Freedom Tower Totally Explained

World Trade Center Tower 1, or Freedom Tower, is the centerpiece building of the new World Trade Center complex currently planned for Lower Manhattan. The tower will be located in the northwest corner of the 16-acre (65,000 m²) World Trade Center site, bound by Vesey Street, West Street, Washington Street and Fulton Street. Construction on below-grade utility relocations, footings, and foundations for Freedom Tower began on April 27 2006. By December 19, 2006, the first steel columns were installed in the building's foundation. Three other high rises are planned for the site along Greenwich Street, plus a residential tower that will surround the World Trade Center Memorial, which is currently under construction. The area will also be home to a museum, highlighting many of the different aspects of the past and future World Trade Centers.

History

Following the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in the September 11, 2001 attacks, there was much debate regarding the future of the World Trade Center site. Proposals began almost immediately, and by 2002, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who own the right to develop the site, organized a competition through the newly created Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to determine how to use the land. Public rejection of the first round of designs, the "Preliminary Design Concepts," led to a second, more open competition in December 2002, the "Innovative Design Study," in which a design by Daniel Libeskind was selected. This design went through many revisions, largely because of disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein, who held the lease to the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001.
A final design for the tower was formally unveiled on June 28, 2006. To satisfy security issues raised by the New York City Police Department a 187-foot (57 m) concrete base was added in April of that year. The final design included plans to clad the base in glass prisms to address criticism that the base looked like a "concrete bunker." Contrasting with Libeskind's plan, the final design tapers the corners of the base outward as they rise. Its designers stated that the tower will be a "monolithic glass structure reflecting the sky and topped by a sculpted antenna." In terms of a completion date, Larry Silverstein stated "By 2012 we should have a completely rebuilt World Trade Center more magnificent, more spectacular than it ever was." On April 26, 2006, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a conceptual framework that enabled foundation construction to begin while a formal agreement is drafted on the following day, the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Building. Construction began with a formal ceremony that took place when the construction team arrived. It is projected that steel for the building will be visible above ground in 2008, with a topping out in 2010. The building is projected to be ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2011.

Architecture

Many remaining vestiges of the concepts drawn from the 2002 competition have since been discarded. Freedom Tower will now consist of simple symmetries and a more traditional design intended to bear comparison with selected elements of the existing New York skyline. There will now be a central spire drawing from precedents such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building (and also visually reminiscent of Tower 1 the old World Trade Center) rather than an off-center spire intended to echo the Statue of Liberty.
"Freedom Tower will be a symbol of the entire project, as well as marking the memorial, and it occupies a very important piece of New York City property: the sky. We really wanted our design to be grounded in something that was very real, not just in sculptural sketches. We explored the infrastructural challenges because the proper solution would have to be compelling, not just beautiful. The design does have great sculptural implications, and we fully understand the iconic importance of the tower, but it also has to be a highly efficient building. The discourse about Freedom Tower has often been limited to the symbolic, formal and aesthetic aspects but we recognize that if this building doesn't function well, if people don't want to work and visit there, then we'll have failed as architects."

Current design

The Freedom Tower's program includes 2.6 million square feet (241,000 square meter) of office space, as well as an observation deck, world-class restaurants, parking, and broadcast and antennae facilities, all supported by both above and below-grade mechanical infrastructure for the building and its adjacent public spaces. Below-grade tenant parking and storage, shopping and access to the PATH and subway trains and the World Financial Center are also provided.
   An 80-foot-high (24 m) public lobby topped by a series of mechanical floors form a 200-foot-high (61 m) building base. 69 tenant floors rise above the base to 1,120 feet (341 m) elevation. Mechanical floors, two floors to be occupied by the Metropolitan Television Alliance, restaurants and observation decks culminate in an observation deck and glass parapet that mark 1,362 feet (415 m) and 1,368 feet (417 m) respectively — the heights of the original Twin Towers. An antenna supported by a cable structure rises to a final height of 1,776 feet (541 m).
   The tower rises from a cubic base whose square plan—200 feet by 200 feet—(61 m by 61 m) is almost as wide as the 208 foot (63 m) Twin Towers. The base is clad in more than 2,000 pieces of prismatic glass; each measures 4 feet by 13 feet 4 inches (1.21 m by 4.06 m) with varying depths. It has been designed to draw upon the themes of motion and light; a shimmering glass surface drapes the tower's base and imparts a dynamic fluidity of form whose appearance will reflect its surroundings. Just as the rest of the building, the base will serve as a glowing beacon. Entrances on all four sides of the buildings, each 60 feet (18 m) high and ranging in width from 30 feet (9 m) on the east and west sides (for access to the restaurant and observation deck, respectively) to 50 feet (15 m) on the north side and 70 feet (21 m) on the south for primary tenant access, activate the building at street level.
As the tower itself rises from this cubic base, its square edges are chamfered back, transforming the square into eight tall isosceles triangles in elevation, or an elongated square antiprism. At its middle, the tower forms a perfect octagon in plan and then culminates in a glass parapet (elevation 1,362 feet (415 m) and 1,368 feet (417 m)) whose plan is a square, rotated 45 degrees from the base. A mast containing an antenna for television broadcasters—designed by a collaboration between SOM, artist Kenneth Snelson (who invented the tensegrity structure), lighting designers and engineers—and secured by a system of cables, rises from a circular support ring, similar to the Statue of Liberty's torch, to a height of 1,776 feet (541 m). The spire will be an intense beam of light that will be lit at night and will likely be visible over a thousand feet (305 m) into the air above the tower. New York City is a suitable place to set such a light pointing towards the sky without complaints of light pollution by astronomers, as the night sky in locations near New York City is already far too bright for serious astronomical observers.
   Other new safety features will include 3-foot (90 cm) thick walls for all stairwells, elevator shafts, risers, and sprinkler systems; extremely wide "emergency stairs"; a dedicated set of stairwells exclusively for the use of firefighters; and biological and chemical filters throughout its ventilation system. The building will no longer be 25 feet (7.6 m) away from West Street—with the redesign and smaller base (the same width and length now as each of the previous towers), Freedom Tower will average 90 feet (27 m) away from the street. At its closest point, West Street will be 65 feet (20 m) away. The windows on the side of the building facing in this direction will be equipped with specially tempered blast-resistant plastic, which will look nearly the same as the glass used in the other sides of the building.
   "Ultra-clear" glass, as opposed to reflective or tinted glass, is proposed for the fenestration generally. This will benefit internal daylight propagation; however, at this stage it's unclear how the corresponding issue of solar heat gain will be addressed. Although the roof area of any tower is comparatively limited, the building will implement a greywater recycling scheme involving rainwater collection. The robust, redundant steel moment frame, consisting of beams and columns connected by a combination of welding and bolting, resists lateral loads through bending of the frame elements. Paired with a concrete-core shear wall, the moment frame lends substantial rigidity and redundancy to the overall building structure while providing column-free interior spans for maximum flexibility.

Height

The World Trade Center's North Tower featured an occupied floor at 1,355 feet (413 m). Though not occupied by office space, Freedom Tower's observation deck is set to be higher, at about 1,362 feet (415 m). Currently, only the Sears Tower and Taipei 101 have occupied floors higher than Freedom Tower. International Commerce Center, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Burj Dubai will have roofs and floors higher than Freedom Tower's highest roofs and floors.
   If the spire and antenna height (the criteria of two categories of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) are included, Freedom Tower will stand at 1,776 feet (541 m) (marking the year of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence). Freedom Tower was originally planned to be the tallest building in the world, but will no longer obtain this title, as the Burj Dubai has already broken the record for the tallest building at, and it's expected to exceed by the time of its completion in 2009.
   The Chicago Spire, currently under construction in Chicago, is set to be completed in 2010. It could also be taller than the Freedom Tower. At 150 floors, its roof will top out at 2,000 feet (610 m). Another proposed skyscraper, the Crown Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, would also be taller than the Freedom Tower at 1,888 ft (575 m). The height of Freedom Tower will probably not be increased before completion, due to the symbolism of having an exact height of 1,776 feet (541 m).
   Even though several buildings throughout the world will be taller than the Freedom Tower, the tower will still most likely obtain the record for tallest office building in the world; no taller all-office buildings are currently proposed, approved, or under construction.

Space allotment

As revealed on June 28,2006, Freedom Tower will have a top floor denoted as 102, though the total number of floors is 82 (possibly with some uncounted floors). This is because the first office floor of the building atop the tall base will be designated as Floor 20. There are 69 office floors atop the base, ending at Floor 88, above which would be broadcasting space on the 89th and 90th floors. Three stories of mechanical space take up a floor count of 9. Finally, a restaurant will take up Floors 100 and 101, and the observation deck is at Floor 102. Six additional floors of mechanical space exist above to Floor 108.

Floor breakdown

Sublevels - Garage/Retail/Transportation
Ground Floor - Main Lobby
1st-19th Floors (Base) - Podium (Not Occupied on the base except for lobby)
20th-63rd Floors - Offices
64th Floor - Sky lobby
65th - 88th Floors - Offices
89th and 90th Floors - Transmission equipment
91st - 100th Floors - Mechanical
100th - 101st Floors - Restaurant
102nd Floor - Observation deck
103rd - 108th Floors - Mechanical (Unoccupied)
Top of the building- Observation deck Two (Proposed)

Tenants

The State of New York has agreed to a 15 year lease of 415,000 square feet (38,550 square meter) of space in the Freedom Tower, with an option to extend the term of the lease and occupy up to 1,000,000 square feet (92,900 square meter). The General Services Administration (GSA) has agreed to lease over 600,000 square feet (55,700 square meter) of space. and further construction of the tower was stalled until 2006. The cornerstone was temporarily removed from the site on June 23 2006. The project had been delayed due to acrimonious disputes over money, security and design but the last major issues were resolved on April 26, 2006 with a deal between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. During the summer of 2006, test explosives were detonated at the Freedom Tower construction site, testing the use of charges to clear bedrock for the Freedom Tower’s foundation. Three to four controlled explosions per day followed on alternating weekdays for approximately two months after.

2006 to 2007

On November 18, 2006, 400 cubic yards (306 cubic meters) of concrete were poured on to the foundation of the Freedom Tower carried by as many as 40 trucks. On December 17, 2006, a ceremony was held in Battery Park City, with the public invited to sign a 30 foot (9 m) steel beam. This beam, the first to be installed, was welded on to the Freedom Tower's base on December 19 2006. On January 9, 2007 a second set of beams were welded to the top of the first set.
February 2007 estimates put the cost for construction of The Freedom Tower at $3 billion, or $1,150 per square foot ($12,380 per square meter). Approximately $1 billion of insurance money recuperated by Silverstein is slated for construction of the Freedom Tower.

Current progress in 2007

Currently, Tishman Construction Corporation of New York has completed a row of steel columns at the perimeter of the construction site. Two tower crane bases have been set up so far and each of the bases contains a functioning luffing-jib tower crane. The tower and concrete core overall is still on the lowest basement floor, but it's expected to begin rising in the coming months and by spring of 2008 the tower's steel should begin to rise above grade.

Future progress

In January 2008, two more construction cranes are expected to be placed at the construction site of the Freedom Tower. The steel is expected to be visible at street level by mid-2008, and the base is expected to be completed by September 2008. The opening of the skyscraper is scheduled for the first quarter of 2011.

Construction gallery

Image:Freedomtower_jan2006.jpg|Site for the Freedom Tower, as of January 15, 2006 Image:Freedomtower_oct2006.jpg|Concrete construction, as of October 7, 2006 Image:Freedom_tower_2007-mar26.jpg|Steel Installation, as of March 26, 2007 Image:Freedom_Tower_August_7th_2007.jpg|Foundation Construction as of August 7, 2007 Image:Wtcsite-2007oct7.jpg|Foundation Construction, as of October 7, 2007

Controversy

The design of Freedom Tower has generated some controversy due to the limited number of floors in the previous design (82) that were designated for office space and other amenities. The floor limit was imposed by Silverstein, who expressed concern that higher floors would be a liability in a major accident or terrorist attack. In a subsequent redesign, the highest occupiable space became comparable to the World Trade Center.
   Soon after the destruction of WTC Towers 1 and 2 there was a persistent public demand to rebuild the previous twin towers instead of building a single tower. Ian Simpson Architects designed twin towers but the final Freedom Tower design was more favored by officials. Developer Donald Trump also unveiled a twin design, but he wasn't affiliated with the official project. There have been accusations of cronyism on the part of New York Governor George Pataki, using his influence to get the winning architect's bid picked as a personal favor for a close friend. The chosen name of the "Freedom Tower," attributed to Pataki, has been criticized as Orwellian by a critic for The New York Times.
   The first steel column of the tower's foundation, installed on December 19 2006, featured a large decal of the American flag displayed vertically. Several members of the public noticed that the blue field within the flag was on the upper right side, while the United States Flag Code requires that the blue field must always be presented on the left side of the viewer. The decal was quickly removed and replaced on December 23, with a properly oriented flag.
   The base of the tower (fortified because of security concerns) has also been a source of controversy. A number of critics (notably Derek Murdoch in the National Review) have suggested that it's alienating and dull, and reflects a sense of fear rather than freedom, leading them to dub the project "the Fear Tower." Nicolai Ouroussoff, the architecture critic for the New York Times, calls the tower base decorations a "grotesque attempt to disguise its underlying paranoia"

Key people

Larry Silverstein

Larry Silverstein of Silverstein Properties, the leaseholder and developer of the complex, will retain control of the surrounding buildings, while the Port Authority gets full control of the tower itself. Silverstein signed a 99-year lease for the World Trade Center site in July 2001, the culmination of years of negotiation. Silverstein's insurance payout has been a subject of public discourse, as he maintained that the two planes constituted two separate attacks and sued for an extra $3.5 billion. Silverstein has pledged to support the reconstruction and remains actively involved in most aspects of the redevelopment process.

David Childs

One of the developers and World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein's favorite architects, Childs initially came on board thanks to Silverstein's insistence, and developed a proposal for Freedom Tower in collaboration with Daniel Libeskind, a design which was revised in May 2005 to address security concerns. He is currently the project architect of the new Freedom Tower, and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day design development from rough inception to final completion.

Daniel Libeskind

Libeskind won the invitational competition to develop a master plan for the World Trade Center's redevelopment in 2002. He included an initial proposal for the design of Freedom Tower, a building with aerial gardens and windmills with an off center spire. It was also Libeskind who denied a request to place the tower in a more rentable location next to the PATH station and instead placed it a block west because in profile it would line up and resemble the Statue of Liberty. Although these designs have since been changed, his contributions continue to shape the design and development at Ground Zero, as they're revised to meet economic and security realities.

Daniel Tishman

Dan Tishman, along with his father John Tishman who built the original World Trade Center, is leading the construction management effort for Tishman Realty and Construction, the selected builder for Freedom Tower.

In popular culture

The Tower appeared in the opening sequence of the New York skyline in the 2005 video game Fahrenheit. However, as there were numerous plans for the tower circulating when the game was published, the portrayal of the tower isn't consistent with its final design.
Freedom Tower, in its final design, appears in the 2006 film Click, in scenes that are set in the years 2017 and 2030. However, the tower appears as two towers, rather than as a singular structure, imitating the appearance of the original World Trade Center.

External results

Click here for more details on Freedom Tower

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://freedom_tower.totallyexplained.com">Freedom Tower Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.