After the terrorist attacks of 2001, then-President George Bush
vowed that the World Trade Center complex would be fully rebuilt and the
skyline made whole again. A competition was held between several architecture
firms to design an iconic new landmark.
By
2010, however, only a single new building – 7 World Trade Center – had been
completed, due to acrimonious disputes over money, security and design of the
other buildings. The economic downturn had also slowed the project's progress
considerably.
The
following year, construction picked up, with all of the new buildings underway.* The new complex would be comprised of six
towers, designed by five different architects. There would also be a memorial
in the form of two square fountains in place of the previous Twin Towers'
foundations. These would be located in a park at the centre of the development,
along with a museum and visitor center.
The
tallest of the new skyscrapers is One World Trade Center, previously called the
Freedom Tower. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (the
same architecture firm behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai) it stands a symbolic
1,776 ft from base to pinnacle, recalling the year in which the Declaration of
Independence was signed. The tower is built with several key safety features
including a blast-resistant steel and concrete internal structure,
polymer-reinforced glass, chemical and biological filters, widened stairs and a
more thorough sprinkler system. It also sets an example for environmentally-friendly
design: the roof collects rainwater, to be used for its cooling system and,
like all buildings on the site, it is heated by steam, reducing reliance on
fossil fuels.
One
World Trade Center is completed in 2013, becoming the tallest building in the
US and third tallest in the world, before being overtaken by the Shanghai
Tower.* The entire complex is finished by 2014.*
References
One World Trade Center, SkyscraperCity:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=419362
Accessed 24th July 2011.
World's Tallest Buildings 2015, SkyscraperPage:
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=201
Accessed 24th July 2011.
World Trade Center Rebuilding May Finish by 2014, Officials Say, World Trade Center:
http://www.wtc.com/news/world-trade-center-rebuilding-may-finish-by-2014-officials-say
Accessed 24th July 2011.
References
One World Trade Center, SkyscraperCity:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=419362
Accessed 24th July 2011.
World's Tallest Buildings 2015, SkyscraperPage:
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=201
Accessed 24th July 2011.
World Trade Center Rebuilding May Finish by 2014, Officials Say, World Trade Center:
http://www.wtc.com/news/world-trade-center-rebuilding-may-finish-by-2014-officials-say
Accessed 24th July 2011.
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