The New World Trade Center, built literally over the ashes of the original World Trade Center, the heart of which was struck by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is today a proud symbol of the city and its people, and their ability to rise up after being knocked down.
And the World Trade Center certainly has risen up! It’s an impressive sight, isn’t it?
One World Trade Center is the highest skyscraper in the western hemisphere, and one of the top ten worldwide. Its slim figure seems to pay homage to the unforgettable Twin Towers.
The building was initially to be named Freedom Tower, but in 2009, the Port Authority decided to change the name to something a little more technical and less romantic.
The initial idea was for the skyscraper to be sheathed in glass, but for safety reasons, the architect David Childs – who also designed the famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai – was forced to cover the base with concrete: less appealing, but more resistant. The rest of the building, however, remained faithful to the original design, with a steel shell and outer panels in glass. If you look up to the top – and manage not to twist your neck – you’ll see that the shape changes the higher up it stretches: from a square base to an octagonal part and back to a square shape again.
And finally, a math problem! If One World Trade Center is exactly 541 meters high, how high is it in feet, the unit of measurement widely used in the English-speaking world?
The answer is 1776, and it’s no coincidence: it was deliberately chosen in honor the year of the United States of America’s Declaration of Independence!
AN INTERESTING FACT: during the second official ceremony for the commencement of the work, held in 2006 in Battery Park City, the public was invited to sign what was to become the first beam of the One World Trade Center. A few days later, this structural element, covered in signatures, was welded forever to the base of the building!
Language: English