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Revised design maintains symbolic height, addresses security concerns
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After nearly three months back on the drawing board, the Freedom Tower was reintroduced to the city on June 29 in a form that emulates the twin towers in size and stature while keeping the ultimate symbolic 1,776-foot height of the original design.
The tower's new look was unveiled at a Wednesday morning press conference in Lower Manhattan led by Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, developer Larry Silverstein, and architect David Childs. The group was joined by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, WTC Master Planner Daniel Libeskind, and other officials.
The revised, slimmer Freedom Tower takes into account security concerns posed by the New York Police Department, primarily those having to do with its positioning along West Street and its accessibility from the restored street grid through the World Trade Center site. To address such concerns, Childs and team shrunk the building's base to 200 feet square, the same measurement as the original twin towers. The reduced footprint draws the building back 90 feet from West Street, compared to 25 feet for the original tower design, leaving a larger public plaza and more room for at-grade security.
"The redesign of the Freedom Tower shows how our city is able to respond to the opportunities and challenges of our time," Bloomberg said. "This spectacular addition to our skyline will be a commanding architectural symbol while addressing the security concerns we face in today's world."
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| Rebuilding officials, architects study model of redesigned Freedom Tower |
Beginning the redesign process at the bottom, Childs said, instantly affected the overall shape and height of the building, which had to match the original's 2.6 million square feet of office space. It required engineering a building that will have 10 more "occupied floors" than the original -- raising it to 1,362 feet at the observation deck and 1,368 feet at the glass parapet, the exact heights of WTC towers 1 and 2.
"In a subtle but important way, this building recalls those buildings that we lost," said Childs upon presenting the new tower to attendees.
The new dimensions of the tower's footprint widen the sidewalks on all four sides of the building, as well as adjacent to the memorial, which itself preserves the twin towers' actual footprints. The new Freedom Tower will rise from a cubic base that, from a bird's-eye perspective, appears to torque 45 degrees -- an effect of the chamfered edges that transform its sides into eight isosceles triangles.
To house mechanics and reinforce its secure base, the Freedom Tower's bottom 200 feet will be clad in concrete and draped with panels of metal (likely stainless steel and titanium) that shimmer and reflect light. It will be completely solid and windowless, except for entrances on each of the building's four sides that will separately serve restaurant guests, observation deck visitors, and tenants -- each of whom will enter through a grand, 80-feet-high lobby.
Topped off by a restaurant and observation deck, the new tower also will be home to a "beacon of light," essentially a woven metal sculpture that will serve as the Metropolitan Television Alliance's broadcasting antenna. Childs also noted that theatrical-lighting engineers will collaborate on the antenna's design, enabling it to change colors and redirect its light beams skyward or along the horizon. The antenna itself will be anchored by a circular support ring of cables that Childs compared to the Statue of Liberty's torch.
Still, most changes to the Freedom Tower are in its appearance, leaving many original engineering and construction details intact. Like its predecessor, the new tower is planned to far surpass environmental codes, with maximum utilization of recycled-content building materials, cogeneration and other renewable energy sources, water conservation and rainwater reuse, outside-air ventilation, and ultra-clear glass for better interior "daylighting." Silverstein plans "clean" construction, with use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels and particulate filters on construction equipment.
Silverstein Properties, the tower's developer, also is determined to make it the country's safest building through redundant measures like a steel-frame, vertical core enveloped by two feet of solid concrete. That core will encase the elevators, stairwells, utilities, communication systems, and even an emergency "fireman's lift." Emergency systems will also reside in the core, such as generators, a pressurized ventilation system, and a high-capacity water storage system for building sprinklers.
"There's no question it's going to be built to the highest standards of any building in the United States of America," Pataki said. "I have made it very clear that if one of those giant corporations that Larry lures to the Freedom Tower occupies the top floors and wants to hire one of my kids, I'd be honored to have them working here, and be confident in their safety."
Other key elements of the original design that will be retained include tenant amenity spaces, world-class restaurants, below-grade retail, and access to the PATH, subway, and World Financial Center.
The groundbreaking for the Freedom Tower is now planned for the first quarter of 2006. Silverstein expects steel to rise above grade in 2007, topping out to take place in 2009, and the building to be ready for occupancy in 2010.
View animations of the Revised Freedom Tower:
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