WTC Tower One - by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

[NYguy]

1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower that will be built next door. That skyscraper's security redesign is expected to be unveiled on Wednesday.

Somehow, I knew it would be Wednesday. It's always on a Wednesday. Here's more about the base from the 7 WTC article...

A shimmering, sharp-edged parallelogram sheathed in glass is being married to the brutalist 78-foot-tall substation with what looks like a sculptural installation: a kinetic, interactive stainless-steel wall.

Architects have said that this screen, intended to be a source of reflected color and light, may serve as the prototype for the cladding of a new, sturdier base at the 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower that will be built next door.

[kliq6]

Silver got his incentive package, lets see if anyone takes the bait. I wish however they would get rid of the commerical rent tax for the whole city, this double tax on firms is one of the biggest reasons for firms leaving

Legislature Approves New Incentives for Lower Manhattan
By Barbara Jarvie

NEW YORK CITY-An agreement called a “Lower Manhattan Marshall Plan” by New York State Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver contains incentives to promote economic growth and revitalization in Lower Manhattan. The legislation calls for initiatives to promote Downtown commercial space occupancy, including a $5-per-sf incentive for the first 750,000 sf of commercial space leased anywhere on the World Trade Center site and a $3.80-per-sf incentive for the first 750,000 sf leased at 7 World Trade Center. Developer Larry Silverstein will have to match these incentives.

Additional provisions include to permanently eliminate the Commercial Rent Tax for all Ground Zero tenants and a five-year exemption of the CRT for all of Lower Manhattan and the modification of the Relocation and Employment Assistance Program to make businesses relocating to the area eligible for the tax credits, while the benefit for businesses leaving the area will be at the discretion of the city. Other provisions include sales tax exemptions for such items as office furniture and equipment for businesses leasing at the WTC site and build-out costs at the site and other downtown locations. The agreement also eliminates tax incentives that encourage residential/mixed-use conversion before June 30, 2006.


A separate agreement will dedicate the remaining $3.5-billion Liberty Bond pool for use in Lower Manhattan only with a priority at Ground Zero. Other items listed as priorities by Silver include reconstructing the Church Street corridor and constructing a rail link connecting Lower Manhattan to JFK Airport and the Long Island Rail Road.


Carl Weisbrod, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, says the agreement will “provide significant economic incentives for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Downtown has come a long way since the horrible events of Sept. 11. But the economy remains fragile and these incentives are a key tool for revitalizing the area and fueling economic growth for years to come.”

[NoyokA]

New design for Freedom Tower to be unveiled Wednesday
6/28/2005 8:30 PM
(New York-RNS)

The new design for the proposed Freedom Tower at Ground Zero will be unveiled at a press conference Wednesday.

Governor George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and developer Larry Silverstein will join architects David Childs and Daniel Libeskind for the announcement.

The 1,776-foot tower has been redesigned, in part due to security concerns conveyed to the planners by the NYPD.

[STT757]

The renderings are going to be released to the media at 4Am, you can watch channel 4 at 5AM to see them.

[NoyokA]

The renderings are going to be released to the media at 4Am, you can watch channel 4 at 5AM to see them.

Where did you hear this?

[NoyokA]

Newsday:

Unveiling of new Freedom Tower design

BY PRADNYA JOSHI

June 29, 2005

A new version of the centerpiece building at Ground Zero, deemed by officials to be the "safest" office building in the world, is being unveiled Wednesday morning.

Architect David Childs was told to redo his vision for the iconic building in May after the New York Police Department raised several security issues, particularly noting that the building in its old design was vulnerable to damage from a truck bomb.

The new Freedom Tower will still stand 1,776 feet high in homage to America's independence, but the tower will be moved farther away from West Street. According to previous reports, the building's base is being changed from a parallelogram to a square and the walls and windows will be modified to make the building less vulnerable to attack.

The new design can be viewed on Newsday.com and NYNewsday.com Wednesday morning.

Gov. George Pataki has made downtown rebuilding his top political priority, but he has recently weathered a series of setbacks and problems at Ground Zero, including the news that Goldman Sachs & Co. was putting on hold its plans to build a new headquarters downtown.

The delays over Freedom Tower and other issues of miscommunication led Pataki to create a rebuilding "czar" position last month, naming his chief of staff John Cahill to the position.

Officials from developer Larry Silverstein's office, the Port Authority and the governor's office either declined to comment or did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

But Lower Manhattan Development Corp. chairman John C. Whitehead, who heads the agency overseeing downtown rebuilding, acknowledged in a radio interview this month that the police should have been involved in the process earlier.

"I did not know of the objection of the Police Department," Whitehead said on "The Brian Lehrer Show" on WNYC. "Whether that was poor communications within LMDC or poor communication in some other way, I don't know."

The police had flagged state officials to the security problems last year but apparently encountered several roadblocks when trying to get officials to address their concerns. Eventually, the Police Department wrote a threat assessment on April 8 that finally garnered the attention to force a redesign.

[STT757]

"Where did you hear this?"

Ralph Penza (sp?) interviewed Charles Gargano on the 6PM Channel 4 news, he mentioned that they wanted the public and media to see the renderings before the press conference later in the morning.

4 AM they will be released to the public, I wonder if the print media can do anything with that?..

[STT757]

The websites for the major Tri-State news outlets will no doubt have the renderings up around 4Am, if anyone wants to stay up (get up) that late/early.

Check the NYTimes, Newsday, Dailynews websites..

[krulltime]

Oh I cant wait!!!

Suddendly these lyrics popped in to my head... go figure... lol

"Give it to me
Give me that stuff
that funk
that sweet
that funky stuff
(Give it to me)
give me that stuff
that funk
that sweet
that funky stuff
Give it to me, give it to me
Give it to me, give it to me
Give me that stuff
that sweet, funky stuff

Oooooh HOW woo"

~ Give It To Me Baby - Rick James

[bkmonkey]

the actual redesign informatin is going to be released at 4 in the morning to all the media. So turn on your televisions sets tommorow morning and keep your fingers crossed!

[James Kovata]

NEW YORK -- The much-anticipated re-design of the Freedom Tower will be unveiled on Wednesday, NewsChannel 4 reported on Tuesday.

The old design that was called unsafe and criticized for its wind turbines is out. The new Freedom Tower has been reinforced and experts said will be one of the strongest buildings in the world.

It's also said to have a crown of light and still includes the original spire that will rise to the symbolic height of 1,776 feet.

[pianoman11686]

This crown of light aspect sounds promising, but I'm not gonna speculate any further. Though only a little more than two hours away from the unveiling, I think I'd rather sleep now and wake up early in the morning. Good night to all. As someone so cleverly suggested, I might be counting Libeskinds if I have trouble falling asleep...

[krulltime]

Ohhh... Must stay awake.... ZZZzzzzz..... What... What time is it?

[michelle1]

12:50 AM LA time , you guys are 3 hours ahead

[krulltime]

Oh I guess it wont be seen until a later conference today... But in case anyone is awake right now... Here is a recent story...


New Design to Be Unveiled Today for Freedom Tower



By DAVID W. DUNLAP and GLENN COLLINS
Published: June 29, 2005

With one eye on terrorism and another on what has already been lost to terrorists, New York officials will unveil a redesigned Freedom Tower today whose height and proportion, centered antenna and cut-away corners, tall lobbies and pinstripe facade would evoke - both deliberately and coincidentally - the sky-piercing twins it is meant to replace.

The new design for the 82-story signature building at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan calls for an almost impermeable and impregnable 200-foot concrete and steel pedestal, clad in ornamental metalwork and set at least 65 feet away from Route 9A, the heavily trafficked state highway that runs along the west edge of ground zero.

This enormous pedestal would overlook the Sept. 11 memorial. Above it would be a tapering tower of glass - some panes laminated and several layers thick - with 69 office floors topped by a restaurant, indoor and outdoor observation decks and an antenna within a trellis-like sculpture that would bring the structure's total height to 1,776 feet.

That symbolic height is one of the few elements left intact from the building first envisioned in 2002 by the architect Daniel Libeskind, the site's master planner, and designed in 2003 by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Gone are the asymmetrical spire, torqued form, parallelogram floor plan, energy-producing windmills, suspension cables, lacy facade and open-air arcade.

The hurried redesign has pushed the completion date of the Freedom Tower back by one or two years, to 2010. It is unclear what effect it will have on the budget, which has been estimated at $1.5 billion, since the extra security measures will add to costs, while the overall simplification of the structure may cut down on time and money.

The latest transformation was driven by the New York Police Department's insistence that the building be more resistant to attack, particularly from car and truck bombs. It was also intended to preserve as much as possible of the foundation design that had already consumed months of work. This includes threading the tower's underground columns among the looping outbound tracks of the World Trade Center PATH station.

Given those requirements, and the goal of maintaining the building's overall 2.6 million square foot floor area, the redesigned Freedom Tower almost naturally assumed some dimensions of the original twin towers, said David M. Childs of Skidmore, the building's chief architect.

Though uncanny, it was not an unwelcome turn, he said. In fact, adjustments and refinements have been made to underscore the similarities. For example, the altitude of the floor of the rooftop observation deck would be set at 1,362 feet, the height of 2 World Trade Center. The rooftop parapet would reach 1,368 feet, the height of No. 1.

Setting aside his publicly expressed enthusiasm for the first Freedom Tower, Mr. Childs said of the new one, "It is a rare moment when new is better." He added: "I feel better about this than the original. The building is simpler, architecturally. It is unique, yet it subtly recalls, in the sky, the tragedy that has happened here."

The new design for Freedom Tower is scheduled to be presented formally later today at a news conference attended by Gov. George E. Pakati and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, as well as Mr. Childs, Mr. Libeskind and Larry A. Silverstein, the building's developer.

At its base, the Freedom Tower would be 200 feet square, like the twin towers and the two voids that are to be created in their place as part of the Sept. 11 memorial. Mr. Childs said the new building's "most important role is being a marker in the sky of the memorial."

But he did not back away from the notion that it is still intended to be a statement of defiance, strength and resolve in the face of terrorism. Mr. Childs referred to the Freedom Tower several times as a "victory column" and invoked Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park and Nelson's Column at Trafalgar Square in London as precedents.

Like 7 World Trade Center, now under construction across Vesey Street, the Freedom Tower would essentially be two buildings in one: a utility-filled concrete pedestal topped by an office tower with a glass curtain wall.

The first 30 feet of the 200-foot-tall pedestal would be completely solid, with no windows. The next 50 feet would have some openings, allowing light to be brought into the lobby from above. The rest of the base would be occupied by mechanical equipment.

Stainless steel, titanium or aluminum panels would mask the concrete wall at the Freedom Tower, Mr. Childs said, much as a stainless-steel screen by James Carpenter Design Associates covers the base of 7 World Trade Center.

Office tenants would enter the building from the north or south, through lobbies on Fulton and Vesey Streets. Visitors headed to the observation decks would arrive across a plaza on the west side of the building. Diners would approach from a plaza on the east.

Almost four acres of open space would surround the Freedom Tower. It would share the block with the performing arts center being designed by Frank Gehry.

The main shaft of the Freedom Tower would begin as a 200-by-200-foot square. As it rose, the corners would be cut away, creating an octagonal floor plan through the middle of the building. ("And eight corner offices," Mr. Childs noted.) Toward the top, the plan would assume a square shape again, 140 by 140 feet.

Depending on the viewer's perspective, the structure might appear to be as rectangular as the original twin towers. Seen from an oblique angle, however, it would appear to slope like an obelisk. Each of the eight planes in its main facade would be an elongated isosceles triangle that would catch and reflect the light from a different angle.

The only externally visible separation between the window bays would be vertical stainless-steel elements known as mullions. The horizontal floor separations would not be expressed on the facade. This pinstripe effect might also recall the trade center to some.

The unusual shape will "confuse the wind," Mr. Childs said, making the building more structurally sound than if it had been a "large square sail" catching the wind at the top. The tapering corners yield ultimately to a narrower square at the top, 140 feet on each side, which will be the base for the spire and the antenna system.

Mr. Childs emphasized that the 408-foot spire and its setting have yet to be fully designed. But it has been decided that the spire will bring the tower's over-all height to 1,776 feet, the symbolically patriotic height proposed by Mr. Libeskind and insisted upon by Governor Pataki. The spire and its cabled supports will be designed to be "a functional piece of sculpture, a piece of civic art of an unusual scale," Mr. Childs said.

The architects are working on a distinctive, silver-or-white structural wrap for the spire, that would enclose the television antenna elements with fiberglass or carbon, substances that would not interfere with emanating radio waves. Currently, a tusk-shaped spire is being envisioned.

The spire is to be braced with guy wires - also woven from fiberglass or carbon - that would be anchored to a circular crown atop the observatory. The entire structure will be lit from within and programmed with shifting patterns of lights, or even a single heavenward beam.

To Mr. Libeskind, the circular new cable-anchor structure bears similarity to the base of the flame of the Statue of Liberty; others have likened its shape to that of the summit of the Empire State Building.

The architects struggled to unveil the redesigned building only seven weeks after Governor Pataki announced - during a luncheon speech to the Association for a Better New York on May 12 - that the tower would have to be reconfigured, and fortified, to respond to security concerns raised by the New York Police Department.

Mr. Childs said that the tower would meet or exceed the recent building-safety design recommendations announced by a federal panel, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, earlier this month, after an analysis of the factors that caused the collapse of the twin towers in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Elevators, sprinkler systems and electrical conduits in the new structure will all be protected in a central core of 2-foot-thick concrete. And an extra stairway will be provided for rescue workers to enter the building even while tenants are leaving.

But the chief Freedom Tower design change, driving other architectural considerations, was to harden the base of the tower against vehicle-borne explosives, since cars and trucks have proven to be an effective way of delivering large explosive charges. The new building is to have a solid concrete core with walls more than 2 feet thick, and a robustly redundant braced steel frame.

The original standoff, or setback from West Street, was 25 feet, which the police said was inadequate to protect the building from a large truck bomb. The new tower has been moved 65 feet back from West Street at its Fulton Street side, and 125 feet from the highway at Vesey Street.

The 80-foot-high lobby of the new Freedom Tower will be comparable to the World Trade Center lobbies' 79-foot height. The south lobby, facing Fulton Street, will be the main office entrance, since it faces the memorial. It will present a glass, cable-tensioned wall to visitors - similar to the lobby facade of Mr. Childs's Time Warner Center - but confront them with a solid concrete security wall (covered with art) that would have to be circumnavigated by pedestrians to obtain access to the building.

The tower's base would be clad with an intricate pattern of interlocking reflective sheets of titanium, steel or aluminum, "designed to catch and reflect the light," Mr. Childs said. "As the sun moves about it, each facade will be illuminated."

"I hope this can answer those who were worried that this would be a foreboding building," Mr. Childs said of the new security constraints.

Above the base, the glass sheathing of the building will be hardened against explosive overpressures with tempered, multilaminated sheets of blast-resistant plastic, especially on the west facade facing West Street-Route 9A. Thanks to the use of low-iron, water-white glass - panes that minimize the conventional greenish hue - the sections of laminate will be just as transparent as glass on the other facades, "so the building will look the same on all four sides - a continuous glass top," Mr. Childs said.

In the end, Mr. Childs said, the new building represents "the positive element of what was lost," he said. "It takes on its most important role as being the pylon marker for the memorial."


Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company