodoizing architects, I'll see if I'd be able to restore my Tishman shindig, and if I can, I'll see what I can do in terms of access. You won't even have to sleep with anyone for that.

Back on topic, concerning the "slow" progress - they're layinng the foundation of a 1776 foot tall building. Think they want to rush that?

[nezzybaby]

do people on this thread only know about this tower, surely if you'd paid attention to the way EVERY BUILDING IN THE WORLD is built, you would realise that foundations and piling for a building of this size take AT LEAST a year, they havent been going that long, the steel beams currently on site are for show and have only been assembled almosty as a gimmick. Dont expect to see anything for a long time yet. The final design wasnt released that long ago, so no work could start until then dont expect miracles, its a building like any other.

[Daquan13]

I figured all that sweetness was just too good to be true. That this was all just a front!

That putting those few steel columns there was a makeshift ploy to make some of us even THINK that the steel was going up for real soon.

And yes Scruffy, Pataki only did that to make HIMSELF look good! Another thing for him to carry with him in the attempt to get his name in the pot for his bid to run for the White House. He sugar-coated this to fool many who have been anxiously awaiting steel to start rising for the tower!

It would seem very peculiar to put up just a few steel columns when knowing that we must wait yet another full year before we start to see the framework soar above street level. And yes, I was fooled by that also!

My guess is that of the forthcoming steel to be delivered, some of it will either be stored at Ground Zero, or in the case of the Twins, stored in a remote location and be delivered only as it's needed.

Silly me! To even start using more of the steel, the core HAS to be built and start rising first so that there is central support and anchorage for the outer columns as well as for the floor girders themselves that MUST be fastened to the core. Probably the reason behind waiting at least another year before the tower begins to really take shape.

[Slugbelch]

So I guess its a year then.....damn.

Probably longer since nothing is going right with this thing

[2-TOWERS]

Another Thing , The Reason Why It Is Taken A Long Time Because,the Path Tracks Involved, No Other Building In The World Had The Internal Grid Of Subway Tracks And Train Tracks ...(path}, Like The W.t.c. Had , And Now The New W.t.c....notice I Just Cant Say Freedom Tower....# 1 World Trade, This Is A GOING To Take A While , But After The Hard Part Down Below ,it Will go Fast;)

[TAFisher123]

Silly me! To even start using more of the steel, the core HAS to be built and start rising first so that there is central support for the outer columns as well as for the girders themselves that MUST be fastened to the core. Probably the reason behind waiting at least another year before the tower begins to really take shape.

Dont they do things the opposite way in NY....I remember reading that the columns are supposed to rise before the core.....like BOFA for example.....but they never lied about how long its going to take.....theres a lot of pieces to fit together

[kznyc2k]

do people on this thread only know about this tower, surely if you'd paid attention to the way EVERY BUILDING IN THE WORLD is built, you would realise that foundations and piling for a building of this size take AT LEAST a year

Thank you very much. This thread is in desperate need of more sane people..

[CoolCzech]

^I think people are just strung out from years and years of waiting for something, anything, at the site. It IS embarrassing to take foreign friends there and have to explain why it's still an empty hole, after all these years...

[Daquan13]

You know it!

And who do we all have to blame for that? Who's-Your-Daddy!!

[Daquan13]

Dont they do things the opposite way in NY....I remember reading that the columns are supposed to rise before the core.....like BOFA for example.....but they never lied about how long its going to take.....theres a lot of pieces to fit together



It's possible that they could go that route, but I don't think that they're ready to spend that kind of money for extra steel to be put in.

They were already quibbling over every nickel & dime on how much it's gonna cost to rebuild Ground Zero. Especially the memorial.

[Scruffy]

im pretty sure that a tower of this size will be built core first, steel behind and glass behind that in the vein of the Shanghai World Financial Center or whatever name that tower goes by now.

[STERNyc]

im pretty sure that a tower of this size will be built core first, steel behind and glass behind that in the vein of the Shanghai World Financial Center or whatever name that tower goes by now.

That would make the most sense but the construction unions in New York have a peculiar agreement that the concrete workers cannot work ahead of the steel workers. So you will not see a concrete core rise ahead of the steel even though that is the schedule used in almost anyplace else in the world. BOFA and 7 WTC also have concrete cores that were never visible throughout anypoint of the construction process.

[Daquan13]

im pretty sure that a tower of this size will be built core first, steel behind and glass behind that in the vein of the Shanghai World Financial Center or whatever name that tower goes by now.



That's the exact same method being used to build the Comcast Center in Philly.

[Scruffy]

That would make the most sense but the construction unions in New York have a peculiar agreement that the concrete workers cannot work ahead of the steel workers. So you will not see a concrete core rise ahead of the steel even though that is the schedule used in almost anyplace else in the world. BOFA and 7 WTC also have concrete cores that were never visible throughout anypoint of the construction process.

Wells thats fascinating. I hadn't heard that before. thanks for the info

[theWatusi]

That would make the most sense but the construction unions in New York have a peculiar agreement that the concrete workers cannot work ahead of the steel workers. So you will not see a concrete core rise ahead of the steel even though that is the schedule used in almost anyplace else in the world. BOFA and 7 WTC also have concrete cores that were never visible throughout anypoint of the construction process.

What is the benifit to the unions to have it built this way? Both the steel workers and concreters are going to have the same amount of work anyway right? It almost sounds like doing things backwards (steel first then conrete) would create more work and man hours. Oh wait I think I just answered my question. :doh:

[NYguy]

You people sound like a broken record. No matter how many times it's explained to you this this tower will take the rest of this year to reach street level, you still come back with the same questions and comments. And its not as if other towers in New York have moved any faster. We've been following skyscraper construction in the city long enough to know that once the tower reaches street level it will take off. You don't have to go far to see how long these things take, just look accross the street at the Goldman Sachs. A couple of blocks away, 10 Barclay St (a much smaller building) took a year or more to reach street level. If it takes that long, it takes that long. So, unless you're planning to die off, then it shouldn't matter. It's being built. End of story.

[NYguy]

Work is steadily progressing in all quarters of ground zero now. The days of
delay are over, so everyone can just sit back, wait, and watch.

http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/WTCSiteOverlay4.jpg


http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/gallery/wtcth/2006/12/fredmtwr07.jpg


http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/gallery/wtcth/2006/12/fredmtwr08.jpg


http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/gallery/wtcth/2006/12/fredmtwr04.jpg


http://www.renewnyc.com/WebCamImages/pic07012312595900.jpg

[Ghost]

Great pics.
I'm not so familiar whit the site plan, but witch those numbers is memorial plaza? Or does it mean street level of memorial? I don't get idea of this picture (maybe thanks to my excellent English :)), it says that summer 2007 there is going to be paving and trees? I hope someone got my point... BTW sry for size of this pic.
http://www.renewnyc.com/images/memorial_timeline.jpg

[Daquan13]

Well, for a while, I wondered just how they'd be able to build the concrete base with all that steel on top of it.

Didn't dawn on me that steel is needed to help support the underground base. Now it appears that the workers are preparing to encase the steel columns with rebar for the concrete that will eventually surround the steel.

And BTW, the steel that's there even now, is just about at street level since those columns were extended.

[NYguy]

Great pics.
I'm not so familiar whit the site plan, but witch those numbers is memorial plaza?


Numbers 7, 8, and 9 are the memorial plaza sites...

http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/WTCSiteOverlay4.jpg


http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/gallery/wtcth/2006/12/MemArea01.jpg

[NYguy]

Gothamist....

Viñoly Spanks Freedom Tower

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_gideon/07_01_Vinoly-renders2.jpg

January 23, 2007


As the architect Rafael Viñoly sees it, the Freedom Tower is utterly superfluous. This was the concluding thought of his public presentation on January 18, this year's first Third Thursday lecture sponsored by the Downtown Alliance.

Rounding out his half-stoic, half-bitter account of the past five years' WTC design proceedings, he plugged the new book, Think New York: A Ground Zero Diary, which chronicles these affairs from the point of view of the novel design team with which he collaborated. He also chucked a few zingers in the direction of the architect David Childs and former Governor Pataki. Left relatively unscathed was the developer Larry Silverstein, owner of the acclaimed new building (7 World Trade Center) in which the event was held.

Viñoly characterized Freedom Tower--designed by Childs and SOM--as economically inefficient and aesthetically mediocre, especially in relation to the adjacent, arguably superior office towers now being designed by Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki (towers 2, 3, and 4 on the WTC site). The crowd of around 1000 appeared amused and perhaps stirred by Viñoly's flippant, imaginative renderings of the site depicting the Freedom Tower at half-height and then missing altogether. "You don't lose much," he quipped. Viñoly reasons that the Freedom Tower's 2.6M square feet of office space could be redistributed among other towers, and observes that its chief architectural features are its cheesy name and its height as measured in feet, which is the same number used to describe how many years passed between Jesus's birth and the American Revolution.

Finally, Viñoly compared the "comedy of errors" of designing and redesigning the Freedom Tower to the US invasion of Iraq, in the sense that the situation may be too flawed to fix. "You can't save face--because you made a blundering mistake," he said. On the other hand, the architect praised the exhilarating "injection of enthusiasm" about architecture and the design of public space during the early stages of planning. Recalling the site masterplan he co-generated as part of the THINK team, runner-up to Daniel Libeskind's plan in 2003, Viñoly said he still believes that the site should highlight cultural, arts and memorial facilities, while accommodating the required office space at the sidelines.

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_gideon/07_01_VinolyTalk3.jpg

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_gideon/07_01_VinolyTalk2.jpg

______________________________

A reminder:

http://www.schwartzarch.com/think01.jpg


http://www.schwartzarch.com/think03.jpg


http://www.schwartzarch.com/think02.jpg


http://www.schwartzarch.com/think04.jpg

[CoolCzech]

Rounding out his half-stoic, half-bitter account of the past five years' WTC design proceedings, he plugged the new book, Think New York: A Ground Zero Diary, which chronicles these affairs from the point of view of the novel design team with which he collaborated. He also chucked a few zingers in the direction of the architect David Childs and former Governor Pataki.

******************

Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the rock...

[Lecom]

It's ironic that Viñoly blasts an architect in whose very building he is giving his presentation.

[goldstar133]

That's too bad its not going to be the world's tallest, but i am happy nevertheless.

[kznyc2k]

NYC doesn't need to have the world's tallest because there's no need to go that high anymore. Dubai's projects are all born out of ego and symbolism, not market conditions; while the Freedom Tower was born of .. oh.... wait a minute...

I suppose we should've gone for 2800 ft after all :rolleyes:

[NYguy]

NYC doesn't need to have the world's tallest because there's no need to go that high anymore. Dubai's projects are all born out of ego and symbolism, not market conditions; while the Freedom Tower was born of .. oh.... wait a minute...

I suppose we should've gone for 2800 ft after all :rolleyes:

The difference between Dubai's projects, and the WTC (Freedom Tower) is that in New York, the towers are meant to replace what was already there, or restore the skyline. Its not about egos in New York, though they could have gone higher. Freedom Tower's height of 1,776 ft was born not out of the need to be tallest, but on marking a specific year.

But its not as if New York needs to make any global announcements to the world.

[sfcity1]

NYC doesn't need to have the world's tallest because there's no need to go that high anymore. Dubai's projects are all born out of ego and symbolism, not market conditions; while the Freedom Tower was born of .. oh.... wait a minute...

I suppose we should've gone for 2800 ft after all :rolleyes:

But wasn't New York in the 20's all about ego and symbolisim? Today, New York has many competing skylines, and in some surveys, it has lost it's title to at least Hong Kong and still losing ground in world wide development. One factor is that there are so many obstacles to building tall in New York, that it is easier for a developer to bow down and chop off height to get the projects built. To be impressed by America's tallest Skyscrapers being built, I need to look to Chicago for inspiration. Seems like developing the tallest is a been there done that thing now for New York.

[kznyc2k]

Its not about egos in New York, though they could have gone higher. Freedom Tower's height of 1,776 ft was born not out of the need to be tallest, but on marking a specific year.

But its not as if New York needs to make any global announcements to the world.

On the last part, right, we don't need to make any announcements like that anymore and I said that already. But the Freedom Tower did NOT need to be 1776.. that's purely symbolism for the sake of symbolism like I sarcastically referred to, especially when the structure that's reaching the height is another freaking spire that could be built to any height, not just 1776. And I would also say Pataki's ego was a big enough factor in the equation to make my comment stand intact.

[kznyc2k]

But wasn't New York in the 20's all about ego and symbolisim?....Seems like developing the tallest is a been there done that thing now for New York.

yes, back in the 20s, but like you said it's old hat here. And my comments were a poke at how while NY's skyscrapers are built almost entirely of market conditions now, the FT most definitely wasn't, as Rafael Vinoly clearly shows.

[STERNyc]

NYC doesn't need to have the world's tallest because there's no need to go that high anymore. Dubai's projects are all born out of ego and symbolism, not market conditions; while the Freedom Tower was born of .. oh.... wait a minute...

I suppose we should've gone for 2800 ft after all :rolleyes:

Personally I wouldnt like to see a building that high. In addition to there being no need, I think aesthetically the current height works best with the skyline. Just image the Burj Dubai in place of the Freedom Tower, it would ruin the skyline.

[kznyc2k]

A very good point. Boston's new tallest proposal does something of the like in that it's nearly 1100 ft to rooftop while the rest of the skyline plateaus at around 600 ft, creating a big disparity.

And just to make it totally clear, I don't advocate building the FT up to Burj Dubai heights; I suggested it purely in jest.