UC – Freedom Tower
The Freedom Tower, named so by Donald Trump, is the name given to the planned centerpiece building of the new World Trade Center complex in New York City, whose predecessors were destroyed in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
A revised design for the tower was formally unveiled on June 29, 2005, to satisfy security issues raised by the New York City Police Department in April of that year. On April 26, 2006, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a conceptual framework that enabled foundation construction to begin on the following day while a formal agreement is drafted. It is expected that the formal agreement will be finalized by September 2006. Construction began on April 27, 2006, with a formal ceremony occuring when the construction team arrived.[1]
The tower will be located in the northwest corner of the 16 acre (65,000 m²) World Trade Center site, bounded by Vesey Street, West Street, Washington Street and Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan.
The height to the top of the spire is set to be 1,776 feet (541 m), symbolizing the year 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. The height of the Freedom Tower is intended to surpass Chicago‘s Sears Tower to become the tallest building in the United States, and to be among the tallest buildings in the world when completed. However, a proposed tower in Chicago, Fordham Spire, is expected to be taller and constructed as early as 2009.
Depending on which angle the building is viewed from, the Freedom Tower is designed to appear as either a rectangular shape like both of the previous towers, or as a massive obelisk design. The walls at the base are offset 45 degrees from the walls of the highest floor with interlocking triangle facades.
Construction on below-grade utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the Freedom Tower began in the first quarter of 2006, four and a half years after the World Trade Center’s destruction and three and a half years after The Pentagon was completely reconstructed. It is projected that steel for the building will be visible above ground in 2007, with a topping out in 2009. The building is projected to be ready for occupancy in 2010.
