All original photographs © Richard Berenholtz. Courtesy of Durst.
Stone Panels, Inc. as well as everyone in the country is ready to see the completion of One World Trade Center (1 WTC), the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City (previously known as Freedom Tower). The 105-story skyscraper should be done by 2014, if not sooner. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the World Trade Center site, released images of the building’s design last week.
The images show a new, broader design for the first 20 stories, an uncovered 408-foot spire and steel panels for the outside of the structure on the bottom floors.
1 WTC could possibly become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere if the spire is included, making it a total 1,776-feet tall. But in order to be titled the tallest, the spire must be covered by a radome, an architectural structure made of fiberglass and steel. The radome was rejected during the latest design renderings because it could not be serviced or maintained. Without the spire’s cladding, the spire would be classified simply as an antennae and not part of the true height of the skyscraper.
Regardless of how the spire debate is settled, One World Trade Center, as well as the 911 Museum, is sure to be a stunning architectural structure, which will honor those fallen September 11, 2001.
Stone Panels, Inc. is proud and honored to be one of the contractors selected for architectural features included in the 911 Museum.
