Architecture and Design
Many of Daniel Libeskind's concepts from the 2002 competition were later discarded from the tower's design. One World Trade Center's final design consisted of simple symmetries and a more traditional profile, intended to bear comparison with selected elements of the contemporary New York skyline. The tower's central spire draws from precedents such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, and is also visually reminiscent of the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, rather than being an off-center spire intended to echo the Statue of Liberty.
The building's footprint is a 200-foot (61 m) square, nearly identical to the footprints of the original Twin Towers. The tower rises from a 185-foot (56 m) windowless concrete base, designed to protect it against truck bombs and other ground-level terror threats. Originally, the base was intended to be clad in decorative prismatic glass, but a simpler glass-and-steel façade was adopted when this proved unworkable. The current base cladding design consists of angled glass fins protruding from stainless steel panels, similar to those on 7 World Trade Center. LED lights behind the panels will illuminate the base at night. Cable-net glass façades on all four sides of the building for the higher floors, designed by Schlaich Bergermann, will be consistent with the other buildings in the complex. They measure 60 feet (18 m) high and range in width from 30 feet (9.1 m) on the east and west sides (for access to the observation deck) to 50 feet (15 m) on the north side, and 70 feet (21 m) on the south for primary tenant access. The curtain wall was manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon, by Benson Industries, using glass made in Minnesota by Viracon.
From the 20th floor upwards, the square edges of the tower's cubic base are chamfered back, transforming the building's shape into eight tall isosceles triangles, or an elongated square antiprism. Near its middle, the tower forms a perfect octagon in-plan, 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 – designed in a collaboration between SOM, artist Kenneth Snelson (who invented the tensegrity structure), lighting designers and engineers – is secured by a system of cables, and rises from a circular support ring which will contain additional broadcasting and maintenance equipment. At night, an intense beam of light will be projected above the spire, being visible over 1,000 feet (300 m) into the air above the tower.
David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the architect of One World Trade Center, said the following regarding the tower's design:
| “ | 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 will have failed as architects. | ” |
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