North America’s raises 1776 with official opening of WTC

One World Trade Center in New York City is now officially the tallest building in North America according to the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

The tower dominates the Manhattan skyline, standing on the northwest corner of the 6.5-ha site where the original towers fell on September 11, 2001. With its spire in place (since 2013) One WTC is now 541 metres, or 1,776 feet high, a symbolic number referring to the year of the Declaration of Independence of the 13 states from the British Empire.

Construction started in 2005 and cost $3.9 billion. The tower contains 3 million sq.ft. of space, 94 floors (but the top floor counts as the 104th), a grand lobby and an observation deck. There is 55,000 sq.ft. of below-grade retail space which connects to the transportation network.

The WTC website notes that the building’s life safety systems set “a new standard for high-rise buildings.” The safety measures include structural redundancy, dense fireproofing, and extra-wide pressurized stairs. The tower also has renewable energy features and reuses rainwater.

The architect was David Childs of Skidmore Owens Merrill and it was developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Structural engineer was WSP Cantor Seinuk, and the main contractor was Tishman Construction.

The WTC tower was officially opened on November 3 this year when its main tenant, Condé Nast moved in.

Originally it was known as the “Freedom Tower,” and had a different, more asymmetrical design by Daniel Libeskind Architect. The original developer was Silverstein Properties.

According to CBTUH, the two towers in the world that are taller than One World Trade Centre are the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE (828 metres) and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (601 metres).

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