Freedom Tower Plans Unveiled

NEW YORK CITY-Plans were revealed for the Freedom Tower that will be the first building placed on the World Trade Center site. The design for the 1,776-sf tower–to be the world’s tallest building– is a collaboration between Daniel Libeskind, who devised the master plan for the site, and David M. Childs, who was hired by WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstein to give form to that design.

“We wanted it to be unique to New York–it could not be located in any other city,” said David M. Childs, consulting design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/New York. Childs detailed plans for the structure, which will have 2.6 million sf of office space on 60 stories. The plan calls for a similar construction model that was employed in making the Brooklyn Bridge. The base will be concrete and a structure of tension cables will brace the building. Childs pinpointed a number of key elements the design team took into account including making the structure part of the city’s grid as well as making the building safe and ergonomically efficient. The tower will rise to 1,500 feet and be toped by a 276-sf spire.