Three World Financial Center
New York, USA

HEIGHT: 225m/738 feet
FLOORS: 51 floors
COMPLETION: 1986
ARCHITECT: Cesar Pelli

also known as American Express Tower

The World Financial Center is a group of four towers, ranging from 33 to 54 storeys, completed in 1988 as a centerpiece for the new 112-acre Battery Park City (1979, Cooper Eckstut Assoc.), built on the Hudson River landfill next to the World Trade Center.
The first project for Battery Park City from 1966, by Wallace K. Harrison and his collaborators, included two sets of twin towers, similar in general appearance to today's World Trade Center towers. In the plan, one pair of towers was located to the waterfront in the southern edge of the landfill for the Battery Park City, and the other one to the northern edge, defining the extension of that residential enclave.

The actual Financial Center was developed for $1,200 million by the Canadian firm Olympia & York as a 650,000 m² design by Cesar Pelli's firm, comprising offices, restaurants and retail spaces.

The Financial Center's towers border the North Cove Marina, a bay harbour for pleasure boats, surrounded by patios and trees. The guardrail along the esplanade is engraved with quotations from Walt Whitman and Thomas O'Hara.

The towers have steplike Art Deco style set-backs reminiscent of the GE Building, the heights of these set-backs being determined by the Urban Development Council to fit the heights of the existing neighbourhood architecture. The facades are of granite and glass, the size of individual windows increasing with each set-back, changing the facades gradually from predominantly stone-clad to a curtain wall.

The towers are distinguishable by their differently shaped copper roofs:
- 1 WFC (1986) Cesar Pelli and Adamson & Assocs. - a cut pyramid (tower occupant: Dow Jones and Oppenheimer, 40 storeys)
- 2 WFC (1987) Cesar Pelli and Haines Lundberg Waehler - a dome (Merrill Lynch, height: 196.5 m, 51 storeys)
- 3 WFC (1985) Cesar Pelli and Adamson & Assocs. - a solid pyramid (200 Vesey St., American Express, height: 225.5 m, 54 storeys)
- 4 WFC (1986) Cesar Pelli and Haines Lundberg Waehler - a stepped pyramid (250 Vesey St., Merrill Lynch)

The architect also designed the top of the 1 WFC to follow the example of the neighbouring 90 West Street and the rotated positioning of the 3 WFC over its base that of the Barclay-Vesey Building.

Because much of the building space in these towers is occupied by computers which can be put into windowless rooms deep inside the building, each of the largest buildings in WFC (perhaps all buildings) in fact has more utility space than the 102-storey Empire State Building, where offices are located along the outer wall of the building.

The towers are all connected to each other either through their bases or by walkways. Two covered bridges cross West Street, connecting the Center to the World Trade Center (the North Bridge with 60 meters of clear span) and the block south of the WTC compound (the South Bridge, 67 meters).

The lobbies of the towers are lavishly decorated with marble and shiny black columns, and there is also the large glass-house-like Winter Garden (Cesar Pelli and Adamson & Assocs., landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg & Assocs., opened in October 1988) between the 2 and 3 WFC, with alabaster marble and coral Roho Alicante marble, 16 12-meter Washingtonia robusta palm trees from the Mojave Desert, as well as cafeterias and shops (image). The arch-roofed space is 38 m high and 60 m long. The Winter Garden also hosts concerts and various performances and exhibitions.

The complex was heavily damaged (especially in the interiors) in the September 11th, 2001 attacks, but will eventually return to its normal usage. The Winter Garden is undergoing a $50 million repair due to be completed in September. Merrill Lynch moved 6,000 employees into the 4 WTC in December, with the 2 WFC due to be occupied in February. American Express is due to return to the most heavily hit 3 WFC -- under increased security -- around April 2002, as soon as its knocked-out facade columns and interiors are rebuilt.

The repair of the destroyed Winter Garden will take approx. $50 million and will feature, along with the skeleton and 2,000 new glass panels for the skylight, the replacement of all the marble paving inside, 5,500 m² for $5.8 million. The Winter Garden was completed for a September 17, 2002 re-opening.

The Brookfield Financial Properties -- already owning two of the WFC buildings and a 51 percent stake of a third -- obtained Lehman Brothers' 51 percent ownership of the 3 WFC in September 2002 for $158 million, in effect co-owning the building with the American Express.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/wfc/images/3wfc_marina_21sept.jpg


http://www.wirednewyork.com/wfc/images/3wfc_west_bridge.jpg

http://www.wirednewyork.com/wfc/images/3wfc_observatory.jpg

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/AtlanticaC5/WFC.jpg

8/10

I like the shape and the glass. Plus, the location is perfect next to Winter Gardens. It looks a bit like One Canada Square.

I like the simple geometric pyramidal roof and the change in facade from granite to glass. 8/10

The glass facade on these towers looks very nice.
The tops of the building seem also very cool.!
I agree with the others 8.0/10

World financial Center is a cool cluster. 8.5/10

nice and tall...

9/10

These have really aged well. I am always impressed by how well the complex works in that location. 9!

8/10

I love its huge mass, which is tempered with some setbacks and the use of glass, and yes, it appears to have aged very well.

9/10..3 WFC always seems to look good somehow, especially when you start walking south and approach it, it's even better. 3 WFC is my favorite out of the whole WFC, it's simple, and the setbacks actually make the bulding look better.

used to look so small standing next to WTC, but still a 700 footer!!

8/10

8.6/10 - I like the way the glass dances with the light, and the contrast provided by the change from stone to glass as the building rises. The set backs make the form livelier, both on the lower portion of the tower and near the roof, which thankfully isn't flat.

However, the building is still a bit chunky, which takes away from the soaring height, and the pyramid on top should have been made of the same stone and glass as the rest of the building, because as it is, it doesn't flow harmoniously from the rest of the building.

A friend of mine worked on this one as it was rising - he says the lobby's really impressive.

I really like those buildings.
8.5

Simple and efficient style. These buildings becomes one of the NY symbols!

9/10!

9/10 great buildings.
But there's not one ' Pelli' building I don't like...:D

9.5/10 World Financial Center is one of my favorite buildings in New York. Sure stands out well, even without the World Trade Center. It even complemented it well.

10 This is one of the definitive skyscrapers for me... I have always thought the WFC cluster were far superior to their giant neighbors... the WTC...

this building just gleams... the stone and the glass... it's amazing... and the tasteful setbacks... and that gorgeous green pyramid top... amazing

I have always like WFC. I like the how the granite setbacks contrast against the facade with the bigger windows. I also like the setbacks on the corners just under the roofs. And the love the different party hats (roofs) for each of them. This one looks quite a lot like One Canada Square in London. 8.5/10

9/10

A master piece of the 20th Century!!...9.5/10

The identical cluster of towers put together has a nice effect :) The brownish clading is ok but the glass is nice :cool:

8/10

8/10. I judged it accorsing to its setting amongst the other blocks, and thats when it looks good. It wont have been much on its own thou.

8.5. The lobby is... good for a summer day? That's the only thing I can think of. Cold stone with a sort of Egyptian flavor. It's attached to the Wintergarden so that's even better.

is ok... 5/10

i like it, 9

I don't like this at ALL. The glass is irritating and the top childish..the tower is too slick, I want raw. It is wide too. so, no, no. no.

here you go; 4.0

8.5/10

A "classic new" building

nice classicism elements, but looks much smaller than it is. 8/10

7/10 although a bit repetitive, i like the set of World Financial Centers NYC. this 1 is no exception

looks too fat in NY skyline...7/10

facade: clean
form: nice
points: 9

8/10


nice tower.

Very disappointing.....

3.5/10

Originally posted by airsickpenthousedweller

Very disappointing.....

3.5/10

Can you elaborate please? Just curious :)

I like it
8/10

9/10

Originally posted by RafflesCity

Can you elaborate please? Just curious :)

I got to admid that my judgement was made too quick: I didn't let the photo's load until the very bottom, where the smaller-window section shows up.

Now the rating gets a bit higher, for I'm not dissapointed because of the dullness any more, but of the expression of a building whose lines are too seemingly chosen at random.

Therefore: an extra 1 point for the 'lower section-effort'.

4.5/10

WFCs are a nice set of buildings...I like how they were in the foreground of the late WTC twins. 8/10

the best of the wfc towers! cesar peli never ceases to amaze me...

9

A bit too fat. 7/10

I like it very much! It did look great with the WTC Twin Towers.

The World Financial Center (as everything else in Lower Manhattan) looked a lot better overshadowed by the Trade Towers, but I gave it an 8.5 because I like the overall look of all the buildings and think they really symbolize Battery Park City.

Here's a picture of 1 WFC (and the roof of 2WFC), taken from my bedroom window:

http://img66.exs.cx/img66/8528/Sunset9.jpg

Great setbacks and great facade, I love it, it's perfect for Lower Manhattan.
8.5/10

Oh yeah I just love these very fat and not very high looking buildings. Not!! 4.5/10

Resembles the tallest building in Des Moines Iowa, but more boring 5/10

7/10

I just love this complex. 9.0

glassy, shiny, golden...wow!!

9/10

http://img10.exs.cx/img10/5227/RIMG8502.jpg

Vesle Street Bridge connecting to 3 WFC
http://img10.exs.cx/img10/1471/RIMG8552.jpg

http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com/images_and_files/exterior__3152004221431.gif

7/10 nice one

Very nice with the rest of the complex, but ugly as a single building. I give it a 5/10. :(

9/10

I like the triangular top. 8.5.

10/10

I just love it!

7 just for being a bit classy

Nice buildings. 7.5/10.

9/10

7.5/10.

8/10

Nice, elegant towers, but a bit too fat ;) 8/10

8/10

8/10

7.5/10

8/10

9/10

Nice but too fat
6/10

nice and tall...9/10

Should be thinner. 7/10

7/10

Pelli certainly is a master at designing blocky and broad buildings to make them look perfectly proportioned and eye-friendly. The variety of colors, shape and materials, the quality of the whole complex and the features at ground level all contribute to make this complex a classic.
8.5

9.0/10 love those buildings

8/10

I like it, very similar to one canada square. 7.5/10

The World Financial Center has always been my absolute favorite Office tower complex in existence. If ever here, check them out. Right on the river, they have their own marina. great restaurants and the towers look so picturesque from virtually every angle. They did used to look small with the towering neighbors across the street but they are massive. 3 wfc being my favorite with the pyramid on the roof. and the setbacks just make it look so good. This is Pelli's true masterpiece
9.5/10

4/10

7,5/10

7/10

7/10

6/10

great towers, i love them: 9/10

always loved these towers!! 10

I think it is a very solid looking building. The inside is great and the air con is a life saver when its scorching outside. 8/10

8.

I love the rusted copper top and it's shape. The entire design of the tower and it's close partners makes this one of my favorites. 10/10

8/10

8/10

Nice, but not outstanding. 7

I always liked these. 8.5/10

7/10

The world financial centers are a beautiful bunch, i think there more nicer than the esb and crysler bldgs. 10/10

8/10 very famous building i think

9/10

i hate all the complex. 5/10

9/10 for WFC

These are pre 1CS and it shows from an evolutionary point of view. 8/10

8/10

7/10

7/10

I like it:D
09/10

8/10

8/10.

wow. this is massive. 8.5/10

nice boxes :) 8.5/10

8/10

one of my favorite clusters.:) ith or without the world trade center, it's beautiful..

Nah i do not like this one very much BUT it is not bad so a 7 out of 10.

8/10

7/10

9,5/10 :banana:

Pretty beautiful complex very WFC :cheers2:

8/10

NY icons

9/10

nice design, i like it 8/10

5/10

8/10

8,5/10

6/10

7/10

Quite nice, I really like these towers- 8/10

7/10

10/10

luv it

A little wide and boxy but not bad
6.5/10

yawn 6

10/10 perfect building!

7/10

6/10

One of the Pelli's masterpieces...:D

9/10

6,5/10

8/10

8/10

8/10:)

it's ok 8/10

7/10

8/10 ^^

9 - It's not my style but I love it

8/10

Fascinating set of towers. Love it!

i love it ;o

7/10

5/10, nothing really good about them and these buildings fucked downtown skyline, since the good old buildings are left behind these monsters, with have volume and mass, but not the details to match.

8.5/10

It's not fantastic, but it certainly does have some taste to it.

too "fat"
7/10

7,5/10

7/10

Very beautiful and one of the best !

9.0/10

ugly one 6/10

8/10

so many windows! haha

beautiful building. looks best at sunset. 9/10.

9. Very good buildings. Regards.

8.5/10

I voted 7/10 don't like the design to bulky and boxy, but good addition for the NY skyline.

8/10

9/10

7.5

bulky but nice buildings.
8.5/10

7.5/10

9/10

Masterpiece, essential for the Manhattan skyline. 9.5/10

I 've always liked them and how it look like a geometric crystal broken out of a rock.. (I could see this fitting perfectly in Boston)... 8.5/10

8/10

http://secretrich.tk/ SECRET RICH

8/10

7.5

10/10

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/AtlanticaC5/WFC.jpg

7/10

8/10

8.5/10

8.5/10

It's unique and i feel kind sentiment due to 9/11

Fortunately, this postmodernism is not that bad. 6/10 ;)

8/10

5/10

7.5/10

7.5/10

8,5

8/10

this tower stands out if you are really familiar with the NYC skyline.

they took center stage when WC gone

10 :okay:

10/10

I've always loved this building.

8.5/10.