15 years after the horrific 9/11 attacks, One World Trade Center (also known as One WTC, 1 World Trade Center, 1 WTC, or Freedom Tower) proudly stands tall in lower Manhattan, as a reminder of the resilience of New York City after a grave act of terror.
Reaching heights of 1,776 feet, One World Trade has surpassed the Empire State Building to become the tallest building in New York City. Besides being the loftiest building in America, this tapered giant is currently the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, not to mention the sixth-tallest in the world by pinnacle height. It is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. The building’s architect is David Childs, whose firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) also designed the Burj Khalifa and the Willis Tower.
One World Trade Center became the tallest structure in New York City on April 30, 2012, when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building. Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year 1776 when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. other symbolic references were infused into other aspects of the building’s design: the tower’s footprint is equal in size to those of the individual Twin Towers; the height of the observation decks matches the former one as well. Unlike the original towers.
On March 26, 2009, it was confirmed that the building would be officially known by its legal name of “One World Trade Center“, rather than its colloquial name of “Freedom Tower“. The building is 104 standard floors high, but the tower has only 94 actual stories.
The building occupies a 200-foot square, with an area of 40,000 square feet, nearly identical to the footprints of the original Twin Towers. The tower is built upon a 185-foot tall windowless concrete base, designed to protect it from truck bombs and other ground-level attacks. The tower soars skywards with chamfered edges, resulting in a facade of isosceles triangles that, seen from the base, seem to reach to infinity.
Near its middle, the tower forms a perfect octagon, and then culminates in a glass parapet, whose shape is a square oriented 45 degrees from the base.
A 408-foot (124 m) sculpted mast containing the broadcasting antenna is secured by a system of cables, and rises from a circular support ring, which contains additional broadcasting and maintenance equipment. At night, an intense beam of light is projected horizontally from the spire and shines over 1,000 feet (300 m) above the tower.
Home to One World Observatory – New York’s highest observation deck – the 104-floor One World Trade Center is architect David M Childs’ redesign of Daniel Libeskind’s original 2002 concept.
ANIL VOHRA 