This article is about the skyscraper that has an extremely distinctive appearance and is considered to be the tallest building in the United States as well as the sixth tallest one in the world. However, its appearance was due to a terrible terrorist incident that took away many lives. Find out more about the creation of the original building, its construction, destruction and the creation of a new building of One World Trade Center at manhattan-future.
Creation
One World Trade Center, originally named the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex. The skyscraper is located in Lower Manhattan at 285 Fulton Street.
It is worth noting that first of all this skyscraper had a slightly different appearance. The construction of the original building of the center was conceived by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a project of renewal and revival of Lower Manhattan. It was headed by the famous banker David Rockefeller. The architect Minoru Yamasaki worked on the design. Two twin towers were initially built in this area. One World Trade Center was the North Tower, and 2 World Trade Center was the South one.
Construction of the North Tower began in 1966. The first tenants already stopped there in October 1971. By that time, One World Trade Center had become the tallest building in the whole world, being 1,368 feet (417 m) high. After installing the antenna, the highest point had an indicator of 1,728 feet (527 m). A little bit later, additional low-level rooms were added to the building. As a result, the entire complex consisted of seven buildings and had a total office space of 13,400 square feet (1,240,000 sq m).
Terrible destruction
2001 became decisive for both the North Tower and the South one, because this year there was a well-known terrorist act caused by the Islamist organization Al-Qaeda. On this day, terrorists hijacked passenger airliners of American Airlines and United Airlines companies and directed them to these two towers. The buildings burst into flames. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. and the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. Then a large number of people died. Together with the attack on the Pentagon, about three thousand people lost their lives.
Restoration
The following year, after the terrorist attack, a debate began regarding the reconstruction of the building. Even then, a competition was announced for the best project. The first round of projects was rejected. So in December 2002, the second one was held, the winner of which was the Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind. However, it is worth noting that the original project was repeatedly changed. Its final version was presented in 2005.
The construction of the center began in 2006. At the same time, explosives were used to build the foundation, which helped to clear the rock. After the start of construction, a festive ceremony took place. After that the installation of the foundation and steel structures began. The main part of the building was completed in 2010. After that the construction of office floors began and the first glass windows were installed. This year, the tower already reached 52 floors and exceeded 600 feet (180 m) in height.
In 2009, the official name of the building Freedom Tower was replaced by the modern one, One World Trade Center. Construction was completed in 2013. Then the building reached its maximum height of 1,776 feet (541 m) and became the fourth tallest building in the world at the time. Over the next year, the works on internal decoration were carried out. One World Trade Center was officially opened on November 3, 2014.
Architecture and internal filling
Now let’s talk a little bit about the architectural features of the skyscraper. The building occupies a square of 200 feet (61 m) with an area of 40 thousand square feet (3,700 m2), which is almost identical to the area of the original twin towers. The tower is built on a concrete base for protection against bombs and other surface attacks. The building has an unusual shape. Starting from the 20th floor, the square edges of the cubic base of the tower are beveled, thereby forming eight high isosceles triangles. From the middle, the tower forms a perfect octagon and then ends with a glass parapet, which has the shape of a square. At the top of the structure, there is a broadcasting antenna.
The building is completely glassy. It is interesting that at the beginning of construction, it was planned to use not ordinary glass but prismatic glass. However, this idea was rejected in time, because the coating was quite dangerous. The present cladding of the base consists of angular glass ribs protruding from the panels. At all levels of the building, there are glass facade panels with a cable grid. The height of the panels constitutes 60 feet (18 m) and the width is 30 feet (9.1 m), 50 feet (15 m) are on the east and west sides and 70 feet (21 m) are on the north and south sides.
The tower has 94 floors. However, according to the numeration, it has 104. Of all the floors, 78 are designed for offices. From the 20th floor to the 63rd floor, there are offices. On the 64th floor a sky lobby with an area of 25 thousand square feet (2300 sq m) is located. The offices continue from the 65th floor and finish on the 90th floor. The underground space of the building constitutes approximately 42 thousand square feet (3900 sq m). The tower also has a three-storey observation deck located on floors 100-102. In general, the modern World Trade Center complex includes five more high-rise office buildings built along Greenwich Street as well as the national 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
