7 World Trade Center

[sirhcman]

i think its 2007 but i cant remember.

I thoguht the freedom tower was going to be the first complete building of the WTC complex....does WTC 7 still not count as part of the world trade center?

[NYguy]

Thanks for the photos, but is it just me or is this building being constructed extremely slowly?

I think there was a pause during the holidays, I didn't see much happening. But that's just a guess, probably not likely...

[James Kovata]

i think its 2007 but i cant remember.

I thoguht the freedom tower was going to be the first complete building of the WTC complex....does WTC 7 still not count as part of the world trade center?

7WTC does not count. It was not owed by the Port Authority.

[sirhcman]

i think its 2007 but i cant remember.

I thoguht the freedom tower was going to be the first complete building of the WTC complex....does WTC 7 still not count as part of the world trade center?

7WTC does not count. It was not owed by the Port Authority.

Gotcha...So did the owner of WTC 7 have to get permission to use the name from the Port Authority?

[emmeka]

I know its a disgusting thought but the man who wants a taller spire is compensating for smaller............things.

It has nothing to do with phallic symbols; it's just that a building shaped like a vagina doesn't have as much structural integrity as one that tapers upward.


It was a joke man.

P.S. What do you think i am (just out of interest)

[ZippyTheChimp]

You're male. Women don't usually like to talk about gray hair.

I know its a disgusting thought but the man who wants a taller spire is compensating for smaller............things.

It has nothing to do with phallic symbols; it's just that a building shaped like a vagina doesn't have as much structural integrity as one that tapers upward.

I laughed too loudly. Now the Chimp is back in the doghouse. :cry:

[emmeka]

You're male. Women don't usually like to talk about gray hair.


good guess. I should probably change my aviator from elizabeth hurley to a guy really. but i like her a lot, so ill have to think long and hard about it.

[NYatKNIGHT]

Keep Liz.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Actually, this forum needs more women...and not for the reason that keeps sending me to the doghouse.

Back on topic - the yellow ribbed walls within the steel structure appear to be concrete forms. I'm not sure if that's the core, because it's not centered on the building.

[Ninjahedge]

You're male. Women don't usually like to talk about gray hair.


good guess. I should probably change my aviator from elizabeth hurley to a guy really. but i like her a lot, so ill have to think long and hard about it.

[butthead voice]huh huh huh, long...[/butthead voice]
[butthead voice]huh huh huh, hard...[/butthead voice]

[TLOZ Link5]

Emmeka: I was unsure because of your Liz Hurley avatar, is all.

P.S.: I know it was a joke; I just decided to expand on it a little.

[PHLguy]

You're male. Women don't usually like to talk about gray hair.


huh? never heard that one

[ZippyTheChimp]

Just how long have to been around, bub?

[Jasonik]

LOL.... "bub"

[PHLguy]

Just how long have to been around, bub?



im 15 years old...yea its a shocker!.....well not really

[JMC]

:shock:

Hey, Jsonik...you ever hit Phoenix Landing on Wednesday nights? I used to live up there...liked the D n' B, as well...

[ZippyTheChimp]

Just how long have to been around, bub?

im 15 years old...yea its a shocker!.....well not really
Not at all. You have a long way to go, but don't get stressed. You'll never understand women anyway.

[sirhcman]

i think its 2007 but i cant remember.

I thoguht the freedom tower was going to be the first complete building of the WTC complex....does WTC 7 still not count as part of the world trade center?

7WTC does not count. It was not owed by the Port Authority.

Gotcha...So did the owner of WTC 7 have to get permission to use the name from the Port Authority?

????

[Jasonik]

You'll never understand women anyway.

Aint that the truth!

Yeah, I love the Phoenix. I don't get there nearly enough. 'Bump' Sundays are a great time, -good solid house music, not too crowded. I've spun there on the now defunct Tuesday w/ Dj C & Dj Flack.

If eating there make sure to get the Apple Stuffed Chicken for an entree, also the Curry Fries are excellent.

[PHLguy]

"You'll never undersamd women anyway"



does anyone? :? :lol:



(ecxept of course for women themselves...and even then.....)

[NYguy]

NY Post...

'SEVEN' HEAVEN

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

February 16, 2004 -- This is what you will see when you walk into the sleek, new 7 World Trade Center - the first building at Ground Zero to see construction begin since the 9/11 terror attacks.

The computerized rendering, prepared by architects for WTC developer Larry Silverstein, shows a high-tech lobby of polished limestone and marble and shiny stainless steel columns, with revolving doors on Greenwich Street.

One of the most unique features of the lobby will be a work by artist Jenny Holzer in an illuminated wall behind the security desk, according to a representative for the architect, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Holzer is known for artwork that incorporates words and phrases, and the 7 WTC piece will be composed of quotations from poets and writers about New York.

Silverstein interviewed a number of artists to create something for the 7 WTC lobby, and he chose Holzer, who was recommended by the building's architect, David Childs.

Another innovative feature will be computerized turnstiles that direct visitors to specific elevator cars, to minimize waiting.

Construction on 7 WTC - across Vesey Street from the rest of the trade center complex - began in late 2002 and the building is slated to be completed by 2005.

The bottom 10 floors of the 52-story tower will be taken up mostly by a Con Edison electrical substation, a portion of which is due to go into operation this summer.

Work on the tenant floors began recently, with steel rising at the rate of about one floor a week, the Skidmore representative said.

Another new rendering shows the wedge-shaped park planned for the intersection of Greenwich and West Broadway.

It will contain a fountain and flowering trees, as well as a small 9/11 memorial and pavers made from the same red granite used to build the original 7 WTC, which caught fire and collapsed on 9/11.


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[NYatKNIGHT]

Feb. 15, 2004

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/7WTC_1.sized.jpg

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/7WTC_2.sized.jpg

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/7WTC_3.sized.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

Getting there...

[Pottebaum]

Has this building attracted any tenants yet?

[Russell]

its looking quite slim in those construction pics, its nice seeing the steel rising now

[BPC]

Has this building attracted any tenants yet?

Last week it was reported (I can't remember where) not a one.

[Stern]

Ironically the taller, Freedom Tower has already attracted a number of tenants.

[billyblancoNYC]

Is it just me, or the picture, but does the glass on this building look a lot darker, with more visible lines crossing?

[Gulcrapek]

All those renderings are kinda crappy. We'll see when it comes out.

[Stern]

Work on the tenant floors began recently, with steel rising at the rate of about one floor a week, the Skidmore representative said.

At this rate 7WTC should top out at about the third week of October.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The question about the too-thin columns has finally been answered.
They're being encased in concrete.
http://www.pbase.com/image/26174830.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

Are you sure it's nt just fireproofing?

[Stern]

Good point. I doubt the concrete is structural, although no doubt it will strengthen the columns.

[Towerman8]

7WTC will be completed by March 2005.

[NYguy]

From West St....2/29/04


http://www.pbase.com/image/26524457/large.jpg


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http://www.pbase.com/image/26524464/large.jpg

[Just Rich]

This baby's going up nice and fast now!

Great update photos

[DougGold]

It does make me feel good to see such progress, since it is the first step to the all new WTC site. Go baby go!

[larven]

It really is great to see some positive construction arising out of the shambles of ground zero.

[TAFisher123]

They are taking their time with this one

3-13-04

http://www.pbase.com/image/26914806.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/26914811.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

Oh, no - that's paradise to my eyes. It's going up as fast as any other building would now.

[matt3303]

Too bad Barclay Vesey will be overshadowed again...but for 7WTC, that's fine by me!

[NYguy]

7 WTC... April 3, 2004

http://www.pbase.com/image/27597457.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/27597461.jpg

[JMGarcia]

I can't wait until you can see it on the skyline from where I live in the village.

[NYguy]

In a few weeks it will be as tall as Verizon...

[krulltime]

What is the rush for..they still haven't found a tenant. :roll:

[NYguy]

What is the rush for..they still haven't found a tenant. :roll:

I wasn't planning on moving in anyway and I don't think they're gonna stop construction until a tenant is found though. But the sooner they fill up the open wound in Manhattan, the better....

[Kris]

May 5, 2004

Rising Above Ground Zero, Tower Slowly Takes Shape

By DAVID W. DUNLAP

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/05/05/nyregion/05rebu.583.jpg
Already 314 feet tall, 7 World Trade Center is designed to reach 52 stories and 750 feet. A view from an upper floor shows some of the planned 1.7 million square feet of office space.

After two and a half years of absence, there is a towering presence at ground zero.

That skyscraper of muscular concrete and sinewy steel on Vesey Street is not just overlooking the World Trade Center site, it is part of it. Building No. 7, the last tower lost on Sept. 11, 2001, is the first to be rebuilt. Its emergence has surprised out-of-towners and even New Yorkers who have not been to Lower Manhattan in a few months.

Now 314 feet tall, the building is destined to reach 52 stories and 750 feet. It will be sheathed in sheer, water-clear glass, with a kinetic, sculptural, stainless-steel wall by James Carpenter Design Associates around the Consolidated Edison substation at the base.

In a speech today, Gov. George E. Pataki is expected to announce that power will start flowing through the substation by the end of the month. After the speech, he will visit 7 World Trade Center.

(Mr. Pataki may also soon announce a chairman for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Foundation, which will oversee the creation of the memorial and the cultural center. One prominent name mentioned among the possible candidates is Sanford I. Weill, chairman and chief executive of Citigroup and chairman of Carnegie Hall.)

The governor's visit to 7 World Trade Center may be a tonic for the developer, Larry A. Silverstein, who has been fighting with his insurers over the main trade center site. He holds 99-year leases on both parcels from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

On Monday, a federal jury whittled Mr. Silverstein's total possible insurance claim to $4.68 billion, about $2.5 billion less than he sought. As his potential proceeds have shrunk, doubts have grown about Mr. Silverstein's ability to complete four more office buildings around the site, after the $700 million 7 World Trade Center and the $1 billion- to-$1.3-billion Freedom Tower, for which financing seems assured.

But Mr. Silverstein is no stranger to skepticism, since there were ample doubts last year that he would build 7 World Trade Center.

"I kept hearing and hearing that," he recalled in an interview Monday. "When I finally announced we had bought $60 million worth of steel, they still didn't believe. I think people finally changed their minds when the building reached 15 or 16 floors, and they said: 'You know what? He's doing it.' "

The structure is to pass the 615-foot mark in October, marking the moment when the new 7 World Trade Center exceeds the height of its shorter namesake, also built by Mr. Silverstein, where Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had his emergency command center. This will occur around the 20th anniversary of the first groundbreaking.

Tishman Construction Corporation, which built the first No. 7, is building its replacement. Elio Cettina and Mike Pinelli are among the Tishman executives involved in both projects. And a number of ironworkers are reprising their roles, too, said Jack Klein, a vice president of Silverstein Development.

Seven World Trade Center is to be finished in late 2005 or early 2006, with 1.7 million square feet of office space. Apart from his own company, Silverstein Properties, Mr. Silverstein does not yet have tenants. But in the time-honored tradition of developers, he said there was "considerable interest," particularly now that there is a tower to see.

Already visible inside the tower is a hallmark of what is supposed to be its great durability and safety: a concrete core around the elevator shafts and fire stairs, two feet thick in most places. The stairways are ample, five and a half feet wide, and the landings are deep enough to fit a person in a wheelchair while others pass on the stairs.

"A firefighter carrying gear could walk up while people are walking down," said Nicholas Holt, an associate partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which designed 7 World Trade Center, working with the structural engineers at the Cantor Seinuk Group. (They are also Mr. Silverstein's architects on the Freedom Tower.)

The surprisingly spacious lobby, sandwiched between two banks of Con Ed transformer vaults, is framed by steel-jacketed columns five feet in diameter. Outside, Greenwich Street will be recreated as a driveway for taxis and limousines but not as a through street. Across the street, Mr. Silverstein will build a 12,500-square-foot public park designed by Ken Smith.

The principal art in the lobby will be a 12-foot-tall wall of glass and light-emitting diodes by James Carpenter and Jenny Holzer, an artist known for using epigrams in her work. "What we did insist upon was the choice of the words," Mr. Silverstein said. "I wanted something uplifting, positive; that talked about renewal, talked about America, talked about freedom, talked about what our values are about."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[Zoe]

There is now a giant banner covering about 3 floors on the side facing the pit. Looks like its for the convention coming. The building as-of this morning has 18 floors of steel completed above the substation.

[Archit_K]

436 feet more to go. 7 WTC go baby go. I think I'm falling in love with a box.

[BPC]

May 5, 2004

Rising Above Ground Zero, Tower Slowly Takes Shape

By DAVID W. DUNLAP

... The surprisingly spacious lobby, sandwiched between two banks of Con Ed transformer vaults, is framed by steel-jacketed columns five feet in diameter. Outside, Greenwich Street will be recreated as a driveway for taxis and limousines but not as a through street. Across the street, Mr. Silverstein will build a 12,500-square-foot public park designed by Ken Smith.

Zippy, this confirms what I recall hearing at the CB1 meeting -- Greenwich will not be a through street in front of 7 WTC. In light of that, do you still think it makes any sense to reopen it?

[ZippyTheChimp]

I hate to resurrect the silly "WTC Must be Rebuilt" thread, but here's my quote in that thread:

The east-west streets are not important for traffic. They can remain pedestrian only. You make the same mistake about Greenwich St that others have. Though it's called Greenwich St, it's really 7th Ave South-Varick-West Broadway that runs through the site. Look at a map. It's a major southbound route. Because of the superblock, that traffic has to turn to Broadway to continue south. Streets such as Chambers become clogged.

I also stated that a street once built has the flexibility to be configured as wanted, while a building in the way tend to remain in the way.

[AJphx]

I noticed on a ground plan that the 7 WTC will be surrounded by roads on all sides. It seems ridiculous to me for 1 skyscraper to be entirely cut off like that. Why do the planners allow this? Couldn't they block at least one of the roads off to make it a pedestrian plaza between 7 WTC and another building or something like that? (just something to better connect it to the other buildings and the streetscape)

[ZippyTheChimp]

Washington St (between 7WTC and Verizon) was demapped several years ago, and is pedestrian only.

[BPC]

I hate to resurrect the silly "WTC Must be Rebuilt" thread ...

I don't think that that questioning the reopening of Greenwich Street through the WTC Site is necessarily the same thing as calling for the entire old WTC plan to be rebuilt as it existed on 9/10/01 (although I do think the old plan was better than the new one). Even under the new Libeskind plan, however, which is much better than what most of its opponents are calling for (see, e.g., today's Op Ed piece in the Times), I think that a closed, pedestrian-only plaza on Greenwich Street would work better one a street with cars running through it. Given the news about 7 WTC, it seems that the one benefit you cited -- improved North South traffic flow -- won't happen. Rather, the street will just end up as a parking lot for tour buses. Although nobody ever mentions this, I think the real reason for the reopening of both Greenwich Street (and Fulton Street, for that matetr) through the site was to lop off for redevelopment big chunks of the old WTC "superblock" that otherwise would have shared a parcel with the "sacred" footprints. I view this as a beneficial motive, but not necessarily a sound urban planning one. Standing up to the five or so vocal family advocates who are shaping this agenda, in my view, would have been the better way for the politicans to go.

[ZippyTheChimp]

You misunderstood my statement about the "WTC must be rebuilt" thread. I didn't want to draw attention to it by citing a quote from it.

Given the news about 7 WTC, it seems that the one benefit you cited -- improved North South traffic flow -- won't happen.

The news about 7WTC is that the portion of Greenwich in front of 7WTC will not be open to thru traffic. I'm talking about the other side of the triangle, West Broadway. That street will flow into Greenwich St south of Vesey. I thought my previous post explained this.

[BPC]

OK, looking at the street map, I understand your point now. The block of Greenwich in front of 7 WTC is fairly unimportant. Traffic on West Broadway will run southbound into the reopened Greenwich Street. I still think there are benefits to keeping it pedestrian only, but vehicle flow will be improved somewhat. For it to really make sense, however, they would have to rework Greenwich south of WTC so that it feeds into the BBT, rather than dead end right at its base as it does now.

http://www.downtownny.com/images/map3.gif

[NYatKNIGHT]

Keeping the entire 16 acres 'pedestrian only' basically keeps the superblock intact. Sound urban planning would be to have at least one of those streets open to vehicules, for traffic flow and also for optimal street activity. While there are notable exceptions, 'pedestrain only' streets generally haven't been as successful for businesses as streets with at least some vehicular access. Something about cars making the street look more alive that brings more people venturing onto its sidewalks. Many pedestrian malls around the country are reopening to traffic for this reason.

For those who like 'pedestrian only' streets, there will be plenty of those as well, but it's good to have the option of opening and closing streets as necessity dictates.

[NYguy]

7 WTC continuse to rise from the ashes...(5/9/2004)


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[NYguy]

http://www.silversteinproperties.com/images/View1-day.jpghttp://www.pbase.com/image/28821224/medium.jpg

[DougGold]

go baby go!

[sirhcman]

go baby go!
i have the same sentiments..lets get movin!

[ZippyTheChimp]

The building is rising quickly, I suppose because there are three cranes and plenty of room for staging.

[NyC MaNiAc]

I can describe the feeling this building produces with one word:

hope

[ZippyTheChimp]

Today, I walked by an open gate at a Tishman trailer, and saw what I think is a mock-up of some of the facade. Two side-by-side panels, about 4 feet wide, untinted glazing.

[NYCResident]

I agree 100%...Let's get this baby up!

I can describe the feeling this building produces with one word:

hope

[Gulcrapek]

"Untinted" - was it in front of a dark or light background?

[ZippyTheChimp]

They were off to the side of the gate, so I couldn't see them straight-on, and they were locking up for the day - but my impression was it appeared like a store window.

[Stern]

I concluded that the mock-up was not for 7WTC as there was a ridged metal flanking at the top and 7WTC will be an all glass building.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I conclude that your conclusion is in error.

From Silverstein website
http://www.silversteinproperties.com/images/7wt_glass.jpg

http://www.jcdainc.com/home.html

I got a littler nosier today.
There is a sheet of metal above each glass panel (folded like an accordian). The four elements are not attached as a wall unit, so you can't look at it as a complete wall section. They are all separately attached to a wood frame.

The dimensions of what I saw agree with the renderings. (To Gulcrapek): The glass is not colored or mirrored, but there is slight darkening of light passing through.

The top about 25% of the glazing has black grillwork attached to the inside or embedded within. Also on the inside, at about 3 feet there is a metal rail running across the panel.

[Stern]

The top about 25% of the glazing has black grillwork attached to the inside or embedded within

That's exactly how I described it. 7WTC will however be an all glass building, there will be no metal accents.

[ZippyTheChimp]

No, you missed it.

I am not talking about the metal piece above the panels. I don't know what it is called, but it's the same texture you see on oven windows. Since it is applied on the upper part, it must be for sunshading.

I think what you are referring to is the reflective spandrel. There's a description at the James Carpenter webpage.

[Stern]

Perhaps. Either way its not a big deal, the glass is tinted green, will 7 WTC be, I don't know? Will we find out what the facade looks like in a matter of days, probably...

[ZippyTheChimp]

I wonder if we were looking at the same thing. The panels I saw had no coloring (that's what I meant by tinting), although they were slightly darkened. The surface was not mirrored.

The "grillwork" on the top portion of the glass is called a Ceramic Frit. This webpage (http://www.againc.com/fcf.asp) describes it.

[ZippyTheChimp]

May 16, 2004
View of 7 WTC from West St at Rector St
http://www.pbase.com/image/29041341.jpg

[Kris]

The basic shape of the tower makes this "rebuilding" look very elementary - a simple stack of stories rising.

[billyblancoNYC]

Anyone know how long the WTC overpass will stand?

[BrooklynRider]

Good Question. I find it a morbid reminder of 9/11. I hope they remove it.

[BPC]

That's what was known around here, pre 9/11, as the "South Bridge." While it was only infrequently used pre-9/11 -- as opposed to the wonderful "North Bridge," which was massively used (it took tourists and residents straight from the WTC concourse level to the top of the marble staircase in the Winter Garden, and office workers straight from the WTC to the elevator banks of the WFC office lobbies, all of which are on the second floor) -- the bridge is a miraculous survivor of 9/11. While I do not, by any means, purport to speak for the entire community, every one of my neighbors who has ever spoken to me about this issue has wanted the bridge to stay. The general feeling is that is would be a shame if the LMDC destroys what the terrorists could not. Why not just fix the damaged eastern end of the bridge and put it back where it was?

[TLOZ Link5]

It's still in use as a pedestrian bridge the the WFC. Note that there's a more utilitarian extension of the bridge heading to Liberty Street.

[NYatKNIGHT]

May 23, 2004

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/7wtc_woolworth.sized.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

A little slow with the fireproofing...

[BigMac]

NY1
June 12, 2004

NY1 Exclusive: Seven World Trade Center Ready To Rise Again

http://www.ny1.com/Content/images/live/63/125618.jpg

Seven World Trade Center is rising rapidly. In the following report, NY1's Amanda Farinacci takes us on an exclusive tour of the under-construction building, with a view from the top and from developer Larry Silverstein.

Sixteen floors above the World Trade Center site, developer Larry Silverstein can see his future: a vision of how the 16-acre space will come together as a center of commerce, with quiet reminders of all that was lost.

“We expect to have a fully rebuilt Trade Center, with the memorial in place, with the Museum of American Freedom, with at least 600,000 feet of destination retail, with 1,300 cars of parking, with shops and amenities and spectacularly beautiful buildings overlooking the memorial itself,” says Silverstein.

Seven World Trade was the last building to come down on 9/11. The rebuilt tower will be quite different from its predecessor, topping off at 52 floors instead of 47.

It will also be sleeker and neater to make it more pedestrian friendly.

“We had to eliminate a bank of elevators to allow Greenwich Street to go through,” says Silverstein. “Eliminating a bank of elevators meant eliminating the top 10 floors of the building, so instead of being a two-million foot building it’s approximately 1.6 or 1.7 square feet instead. So it's a smaller building from the standpoint of total square footage, but a taller building.”

The taller building is the work of architect David Childs. It’s designed to be safer - Silverstein says the safest in the world.

Childs is also working to adapt Daniel Libeskind's design for the Freedom Tower. The cornerstone of the 1776-foot spire will be laid July 4th.

Much has been said about the rumored warring between the two architects.

“The important thing is that they collaborated together on the conceptuality of the design,” says Silverstein. “Now it's David's responsibility to actually design the Freedom Tower into a working, buildable building - which he's in the process of doing.”

Silverstein suffered a major financial blow when a jury found his maximum insurance award to be $3.5 billion, not $7 billion, for the terrorist attack. He says he plans to apply for Liberty Bonds to help offset the costs of rebuilding.

He can pick up an additional $1.1 billion if a second round of litigation goes his way later this summer.

Nearly three years into the process, Silverstein says each piece of the rebuilding puzzle is finally in place, with the biggest issues resolved.

“When you deal with different agendas, clearly, it's very challenging,” he says.

The curtain wall of the building will go up within the next two weeks, enclosing the building in glass. Final construction will be complete by sometime late next year.

- Amanda Farinacci

Copyright © 2004 NY1 News

[TAFisher123]

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You can see the top now from Hoboken....

http://www.pbase.com/image/30065270.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

It'll completely block 1CMP from that view, right?

[nike]

WHICH ONE IS THE 7 WTC :?

[Gulcrapek]

Look directly to the left of One Liberty Plaza (black).

[James Kovata]

It looks like it's approaching 30 floors. Correct?

[NewYorkYankee]

How many floors will this be in total? How many feet tall? THNX!

[Gulcrapek]

Seven World Trade was the last building to come down on 9/11. The rebuilt tower will be quite different from its predecessor, topping off at 52 floors instead of 47.

750 ft.

[Zoe]

As of Friday, they were just working on floors 24 and 25 above the concrete.

[billyblancoNYC]

I still think the clear glass, if done nicely, will really stand out and look really good mixed in with the old beauties around it. I can't wait for this to be done.

[NYguy]

Saturday, JUNE 19th, the view from BARCLAY ST...

Silverstein's "monster" rises....


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[Lemonsoda]

I still think the clear glass, if done nicely, will really stand out and look really good mixed in with the old beauties around it. I can't wait for this to be done.

I think this is David Child's accidental masterpiece, and also expect it to be a perfect addition to this part of the cityscape. The renderings over at SOM make it look clean, and the slightly skewed base imparts a measure of elegance - I hope this impression will carry over.

The light sculpture at ground level is icing on the cake.

It's extremely satisfying to see this first and distinct new presence going up at Ground Zero. I can't shake the fantasy of making it the scene of the world's biggest "Blinkenlights", though.

[Zoe]

Today they started on the clear glass exterior. The glass is on the south-east corner just above the concrete sub-station. Sorry for the quality, I took the shots on my camera phone

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/9441/06-22-04_1345.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2593/06-22-04_1346.jpg

[Zoe]

Here are a few more

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8416/06-22-04_1511.jpg
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/3540/06-22-04_1521.jpg

[NYatKNIGHT]

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/9441/06-22-04_1345.jpg http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2593/06-22-04_1346.jpg http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8416/06-22-04_1511.jpg http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/3540/06-22-04_1521.jpg

Zoe, forget my last e-mail, I see you posted them.

Right, they're not the very best quality, but you get extra credit for sharing the first exclusive photos of the glass to be posted on the web (probably). A for effort.

[Gulcrapek]

It looks pretty smooth..

[Stern]

In each of those four pictures the glass has different shapes, colors, textures, and qualities. Bloomberg Blue, Green, Etched, and White. This building should shimmer with all the different NY skies.

[Archit_K]

Some useless facts about old 7th World Trade Center

Designed: by Emery Roth and Sons
Completed: 1985 :lol:
Floors: 44
Destroyed: of course Sept. 11 Attacks (last to come down and now it's the first to go up)

In memory of the old 7th World Trade Center

[Archit_K]

Im looking forward for that mirror effect.

[NYguy]

(Daily News)

SEC has sights on 7 WTC space

Prospects are starting to look up for 7 World Trade Center, the tower Larry Silverstein is building at Ground Zero.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is in talks about renting 200,000 square feet, sources told the Daily News.

And a high-profile downtown law firm, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, is considering taking 450,000 square feet.

It's early days in both would-be tenants' negotiations. But if the SEC actually leased space there, it would send a huge message - because the regulator was a tenant in the original 7 World Trade Center, which was destroyed by the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. The SEC has been housed since then in the nearby Woolworth Building.

And if a Fried Frank deal were to pan out, it would be big enough to make the firm the anchor of Silverstein's 1.7 million-square-foot project, which is partly built.

In an interesting convergence, Fried Frank - currently headquartered at downtown skyscraper 1 New York Plaza - does a lot of securities work. How convenient to be in the same building as the SEC.

If either of these prospects winds up signing a lease, it will be a breakthrough for Ground Zero developer Silverstein. He doesn't have a single office tenant lined up for 7 World Trade Center, which he will complete late next year or in early 2006. For now, the only occupant of the 52-story skyscraper is Con Ed, which is operating a substation on the bottom 10 floors of the building.

A spokesman for Silverstein declined to comment.

[krulltime]

The Securities and Exchange Commission is in talks about renting 200,000 square feet, sources told the Daily News.

And a high-profile downtown law firm, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, is considering taking 450,000 square feet.

Cool! I hope they take the space. If they do the building will be a good magnet for other leases that could take place at the future area of skyscrapers. :P

[RandySavage]

wish I had my camera when watching 7WTC contruction from the corner of Greenich St. and Park Place this morning. From that angle the trapezoidal nature of the building made it look truly enormous.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The building looks as fat as it's predecessor from West Broadway. From about Worth St, it is just above the low buildings. I'll get a photo when a few more floors are added.

The view down Greenwich from Harrison St is fine.
http://www.pbase.com/image/30657364.jpg

Early morning. The sunlit north side of 1 Liberty Plaza is reflected in 7 WTC.
http://www.pbase.com/image/30657151.jpg

[Edward]

The cranes of 7 WTC (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm) above 101 Barclay building. 26 June 2004.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/images/7wtc_26june04.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm)

[Johnnyboy]

Its amaizing how fast this building is growing. :shock: Things are really looking up for new york. :D

[DougGold]

GO! GO! GO!

[tmg]

(Daily News)

SEC has sights on 7 WTC space

If either of these prospects winds up signing a lease, it will be a breakthrough for Ground Zero developer Silverstein. He doesn't have a single office tenant lined up for 7 World Trade Center, which he will complete late next year or in early 2006. For now, the only occupant of the 52-story skyscraper is Con Ed, which is operating a substation on the bottom 10 floors of the building.


I thought the Port Authority was also planning to lease space in the new 7 WTC. How much space did they take up in the Twin Towers?

[Jonathan_Hakala]

According to a 2002 Canon Business Solutions newsletter available on the Internet, the Port Authority occupied 35 floors of One World Trade Center. Whether this number includes or excludes floors occupied by mechanical systems, I don't know.

IMO, the new 7 World Trade Center building will be an improvement over the old one.

[Gulcrapek]

6/30

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/album47/7wtc.sized.jpg

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/album47/7wtc2.sized.jpg

[Bob]

Terrific pictures of the progress on the new 7 WTC. Thank you. Extremely good news to see things going UP again in NY. Memories of what came DOWN on 9/11 will haunt forever.

[Edward]

The rebuilding of 7 WTC (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm) and the Winter Garden (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wfc/winter_garden_wfc.htm). 5 July 2004.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/images/7wtc_5july04.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm)

[krulltime]

They already have started to put glass on the windows.

[BrooklynRider]

It should surpass the height of Verizon by this week's end.

[hella good]

love the facade, i was worried about how it was going to turn out at first.

[BrooklynRider]

For me, there isn't enough curtain wall up yet to have an opinion. It seems the building is going to reflect everything, so, if there's a big dark building put up next to it, 7WTC will itself look very dark. I don't see how it could truly turn out like the renderings.

[Archit_K]

Wow just the other day it was a foundation. I'm actually able to see it from my window it's truly amazing. But the thing that actually stands out is the cranes.

[hella good]

is that a joke?

if not, of course the cranes stand out, they wouldnt be adequate for the construction if they didnt.

[ZippyTheChimp]

For me, there isn't enough curtain wall up yet to have an opinion. It seems the building is going to reflect everything, so, if there's a big dark building put up next to it, 7WTC will itself look very dark. I don't see how it could truly turn out like the renderings.
The spandrels will contain reflective panels. There is a description by the designer here. (http://www.jcdainc.com/home.html). Click on projects > 7 WTC. It's well written. We'll have to wait and see if it works.

[NYguy]

JULY 10, 2004


The glass is more reflective than I originally thought it would be...but I like it.

http://www.pbase.com/image/31191023/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/image/31191031/large.jpg


The West St corridor will become very busy in the next year with new construction (7 WTC, Freedom Tower, Goldman Sachs)

http://www.pbase.com/image/31191079/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/image/31191085/large.jpg


Another look at the reflective glass...

http://www.pbase.com/image/31191097/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/image/31191114/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/image/31191120/large.jpg

[krulltime]

Yeah I am so glad to see the new glass. :P So I can't wait until is top out. It is going to look really good from where it is looking from the north. with its new reflecting glass I bet.

[nike]

Is the 7wtc going to be taller than the buildings around it. :?:

[NYguy]

Is the 7wtc going to be taller than the buildings around it. :?:

It would be, at least until the Freedom and Goldman towers are built...

[James Kovata]

What's the current estimated height of 7WTC and number of floors remaining? Assuming current rate of construction, when will it top out?

[ZippyTheChimp]

The building will top out at 750 ft. There will be 42 office floors which begin at the level where the facade has been installed. At present, it is about the height of Verizon, 500 ft.

I count 26 floors (25 and 26 partially) complete. That leaves 16 floors to go. The steel frame goes up 2 floors at a time, and from what I've seen over the past few months, a two-floor section is complete in a little over 1 week. So I think it will top out in about 10 weeks.

[yepole]

Just was wondering, how new building's going to look like. While practicing in 3D Max, created several renderings :)
http://tinypic.com/ohur
http://tinypic.com/oi6h
Dont look at surroundings buildings, they've been created just as furniture :)
(* sorry, Yahoo pictures were buggy :D OK, for now looks like it's working)

[Gulcrapek]

Wow. Thanks!

[Johnnyboy]

all I see is 2 red x. can you tell me were you got the pictures so i can be able to see them?

[krulltime]

Just was wondering, how new building's going to look like. While practicing in 3D Max, created several renderings :)


Yeah I don't see the images as well...But they sound really good where can I see them? Please... :D

[NewYorkYankee]

I can finally see them, they look really good, Im excited to see this building when it's completed.

[krulltime]

It looks good but would it reflect too much sun light in the area? These type of buildings with refecting glass are usually good close to the edge of the watefront. That way the sunlight doesnt bother other buildings offices that are close to it.

I dont know what other building in the city has reflecting glass that is in between buildings. :?

[Jasonik]

yepole-
What did you use as a bumpmap? Imo a rectangular gradiant image bumpmap the size of the window grid would give a more realistic distortion. Maybe add some transparency and put in some floorplates, (then you could do a night scene.) Nice work!

ps: Are you using a parallelogram as the plan?

http://silversteinproperties.com/plans/7wt_lowrisepln.jpg

[yepole]

Wow, thanks for the floor plan. I was looking for it but unsuccessfully. If I'll have time, I can modify model to have this exact footprint. (Yes, I use paralellogram, similar, but maybe not of the exact shape like one shown on the plan :) )
In my model each glass plate as appr. 1 x 3 m. Glass is made to reflect almost 100%, metal plates about twice as little. Glass is about 15% transparent. Floors, inner walls & columns are there, but hardly visible because of high reflection 8)

[NYatKNIGHT]

7/10

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/7wtc.jpg

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/NYatKNIGHT/church_st.jpg

[Jasonik]

How long has that cross been there?

[ZippyTheChimp]

Since the beginning. I don't think it's appropriate, but I suppose no one has had the guts to say anything about it.

[Jasonik]

I guess the ACLU is too busy removing Christian imagery from County Seals to bother. I hope they don't learn about Architectural styles such as Neo-Gothic and Mission and subsequently ban public buildings from employing them. What about Greek temple fronts?! eeek!! :wink:

[billyblancoNYC]

God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus, God, Jesus

[DougGold]

For the first time I'm realizing how close 7 WTC and the Verizon building are without touching. Just look at those photos! People in those offices are going to be able to make googly-eyes at each other...

[ZippyTheChimp]

Believe me, you don't want to make google-eyes at telecom workers, who are generally psychopaths.

[Johnnyboy]

i still can't believe how fast that building is growing. :shock:
I hope the surrounding buildings that will be build will grow as fast as this one.

[Stern]

For the first time I'm realizing how close 7 WTC and the Verizon building are without touching. Just look at those photos! People in those offices are going to be able to make googly-eyes at each other...

In addition to views being blocked by Barclay Vessey views will also be blocked by the Freedom Tower. 7 WTC is surrounded and covered. It is possible the Silverstein built 7 WTC with so much haste so that it will be more desirable and attract tenants before all of its views are taken by more prominent buildings.

[kliq6]

Anyone hear if they have found a tenant?

[TLOZ Link5]

Anyone hear if they have found a tenant?

As recent posts on this thread have documented, the SEC and a law firm are considering signing on for 200,000 and 400,000 square feet, respectively.

[yepole]

Captured from Q train, Manhattan Bridge. Jul 31.
http://tinypic.com/1c2ok
And here combined one of my previous shots (Jul 16) with the model:
http://tinypic.com/1c3yo
And here (Oh yeah, I'm crazy I know 8) ) the whole process of 3D-construction: http://tinypic.com/1c3zc

[Gulcrapek]

That's amazing stuff, you should become a professional architectural renderer.

[krulltime]

Still going up while it looks like there is more glass:

http://www.pbase.com/image/32193155.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/32193157.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/32193150.jpg

[yepole]

Look, they have resumed some work on substation (floors 8 9 10). 8)

Interesting, when they will start covering first 10 floors with glass and steel?

[ZippyTheChimp]

On the north wall, the substation upper floors have been fully enclosed in concrete.

[Ptarmigan]

It is cool to see 7 World Trade Center being built again. I am surprised that they are even building it. It will give us a good idea what the Freedom Tower would look like sort of. This will send a message to terrorists that they have failed utterly.

[BrooklynRider]

The building is growing on me. I had my doubts (as we usually do with renderings), but this seems to be shaping up nicely. SOM seems to have turned a corner in recent years, giving us somewhat more sophisticated buildings. I still think they need to raise the bar to compete with the Chicago studio, but my satisfaction is growing. (I'm sure they'd be relieved to know that.)

[chris_rgbg]

And here (Oh yeah, I'm crazy I know 8) ) the whole process of 3D-construction: http://tinypic.com/1c3zc

The finished Building reminds of the TwinTowers. Like there is a "Little Brother" born ;)

I like it :)

chris

[Johnnyboy]

stufff like this makes me think that theres hope for the freedom tower. Renderings are different from the real actuall building. The building itself usually looks better than the renderings. Hopefully samething will happen with the freedom tower. I can already be able to picture what the completed new wtc 7 will look like. :)

[ZippyTheChimp]

View from West Broadway and Worth St.
http://www.pbase.com/image/32262370.jpg

[sirhcman]

Thanks Zippy!

[James Kovata]

How many more floors to go before it's topped out?

[BrooklynRider]

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, from Brooklyn to Manhattan, this is now prominent on the skyline and 2 Gold St. managed to pop up in its topping our as well. Always exciting to see the skyline evolve.

[Stern]

This is a big, no fuss, New York style building.

[Gulcrapek]

8/08 general hazy view

http://galleries.soaringtowers.org/albums/album50/7wtc88.sized.jpg

[yepole]

Two shots stacked. I like the way it is reflecting :)
http://tinypic.com/242ua
http://tinypic.com/2426w
---------------------
View from Murray street
http://tinypic.com/242uw
http://tinypic.com/24281
---------------------
7WTC as seen between 2 & 3 WFC
http://tinypic.com/242v4
http://tinypic.com/242gz
---------------------
42 floors complete in steel if counting with substation. Appr. 10 floors to go 8)
http://tinypic.com/242vk
http://tinypic.com/242ma
---------------------
View with temporary PATH station in foreground
http://tinypic.com/242vs
http://tinypic.com/242ol

[Gulcrapek]

Great pictures...

[NewYorkYankee]

I LOVE the last shot, this is a GREAT addition to the skyline, I LOVE IT!

[Johnnyboy]

I can see that this building is going to be very beautifull. That glass goes great with the building and the site. Does anyone know when the pictures above were taken. They are exelent pictures

[yepole]

they were taken on Friday, August 13, while I was walking around the site after sunsert. Thanks for replies!

[Pottebaum]

This is probably one of my favorite styles of buildings. Simple and sleek.

[Johnnyboy]

thanks. love the growth advancement

[Pottebaum]

Did that deal with SEC and that one law firm (mentioned on page 24) go through?

[James Kovata]

It's definitely nice to see something going UP in downtown.

[kliq6]

so far no decsion on the sec or the law firm. If tenants dont want to be in 7 WTC what will this mean for the rest of the site ?

[Pottebaum]

The Freedom Tower already has a few tenants, right?

[kliq6]

no tenants for either as far as ive read or heard about. WIthout some tenants and with Silverstsin only awarded half the money he was looking for, it will become a issue f if its economically possible to complete the site as stated

[Pottebaum]

Strange. I thought I read an article that said the FT had attracted a few tenants. Ill see if I can find it.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Concerning the insurance:

7 WTC was not part of the WTC complex, and the building was insured by Industrial Risk Insurers, who are paying the full amount of the policy. Leasing the building will be important to Silverstein, who will have to use proceeds to obtain financing for the remaining WTC buildings. I know the SEC and others have expressed interest in leasing space in 7 WTC, but I have not heard of any company actually signing a lease.

[Bob]

Seems to me, the new WTC is the place to be. And so, anyone who can get in 7 WTC early on will be in a prime location. When you think of the money being thrown into the whole project, this area once again will become prime real estate and readily accessible. As I understand it, there will also be all-new infrastructure throughout -- electrical, telephone, etc. -- that will facilitate commerce. Last but not least, the new transportation link to Long Island (if that ever happens) would really jump-start the area. All this being said, I suspect 7 WTC will be full in short order. Am very surprised it wasn't built about 200' taller to take full advantage of the site.

[billyblancoNYC]

Strange. I thought I read an article that said the FT had attracted a few tenants. Ill see if I can find it.

Talks, but nothing is "signed." This, of course, could be in the works, as the details and lawyers wrangle it out.

I would love to see a nice mix - Financial, Gov't, Media. I know there has been a great deal of talk about media, mainly publishers, taking advantage of the rents and incentives.

This would be amazing for the area, as it would not only bring a new type of worker (and any worker) to the area, but it would bring all the "hip" type stuff that makes other areas of Manhattan so desirable (bars, restaurants, boutiques). This is what they want for this area and bringing in these types of tenants would accelerate that.

Once the plans are in motion, I think this will be a very successful development (all of the WTC). The shopping and transporatation plans are hard to pass up, especially with lower rents and crazy incentives.

[Pottebaum]

I wonder if companies that are currently sending back office and operation jobs to Jersey and the suburbs will take advantage of this, too.

[krulltime]

It will be make more sence if 7WTC was to become a Hotel (a great location) and all the tenants that are under talk for 7WTC should be considering moving into the freedom Tower instead. I don't like all these new empty office space that are comming up. It is not healthy for downtown.

[Pottebaum]

Before I'd support an idea like that, I would want to see how the office-market improved downtown.

There's been quite a bit of good news lately, hasn't there?

[kliq6]

Well Goldman Sachs is building in BPC but also leaving behind as much space as they are taking, so id say that dowtown is still a mess as most firms want midtown, which is why the Hudson Yards plan must move faster

[billyblancoNYC]

It will be make more sence if 7WTC was to become a Hotel (a great location) and all the tenants that are under talk for 7WTC should be considering moving into the freedom Tower instead. I don't like all these new empty office space that are comming up. It is not healthy for downtown.

This is true, but 11 million sq ft. of Class B and C space is being converted to residential. This development will just replace that lost space and not really add much more, if any. Plus, it will be the most advanced space in the country, if not the world.

[ZippyTheChimp]

New York City has to adapt. As stated in this thread, (http://forums.wirednewyork.com/viewtopic.php?t=3060&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=60) financial firms are diversifying locations out of Lower Manhattan. Following 09/11, it's difficult to argue with the logic of this.

There is nothing wrong with Lower Manhattan becoming more residential, as long as the jobs stay in the city. That's why I think that, in the immediate future, the development of Downtown Brooklyn is at least as important as the WTC.

[Pottebaum]

I'd love to see jobs stay in Manhattan and NYC--but has the administration/state done anything to help this cause? Would you say that the reason for firms moving some jobs out of Manhattan is over fear of terrorism, or more by the prices being too high?

[NYguy]

NY Post

by Steve Cuozzo

Larry Silverstein's new 7 World Trade Center — how the name resonates — has now reached the 40th floor, en route to 52. Topping off is scheduled for mid-November and completion by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, enough of the David Childs-designed glass curtain wall already wraps enough of the lower floors on all four sides to give an idea of how the finished tower will look.

Why does the building, which has no blue glass, seems to glow blue in sunlight?

Silverstein exec Dara McQuillan says the effect is caused by thin blue spandrels at the bottom of the 10-foot glass panes. They cannot be seen from the street, but light reflecting off them onto the glass causes the facade to emit a blueish hue at times.

The glass panes extend one foot beneath the level of each floor, adding to a sense of openness. Metallic strips section the glass into an arresting pattern of narrow vertical segments.

Silverstein is looking for tenants. And downtown is waiting for CUNY to do something about the grotesque eyesore of Fiterman Hall at 7 WTC's foot — the only large damaged building still waiting for its owners to wake up to the fact that it is no longer Sept. 11, 2001.

[kliq6]

Higher Taxes, Higher Rents and Higher Energy bills cause these firms to move to jersey

[Pottebaum]

Well, then the city needs to work on all of those things! :P

[simmonmt]

Does anyone have any recent photographs of Fiterman Hall? Google only turned up a couple of teeny ones.

[Gulcrapek]

Recent ones are going to be the same as those taken last year. Structure perpetually exposed on on side.

[MrShakespeare]

This is great news! ...Very complimentary of Silverstein, and Childs, too. Anyone have any ideas on the identity of the law firm mentioned?

Real Estate Weekly
Copyright 2004 Gale Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, July 28, 2004


No worries over quest to find 7 WTC anchor lease.(World Trade Center)

Misonzhnik, Elaine

Larry Silverstein might have a lot of things to worry about these days, but downtown brokers don't think 7 World Trade Center should be one of them. With the completion date scheduled for next year, the 1.7 million s/f office building is still without an anchor tenant. But its first rate design and the reputation of its owner are going to be hard to resist, brokers say.

So far, the most likely candidate for the 7 World Trade Center space seems to be the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which was located in the original World Trade Center complex before September 11. But there is also a rumor of a large law firm that is currently considering taking space in lower Manhattan.

"The logical tenant to return to 7 World Trade Center would be the Port Authority. But that said, it wouldn't be surprising if Silverstein were to secure the tenant for the tower of the building in advance of PA's commitment," said David Goldstein, executive managing director with Studley.

"7 World Trade Center is going to have the most sophisticated infrastructure of any class A property in the city and it will be the premier class A facility downtown. It will have 40,000 s/f floor plates, which are very efficient and could work for large law firms, as well as financial firms. Silverstein is going to build a high quality product and he will command premium rents compared with what the balance of the market is offering."

Joel Wechsler, senior managing director with Grubb & Ellis, is also of the opinion that the building's quality alone is guaranteed to get it a tenant.

"7 World Trade Center is the only new construction coming on the market downtown and it has an excellent owner," he said. "There are some law firms that were displaced from the World Trade Center that are looking to come back.

"There is a significant law practice downtown that is rumored to be seriously considering the building for roughly 300,000 s/f. And then there is the government, the Port Authority."

Adam Foster, senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis, mentioned that downtown's improving image might help lure new tenants to the area. With the new Path train station and all the residential conversions, it is slowly turning into a 24/7 community.

"Parks are being created, the transportation hub is going to happen, it's starting to look like a better place," he said. "And with the space that is available today in new buildings, tenants are going to be able to make fabulous deals."

At the same time, however, most brokers express an underlying concern about the large blocks of space that are coming on the market as a result of the JP Morgan Chase/Bank One merger.

The rising prices in midtown might make downtown more attractive to some tenants, but will there be enough demand to fill all the vacant space?

"I think the major issue downtown is that many of the traditional users of downtown space--financial services firms, insurance companies--have decentralized their operation and have not started a quest for additional space at this point in time," Wechsler said.

[Pottebaum]

"I think the major issue downtown is that many of the traditional users of downtown space--financial services firms, insurance companies--have decentralized their operation and have not started a quest for additional space at this point in time," Wechsler said.

I worry that, when companies that are decentralizing operation look for new space, they'll look in locations outside of the city. What do you guys think?

[kliq6]

when they decentilize they leave the city basically

[Pottebaum]

really? I thought it just meant they were moving some jobs to other parts of the metro---not that they eliminated the chance of themselves ever expanding in the city...

[TonyO]

I recently saw a presentation on the Commercial real estate market at Fordham Grad school at Lincoln Center. The speaker, a RE analyst, pointed out the relatively flat growth of Manhattan office jobs since 1967, which hovers around 2 million workers. They also pointed out the trends in the types of firms in Manhattan. Commercial bank employment has been on the decline since 1987, while Financial employment has grown on average since 1992-3.

It doesn't point to any explosion in the Manhattan commercial market, but it highlights the overall steadiness in the number of jobs here (as well as the changing of types of jobs over the years).

Those Port Authority workers who move into 7WTC will be happy with the space. Brand new, class A, open floors and a well designed building.

[Pottebaum]

I wonder why they number of office jobs hasn't increased much......

Maybe with all this new WTC space, more office jobs will be created in Manhattan.

[ddjiii]

Well, jobs create space, not the other way around. No financial institution has to hire more people just because Silverstein is building a skyscraper.

[Pottebaum]

Well, yeah--but I was thinking that companies would take advantage of all this space and expand job growth in Manhattan instead of eslewhere.

-------------------------

I realize that I've blown the job loss of NYC to other parts of the metro way out of proportion over the last few days----- I get so paranoid sometimes :roll:

[Derek2k3]

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2004_08_7worldtrade.jpg
Picture by Matt Blumberg from the 35th floor of his apartment. Check out a larger size at his blog page.
http://onlyonce.blogs.com/onlyonce/2004/08/morning_in_trib.html

[Johnnyboy]

this is already becoming one of the tallest structures in lower manhattan

[sirhcman]

this is already becoming one of the tallest structures in lower manhattan

Cant wait til I get to see it again in May...It was only at about 17 floors last time I saw it.. Great to see :D

[GLNY]

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2004_08_7worldtrade.jpg
Picture by Matt Blumberg from the 35th floor of his apartment. http://onlyonce.blogs.com/onlyonce/2004/08/morning_in_trib.html

Did you mean his 35th floor apartment, or does Mr. Blumberg own the mother of all Manhattan multiplexes?

(Sorry, I've been reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves and couldn't resist)

[RandySavage]

Upon completion 7 WTC will be the 5th tallest building downtown. 1-4 are AIG, Trump Building, One Chase Plaza and Woolworth.

Freedom Tower, 80 South St, Goldman Sachs, and possibly Ratner NYU could push it to number 9 downtown by 2010.

[Johnnyboy]

Upon completion 7 WTC will be the 5th tallest building downtown. 1-4 are AIG, Trump Building, One Chase Plaza and Woolworth.

Freedom Tower, 80 South St, Goldman Sachs, and possibly Ratner NYU could push it to number 9 downtown by 2010.

Ratner NYU? I never heard of that building. Is 80 south street still in propose position? or has it been approved.

[NewYorkYankee]

LOL, I doubt 80 South Street WILL EVER BE NEAR approval! I wish it would, but I doubt it.

[kliq6]

i agree 80 south street with the preservationist in the seaport area, no way

[Derek2k3]

80 South Street is an as of right tower meaning that it doesn't need any special approvals. Only the financial issues can kill the tower.

[TLOZ Link5]

80 South Street is an as of right tower meaning that it doesn't need any special approvals. Only the financial issues can kill the tower.

Which isn't likely. The residential market downtown is hot, but there are relatively few condos downtown outside of BPC — there's demand. And it's gotten a favorable reception from the general public and CB1. These reviews do take time, though; there were a few months of limbo for the new Goldman Sachs building before it breezed through the approval process, if you'll all recall. There's also a very interesting display of 80 South Street now at the Center for Architecture. I highly recommend going down there to see it.

[NewYorkYankee]

Do you think it will get built TLOZ? And how does one get to this Center for Architecture? Does it have a website? is it in Manhattan?

[Johnnyboy]

I agree. imagine the cost of living in one of those apatments. it would be way too expensive. I also would not feel safe living up there in one of those apartments wich look like it can easely fall. I really do hope they make it. It would be an archetecturall masterpice. Nothing like this was ever build before.

[ZippyTheChimp]

TLOZ and Derek are right, and as far as I know, there is no opposition to the project.
There is an existing thread (http://forums.wirednewyork.com/viewtopic.php?t=2542&start=105) on 80 South St. The issue of apartment cost was brought up. Discuss it there.

[TLOZ Link5]

ILUVNYC,

The Foundation for Architecture is an affiliate office of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, or the AIA. It is located at 536 LaGuardia Place, just south of Washington Square Park. It's open to the public and admission is free.

[NYguy]

Do you think it will get built TLOZ? And how does one get to this Center for Architecture? Does it have a website? is it in Manhattan?

It's pretty easy to get to. If you're not in the area, just take the subway to the W. 4th st station, and its a couple of blocks over...

[MrShakespeare]

Here is the web site for the NY Foundation for Architecture:

http://www.aiany.org/nyfoundation/

The NY AIA home page is here, of course:

http://www.aiany.org/

...Check out the incredible calendar for all sorts of events related to topics here on Wired New York.

[yepole]

OK, back to the topic 8)
7WTC is finally emerging behind the Deutsche Bank Building (am I correct, is that the one that's going to be deconstructed?) as seen far from Brooklyn, roughly 5 miles away. Sorry for the quality, I was stacking 4 images in order to get the whole height in the first image. Until today I thought 7WTC is that black building that actually obscures real 7WTC (from such a distance you can't really see a lot of details) because construction cranes appeared directly over that one if looking from this location. :) But if that black box is to be removed - 7WTC will be visible much better! 8) Like that :)
http://tinypic.com/3zhox
http://tinypic.com/3zjgx
http://tinypic.com/3zjm1
http://tinypic.com/3zjip

[Gulcrapek]

Thanks. I've never seen that angle before.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Brooklyn Bridge perspective
http://www.pbase.com/image/33305704.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/33305781.jpg

West St
http://www.pbase.com/image/33305818.jpg

[TLOZ Link5]

The clear glass was obviously a great choice.

[James Kovata]

How many more floors to go until 7WTC tops out?? :?:

[TLOZ Link5]

How many more floors to go until 7WTC tops out?? :?:

Very. In the last picture I counted at least 49 stories, if you include the 10-story base.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I think the 3 open floors below the point where the facade begins are part of the 10 storey substation. If correct, then the count is 46 out of 52.

[James Kovata]

It just doesn't look that tall. I guess the building's bulk detracts somewhat from its height. Then again, it could just be the angle from which the pictures were shot.

[yepole]

Well, from this angle it does look rather tall to me. Especially with uppermost floors being lost in the darkness 8)
http://www.unwiredny.com/temp/DSC04801-sm.jpg
http://www.unwiredny.com/temp/DSC04801-(03-sep-04).jpg
Note how nicely the building is layered, with different types of work performed on different levels. Also I see it is being assembled using some sort of bi-floor approach, with 2 floors raised at once (so now we are having floors 47 & 48 under construction). Is that common for such buildings?

[Gulcrapek]

Yup. Columns sometimes come in two-floor pieces.

How do you get such great photos?

[yepole]

Yes, that's what I thought about these columns. And to get any good photo in a low-light IMO you don't have to be professional; two main things you need is something stable to lean the camera on for a few seconds, and an option to make longer exposure on the camera itself.
BTW it might be funny, but I've just noted the plain that left the "trail of itself" on this shot. 8) Haven't paid my attention to it before :lol:

[Stern]

yepole, I believe your fullsize photo deserves to be posted and seen by everyone.

http://www.unwiredny.com/temp/DSC04801-(03-sep-04).jpg

Its glowing, quite literaly.

[Bob]

Good architecture is good architecture, regardless of style. The Verizon (Barclay) building still looks terrific after all these years, and 7 WTC is starting to look like a winner as well. Way to go.

[PHLguy]

:shock: :D 8)

[Stern]

What I find miraculous about this building is its delicate curtain wall. I don’t think any building in the entire world has such narrowly spaced horizontal mullions between each floor to ceiling window. This will not be a typically styled ribbon-window building, rather it will come across as a single pane of glass with only slight detailing.

[sirhcman]

yepole, I believe your fullsize photo deserves to be posted and seen by everyone.


Its glowing, quite literaly.

Wow this building is turning out to be better looking than I first imagined!

[Bob]

Here's an idea, FWIW.

Floodlight the entire structure in deep blue. Think "GE" building, except in blue.

[James Kovata]

That's a pretty incredible photograph. When I first looked at it, I thought it was a computer-generated picture based on current construction data.

[yepole]

I wanted to make some night-time renderings of my model, but I realized that if I put at least 50 light sources or so, my aging computer will simply die while generating the image :D Talking about surrounding buildings like Verizon, they look nice by the 7WTC, especially I like the way they are reflected.

[MrShakespeare]

...There were a couple of photos, too. One from 7WTC, and the other of the Bronx Criminal Court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/nyregion/06glass.html?pagewanted=print&position=

September 6, 2004
Even in an Age of Terror, Towers Use Glass Facades
By DAVID W. DUNLAP

For three years, ground zero has been the province of ruin and rough edges. Now it is assuming a diaphanous new face. Floor by floor, the new 7 World Trade Center is being sheathed in 538,420 square feet of glass, more than 12 acres of transparency.

That is just the beginning. Glass-clad structures are to rise all around the site where the twin towers stood. Beyond this crystalline precinct, dozens of other buildings with sleek glass skins are under development or newly completed, reflecting the current architectural penchant for clarity, luminosity, permeability and weightlessness.

Defying concerns after the attack on New York three years ago that post-9/11 construction would be dominated by brute concrete bunkers, the designers of significant new public and private buildings in the city are turning again and again to glass facades.

At first, it seems counterintuitive to embrace such an apparently fragile building material when structures are supposed to be hardened against terrorist bombings. The paradox is that much greater at ground zero, where thousands of windows were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, even in buildings that were otherwise largely undamaged.

"It is evident that glass in tall buildings or any buildings would cause serious injuries in the event of a bomb blast," said Monica Gabrielle, co-chairwoman of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, whose husband, Richard, died in the trade center attack. "Why is it that we have not learned or just plain refuse to learn any lessons?"

But the engineers and architects of the new generation of glass buildings said that many lessons have been learned, especially after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. While no facade could withstand an assault as catastrophic as that on the trade center in 2001 and while their first concern is to prevent progressive structural collapse, which brought down the twin towers, they said glass curtain walls can perform protectively and resiliently against some blasts, holding panes in place or greatly limiting the amount of flying debris.

Strengthened by tempering and lamination, then set into aluminum curtain walls or steel cable nets that can absorb some of the impact from a blast, glass is both a reasonable facade material and a desirable one, the designers said.

Safety is further enhanced by creating the greatest possible distance between a building and a vehicle-borne bomb. The new World Trade Center transportation hub, for example, will be surrounded by a large public plaza. "That's purposeful," said Robert Ducibella of Ducibella Venter & Santore, security consulting engineers to the project. "If we have this jewel, we want to provide reasonable standards for protecting it."

The new Hearst Tower on Eighth Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets, designed by Foster & Partners, is set back from all three streets, as it rises from within the shell of a 1928 landmark structure. Seven World Trade Center has a built-in barrier in the form of a 125-foot-high concrete podium housing a Con Ed substation.

Two Ages, Coexisting

"How can we have glass in an age of terrorism?" asked Carl Galioto, a partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects of 7 World Trade Center, the Freedom Tower at the trade center site, the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle and the proposed expansion of Pennsylvania Station into a glass shell set behind the general post office.

"I don't believe any time period is defined by one label," Mr. Galioto said. "It's inaccurate and somewhat superficial. We're also living in age when we're trying to make work environments more livable. We're looking to introduce more daylight into work space, to reduce energy consumption, to reduce carbon emissions. It's the age of terrorism but it's the age of sustainable design. They're coexisting."

They can coexist because of advances in the design of framing systems and in the treatment of glass. "The level of performance is phenomenal compared with glasses of only 15 years ago," said Cesar Pelli of Cesar Pelli & Associates, the architects of 731 Lexington Avenue, between 58th and 59th Streets, the future headquarters of Bloomberg Media.

Common annealed glass breaks fairly easily into jagged shards. Much stronger tempered glass breaks more benignly into pebbles, but these can be propelled like bullets by a blast. However, when glass is laminated with one or more layers of a substance like polyvinyl butyral, the pieces are held in place even if the pane breaks. (Think of a shattered car windshield that remains largely intact in its frame.)

"It is unlikely that the untrained eye could distinguish between laminated, tempered or ordinary annealed glass, yet in terms of safety there is a major difference," said Tim Macfarlane of Dewhurst Macfarlane & Partners, an engineering firm based in London and New York. "Images of glass facades destroyed by the many bombs that were detonated in the U.K. in the last 30 years were depicting facades that had not been designed for this sort of event."

Another misperception cited by some designers was the seeming solidity of curtain walls in which windows are punched out of surrounding masonry. "It's purely an illusion to believe that punched windows and a thin stone curtain wall will afford any more protection," Mr. Galioto said.

Laminated glass will be used at the base of 7 World Trade Center and throughout the Hearst Tower, in curtain walls manufactured by Permasteelisa Cladding Technologies. "The skin is meant to absorb and dissipate the load," said Alberto De Gobbi, the company president.

Curtain walls help control breakage by deforming in response to a nearby blast, thereby partly relieving the intensity of the load that the glass itself must resist, said Robert Smilowitz, a principal in Weidlinger Associates, an engineering firm with decades of experience in blast resistance. "In this age of protection against terrorism, architecture doesn't have to suffer," Dr. Smilowitz said.

Testing at White Sands

Weidlinger put the idea of a protective curtain wall to the test in 1998 in its work on a federal building and courthouse in Las Vegas. A full-scale mockup of part of the curtain wall was erected inside a blast simulator at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Explosive charges were set off. (Dr. Smilowitz is not permitted to reveal the magnitude.) Only 3 of 27 panes in the mockup were damaged, he said, with no debris.

The White Sands simulator was used again in 2002 to test a 15-by-30-foot section of a curtain wall manufactured by Enclos Corporation for the Bronx Criminal Court Complex on East 161st Street, designed by Rafael Viñoly Associates and DMJM.

The Bronx project was under way before the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995. "Oklahoma City changed the whole design criterion for the Bronx criminal courthouse," said Charles Blomberg, an architect and the technical director of the Viñoly office. "But the idea of a transparent building was maintained."

The project was delayed for several months while a task force including the Police Department and a threat-assessment analyst developed criteria for blast resistance, which Mr. Blomberg said he could not disclose. "We were able to adjust the strength and structure of the curtain wall to accommodate these new parameters," he said.

Both the Hearst Tower and the new headquarters of The New York Times on Eighth Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets, were in development when the trade center was attacked. In the aftermath, Hearst elected to keep its glass facade but "reviewed every piece of the puzzle," said Brian Schwagerl, the director of real estate and facilities planning, upgrading the design and the materials at a premium of about 10 percent over the original cost of the curtain wall, which he would not specify.

The New York Times Company also retained its planned curtain wall, designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Fox & Fowle. But after Sept. 11, it made a "multi-million dollar investment in hardening various aspects of the structure and strengthening frames and windows that could be subject to a blast," said David A. Thurm, vice president for real estate development. "For obvious reasons, there is limited information we can provide about the precautions that we have taken against blasts."

When it gets to specifics, almost everyone demurs, in part because specifying the level of blast resistance is almost an invitation to terrorists to concoct a higher charge.

But there are performance standards, developed by the General Services Administration and the Interagency Security Committee, to gauge response to a blast.

They range from the safest condition, No. 1, in which the glazing does not break, to condition No. 5, in which glazing cracks, the window system fails catastrophically and fragments hit a wall 10 feet away at a height greater than two feet. Under intermediate conditions, the glazing cracks but fragments land on the floor closer to the window.

Updating the Building Code

The current building code does not contain specific requirements for curtain walls that would resist terrorist attacks, said Patricia J. Lancaster, the city buildings commissioner. But the new code, a synthesis of the International Building Code with technical requirements tailored to New York City, will consider the effects of such extreme events.

Ms. Lancaster gave an example of how standards must navigate a razor's edge: laminated glass may seem like an ideal solution until one asks how easily firefighters can gain access from the outside in the event that the hazardous event has occurred within.

Though it is obvious to focus on the building shell, engineers concerned with safety and security concentrate first on the core. "The single biggest determinant in how a building performs is maintaining the structure intact and maintaining the egress intact," said Leo E. Argiris, an engineer and a principal in Arup, a company that leads the team designing the Fulton Street Transit Center.

Silverstein Properties is promoting those qualities at 7 World Trade Center, which it is developing. "Our view has always been that the primary safety systems were the structural and other systems that maximize, beyond existing code, the stability and emergency exiting capacity," said Janno Lieber, the trade center project director for Silverstein. "The tenants we are dealing with are sophisticated and understand that the material on the outside isn't the determinant of their safety."

Ultimately, the level of any protection turns in part on economics. "We can make certain windows more blast resistant than others," said Gordon H. Smith of the Gordon H. Smith Corporation, a consulting firm specializing in exterior walls. "That's a dollars and cents issue. If we're talking about rebuilding every office building in the country as the Pentagon, what we'd be saying is, 'Build no buildings.' "

And it turns in part on trying to anticipate the unfathomable. "As much as you'd like to protect all people and all spaces, that may not be achievable in a random event," Dr. Smilowitz said.

Architects have faced the unfathomable before. The city's first generation of glass towers - the United Nations Secretariat, Lever House, the Seagram Building - took shape under the cloud of atomic war. In 1951, for instance, as Lever House neared completion on Park Avenue, an unprecedented daytime air-raid drill stopped traffic throughout the city and emptied every street of pedestrians.

Both then and now, the embrace of glass might be thought of as the architectural equivalent of whistling past the graveyard or, more positively, as a declaration of faith.

A Metaphor for Optimism

"Isn't the glassiness of the buildings, the transparency of them, a metaphor for much-needed optimism and a much-needed perception that what's going on inside the corporate or governmental world is not secret?" asked Robert A. M. Stern, dean of the Yale School of Architecture.

Yes, said Richard Cook, a partner in Cook + Fox Architects, designers of the 54-story Bank of America Tower that is to rise on the Avenue of the Americas, between 42nd and 43rd Streets. "The ideal of modern banking is open, clear, transparent," he said, "as opposed to hidden behind vaults in three-piece suits."

Yes, said Mr. Thurm of The Times. "A key goal for our new building is to enhance the work environment for our employees," he said, "and one of the significant enhancements will be an emphasis on natural light and views."

Yes, said Michael D. Garz of the Downtown Design Partnership, a joint venture of STV and DMJM & Harris, working with Santiago Calatrava on the trade center transportation hub being built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"Its transparency is part of the power it has as a symbol," Mr. Garz said. There are practical reasons, too, for creating an enormous skylight over the terminal, which will connect to the extensive network of passageways under the new trade center and to the similarly glass-enclosed Fulton Street Transit Center. "We've promised people daylight as they move through this enormous, enormous site," he said.

"Transparency is something we've become accustomed to, the ability to have light enrich our interior environments," Mr. Garz said. "We're still trying to attain humanistic goals."

[Lemonsoda]

Regarding the glow of 7 WTC as so wonderfully illustrated on yepole's pic, I guess those are the magic spandrels doing their job? Anyway, it's heartening to see this symbolic and highly useful building going up at Ground Zero.


I did some research regarding the intriguing artwork at 7 WTC's base, and think the results are new to this thread.


This interactive animation of New York artist James Carpenter's lighttubes (he has also been selected for some work on the Fulton St Transit Center) seems acutely interesting to me:

k i n e c i t y (http://kinecity.com/projects.html#) - click on the 7 WTC link

A nice little description of his work:

Carpenter creates a very intricate combination of video cameras and LED light tubes that track pedestrians passing by the base of the building. As they walk, the light tubes turn on and off, following the movement of the person along the street. On the other side of the building at the entry, the façade is almost completely glass, once again with embedded LED lights that form words as if the wall were a giant computer screen. Despite appearances, the structural system used to support this wall is quite sturdy. One might have wondered how such a transparent wall passed the new restrictions on security. Creating this beautiful glass wall that also can withstand a blast load is quite an achievement, possibly much more so than the aesthetic aspect. Source (http://www.dallasarchitectureforum.org/forum/James%20Carpenter%20review.htm)


The Californian firm Led Effects is supplying the linear illuminator made up of Nichia LEDs (a very innovative Japanese firm and the leader in LED technology): http://www.ledeffects.com/installations.htm


Johnson Screens is supplying the... you guessed it. What they have to say:

This project consists of exterior screen panel assemblies that cover the building from grade level to an average of 80 ft. high. Johnson Screens worked very closely with lighting consultant James Carpenter to produce a screen system that:

1.Allows air inside the building to cool Con-Edison power transformers.

2.Provide desired appearance as per James Carpenter’s design.

3.Provide blast protection from transformer or exterior explosion.

Source (http://www.weatherford.com/weatherford/groups/public/documents/technologies/js_sevenworldtradecenter.hcsp?js=1)

[yepole]

Just came from Manhattan after a walk around WTC site. Noticed that some work is taking place on the lower part of 7WTC:
http://pictures.unwiredny.com/Pictures/WTC04sep11/DSC04911-sm.jpg
http://pictures.unwiredny.com/Pictures/WTC04sep11/DSC04911.jpg

Also, it was the the first time I had a close look at the tribute lights that are on during this week. They look fantactic, I would say unreal!
For those who haven't seen them or won't have a chance to see, I made several shots:
http://pictures.unwiredny.com/Pictures/WTC04sep11/index.html

[Edward]

Looking North along Washington Street, with 7 WTC (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm), and Bankers Trust Building (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/130liberty/default.htm). 11 September 2004.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/images/7wtc_130liberty_11sept04.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm)



Looking North along Washington Street, with 7 WTC (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/7wtc/default.htm), and Bankers Trust Building (http://www.wirednewyork.com/wtc/130liberty/de