I agree. The corners make it look a bit disproportional.

Was that image zoomed in by any chance I wonder.

Saw the movie Madagascar 3 yesterday and towards the end it shows the new completed WTC with spire on top..

Here is a comparison of all the 1WTC designs.
http://i.imgur.com/tvG5u.png

http://i.imgur.com/8dsDF.gif

Progress through nov 11 - jun 12 :)

http://i.imgur.com/8dsDF.gif

Progress through nov 11 - jun 12 :)
Heres another cool one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDeLzf576vY

Here is a comparison of all the 1WTC designs.
http://i.imgur.com/tvG5u.png

Unfortunately, the 2011-FINAL is wrong. The base will not look like that, nor will the "spire". :ohno:

Here is a comparison of all the 1WTC designs.
http://i.imgur.com/tvG5u.png
2003-2006 one would look better than what it is right now. And taller.

2003-2006 one would look better than what it is right now. And taller.

Except it was never going to be 2,001 feet. It was always going to be 1776. The diagram is wrong.

And that would have looked absolutely stupid in the skyline.

Except it was never going to be 2,001 feet. It was always going to be 1776. The diagram is wrong.

And that would have looked absolutely stupid in the skyline.
Actually it was going to be 2,001 feet. and here is what it would look like in the skyline
http://www.davesems.com/files/Added-10-04/New_Freedom_Tower.jpg

Here is another Time lapse of 1WTC and 2WTC. I call this "The rise of 1WTC" I took a picture from earthcam each month since the skyline cam was available in august. Here is the animation from august-june
http://i.imgur.com/UygCw.gif

imo it was a terrible design, with that ugly spire that was supposed to emulate the statue of liberty's arm extending up to 2001 ft.
one thing is for sure - the entire complex looks much better today.

http://www.anglonautes.com/voc_art_main/voc_arts_town_1/voc_archi_freedom_tower_liberty.jpg http://flatrock.org.nz/static/frontpage/assets/terrorism/freedom_tower_artist_view.jpg http://www.danzfamily.com/hostedstuff/freedom-tower.jpg

it was a terrible design, that ugly spire that was supposed to emulate the statue of liberty's arm extending up to 2001 ft.
one thing is for sure - the entire complex looks much better today.

http://www.anglonautes.com/voc_art_main/voc_arts_town_1/voc_archi_freedom_tower_liberty.jpg

I think it'd have been fine without the spire actually...

Here is another Time lapse of 1WTC and 2WTC. I call this "The rise of 1WTC" I took a picture from earthcam each month since the skyline cam was available in august. Here is the animation from august-june
http://i.imgur.com/UygCw.gif

Great timelapse. hank you very much:)

Very cool animation, Chibears

awesome time lapse

Thank you everyone :D Im working on a ground zero timelapse from 2006-Now. It may take me a few hours but i will put it up here once im done :D

its the same height. but the spire makes it 541 meters tall :)

Nope. By roof height it is 6 feet or 2 meters taller than the North Tower and 12 feet or 4 meters taller than the South Tower :cheers:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7103/7176610695_5aa638ce3d_b.jpg
NYC Brooklyn Bridge, High Line, One World Trade Center, Grand Central Station - 11 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14238408@N02/7176610695) by misce2002 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14238408@N02/), on Flickr

[QUOTE=the man from k-town;92263584]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7174528205_f8e4ff94a8_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensiegel/7174528205/)
NY Skyline 50 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensiegel/7174528205/) von stevensiegel260 (http://www.flickr.com/people/stevensiegel/) auf Flickr

this is 2-3 months old just saying :)

Except it was never going to be 2,001 feet. It was always going to be 1776. The diagram is wrong.

And that would have looked absolutely stupid in the skyline.

and that whole top of it was like a shell, not offices etc............just a facade with nothing behind the glass. truly pathetic that someone even drew this up:lol::lol::lol::cheers:

Enhanced version from my previous post :lol:

http://i.imgur.com/dYQNK.gif

Nov.11th 2011 - Jun.11th 2012

Sorry for jumping on you, my mistake! I see so many height obsessed people here I've started raging with little provocation! :lol:

It's ok bud, I guess my bad english is exposed to generate misunderstandings.

You Can Not Add more floors. The Building tapers. Do you see the triangles that are almost touching?
Please Think.

I know the triangles tapper but... you should start thinking out of the box, there are many ways.

Just be creative mate, no offense inttended.

Actually it was going to be 2,001 feet. and here is what it would look like in the skyline
http://www.davesems.com/files/Added-10-04/New_Freedom_Tower.jpg

Yeah, glad this didn't get built.

And where are you getting 2001 from? There was NEVER any talk of building to 2001 feet. It was always 1,776 ft even under the original Libeskind plan.

Yeah, glad this didn't get built.

And where are you getting 2001 from? There was NEVER any talk of building to 2001 feet. It was always 1,776 ft even under the original Libeskind plan.
Because on the site where i got the original model of 1WTC it showed that 1px = 1ft and the height of it was 2001px for the 2003-2006 design and the height of the current 1WTC is 1776px

Because on the site where i got the original model of 1WTC it showed that 1px = 1ft and the height of it was 2001px for the 2003-2006 design and the height of the current 1WTC is 1776px

Never mind, forgot about the mid-2003 birdcage.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/03/opinion/20051230_oped_TOWERS.gif

^^^^^^^^
Wow great find!!! I told ya it was 2000 feet :p also my timelapse of 2005-2012 is almost done :D I have February 2005 - December 2010 done so far.:)

Nope. By roof height it is 6 feet or 2 meters taller than the North Tower and 12 feet or 4 meters taller than the South Tower :cheers:

I though the roof height was the same as the orriginal north tower wich was 2 meter taller then the south tower.

Never mind, forgot about the mid-2003 birdcage.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/03/opinion/20051230_oped_TOWERS.gif
my big ole dumb basset hound could have done much better than any of these horrific designs

If it wasn't for all of the empty space, the second to last would have been my favorite.

http://www.newyorkarchitecture.info/LegacyImages/F/FreedomTower-002.jpg

Here is a comparison. 1WTC is taller by far then the original WTC and 2WTC is very close to the original height.
http://i.imgur.com/3Nlea.png
yes, thanks for getting this, as i said, the tip of 2WTC is very close to the roof height of 1WTC..............i dont do spires for height (see BoA, sorry, it's not a 1000 footer) though 1WTC absolutely HAS to have a spire

It's a good idea that they chose the current design. The other ones are too cumbersome. :cheers:

It's a good idea that they chose the current design. The other ones are too cumbersome. :cheers:
They sure are, i like the current one way better also.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7215/7175873635_9718f73613_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51949497@N08/7175873635/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7361731630_74e608c1ac_z.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/esone1ll/7361731630/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7360878258_8e47760bea_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitchwaxman/7360878258/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7231/7175606181_fab0cc3346_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitchwaxman/7175606181/

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7360461590_ab19aa02cc_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dc3000/7360461590/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7229/7360466496_3061319223.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dc3000/7360466496/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7361099244_e900bdc754.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51949497@N08/7361099244/

I can't wait until people post time lapses of the ENTIRE WTC redevelopment, from 2002 to 2018 or whenever. That would truly be an amazing site to see.

I can't wait until people post time lapses of the ENTIRE WTC redevelopment, from 2002 to 2018 or whenever. That would truly be an amazing site to see.
Yea it would, I just finished the 2006-2012 ground zero timelapse!!!!! i will post it very shortly!

cool timelapse

^^

Can't Wait!

my big ole dumb basset hound could have done much better than any of these horrific designs

I have to agree with you, not that great of a design compared to some of the other Super Tall Skyscrapers being built around the World.

^^

Can't Wait!
Its here! 22MB and over 60 pictures capture month by month from Feb. 2005 - June 2012. I hope to improve this on February 2013. Enjoy "The rise of ground zero".
It may take a while to load so be patient.
http://imurphy.net/rise-of-ground-zero.gif

I am sure Chicagoans would willingly give it once NYC has a building with a roof height of 443m+ :cheers:

Well iloveclassicrock you are entitled to your opinion but, i am sticking to 692 years of tradition of spires being constituted to a buildings official height , and guess what iloveclassicrock if the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat rules 1wtc antenna as a spire new york will have the tallest building and, that's not a opinion that's a fact! :cheers::cheers::cheers:

Great job Chibears! I love it!

Well iloveclassicrock you are entitled to your opinion but, i am sticking to 692 years of tradition of spires being constituted to a buildings official height , and guess what iloveclassicrock if the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat rules 1wtc antenna as a spire new york will have the tallest building and, that's not a opinion that's a fact. :cheers::cheers::cheers:

You might want to reread the definition of fact. Based off of how subjective their measurement is, and the fact that they are one voice in the architecture community, their opinion is definitely not fact. There are three non subjective measurements, which are highest floor, pinnacle, and roof height. Even the CTBUH acknowledges 3 systems as equals. 1 WTC will be the tallest building in America by pinnacle height. Sears Tower will be tallest by highest floor and roof height. These are the facts. They had a poll a while back on here, and the majority of people disagreed with the CTBUH

I can't wait until people post time lapses of the ENTIRE WTC redevelopment, from 2002 to 2018 or whenever. That would truly be an amazing site to see.

For Sure, that will be incredible

Hi all.

You might want to reread the definition of fact. Based off of how subjective their measurement is, and the fact that they are one voice in the architecture community, their opinion is definitely not fact. There are three non subjective measurements, which are highest floor, pinnacle, and roof height. Even the CTBUH acknowledges 3 systems as equals. 1 WTC will be the tallest building in America by pinnacle height. Sears Tower will be tallest by highest floor and roof height. These are the facts. They had a poll a while back on here, and the majority of people disagreed with the CTBUH

The three official measures are :
1 - Height to Architectural Top.
This is the main measure that tall structures are ranked by and compared.

2 - Height to Tip.
I hold this one in high regard and the council may see this as important as number one but not equal to it.

3 - Highest Occupied Level.

The Roof Height has been dropped ... - and for good reason ...

The CTBUH is not one voice in the architectural community - It is THE Voice. The council is not made up of nobodies ... The members are the who's who of the architectural community ... A poll on here is meaningless ...

Good Day.

One World Trade Center's redesigned spire sorta looks like One Liberty Place's spire in Philly

http://jonreese.com/clients/tpi/images/rooftops/one-liberty-place/one-liberty-place-04.jpg

http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/2237_0076_120503_rgb.jpg

Hi all.



The three official measures are :
1 - Height to Architectural Top.
This is the main measure that tall structures are ranked by and compared.

2 - Height to Tip.
I hold this one in high regard and the council may see this as important as number one but not equal to it.

3 - Highest Occupied Level.

The Roof Height has been dropped ... - and for good reason ...

The CTBUH is not one voice in the architectural community - It is THE Voice. The council is not made up of nobodies ... The members are the who's who of the architectural community ... A poll on here is meaningless ...

Good Day.

No one voted them in, they didn't have an agreement with the architecture community. They just gained recognition, and gained popularity. That doesn't mean what they say is fact.

One World Trade Center's redesigned spire sorta looks like One Liberty Place's spire in Philly


It might look more like the antenna on 4 Times Square.

^^ - They don't have an agreement with the architectural community - their members ARE the architectural community.

You don't have to agree with them though ...

No one voted them in, they didn't have an agreement with the architecture community. They just gained recognition, and gained popularity. That doesn't mean what they say is fact.

In the long run its their word that goes in the history books not are opinions when it comes to the architectural height of 1wtc .

In the long run its their word that goes in the history books not are opinions when it comes to the architectural height of 1wtc .

There are tons of inaccuracies in history books. Are they facts too ? Also, lets bring this discussion to here http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=92286472#post92286472

We are getting off topic

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7360461590_ab19aa02cc_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dc3000/7360461590/



:eek: WOW... It's Great picture !! Love this..

Its here! 22MB and over 60 pictures capture month by month from Feb. 2005 - June 2012. I hope to improve this on February 2013. Enjoy "The rise of ground zero".
It may take a while to load so be patient.
Great one! But if you can you should decrease the speed of the pictures changing.

I though the roof height was the same as the orriginal north tower wich was 2 meter taller then the south tower.

When they said that they used the main lobby floor as start of the measure. However, height is normally measured from the floor of the lowest above ground entrance and that is 2 meters below the main lobby floor :cheers:

Btw, as for these:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/03/opinion/20051230_oped_TOWERS.gif

Designs 1, 2 and 4 are horrible. Designs 3 and 5 are beautiful. While I like design 5 more I like the height of design 3. It's a hard choice but my favorite is design 5 :cheers:

I love all of them too.

I think all the old old proposals are horrible. I'm not big fan od 1wtc but at least they have chosen best from the proposals. Oh and Kanto, design 3 is the biggest cheater of them all, with the largest spire just enclosed with some glass ;)

[QUOTE=chris123678;92286030]One World Trade Center's redesigned spire sorta looks like One Liberty Place's spire in Philly

I honestly see very little similarity between the two. They don't really look alike, but yea 4 Times Square looks more like it plus One Liberty Place has a nicer spire, more full looking

I think all the old old proposals are horrible. I'm not big fan od 1wtc but at least they have chosen best from the proposals. Oh and Kanto, design 3 is the biggest cheater of them all, with the largest spire just enclosed with some glass ;)

That's not a spire, that's a crown. That's a big difference :cheers:

Not realy ;)

The only one, that is any good is the one on the far right. All the rest are disgusting. #3 might have been OK if it was enclosed productive office space all the way to the top, with the observation deck on top, as opposed to those ridiculous windmills. But such as it is, I think they finally made the right decision.

Imagine if they had chosen the first design!!:puke:

Well perhaps the will of the public, and the population base, had somewhat of an influence against it, even though, it was determined it wouldn't have been structurally feasible and/or realistic.

great progress

Great one! But if you can you should decrease the speed of the pictures changing.
Yea, I just decreased the speed: Here you go:
http://imurphy.net/rise-of-ground-zero-slow.gif
Remember at first it loads slowly, but afterwords it plays full speed.

only two days till top out :D

only two days till top out :D

I kinda doubt it. From what I've heard Obama is just signing the last beam that will go in. I doubt it will be lifted on the 14th. They haven't even laid out on the flooring for the uppermost floor at the moment.

[QUOTE=chris123678;92286030]One World Trade Center's redesigned spire sorta looks like One Liberty Place's spire in Philly

I honestly see very little similarity between the two. They don't really look alike, but yea 4 Times Square looks more like it plus One Liberty Place has a nicer spire, more full looking

I was using that comparison because the spire on top of 1LP kinda had an emptiness to it. But it's an older spire.
Nice to see that you like that spire tho.

Imagine if they had chosen the first design!!:puke:

Don't even talk about the first design, it was a joke. :ohno:

Chibears85: That's better, thank you! Great work! :okay:

Don't even talk about the first design, it was a joke. :ohno:

It was. Everything that Libeskind made at the WTC site was a joke :ohno:

^^ That anal fixation on the 1776 number was the biggest mistake imo. It made it impossible for 1WTC to rise any higher in the first place.

Do you think they fill finish the top out for June 27 or maybe July 1 ? just to get the idea of when the height will be finished, and also, when do you think they will begin to install the antenna in the top of the building or, to finish putting all the glass?

One World Trade Center's redesigned spire sorta looks like One Liberty Place's spire in Philly

http://jonreese.com/clients/tpi/images/rooftops/one-liberty-place/one-liberty-place-04.jpg

http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/2237_0076_120503_rgb.jpg

No...the One Liberty spire looks like it melds and matches with the building and doesn't have a bunch of platforms and spikes sticking out of it... 1WTC looks like an afterthought, chicken wire and doesn't match at all..it looks like a naked frame that's missing something.

Do you think they fill finish the top out for June 27 or maybe July 1 ? just to get the idea of when the height will be finished, and also, when do you think they will begin to install the antenna in the top of the building or, to finish putting all the glass?

4th of July?? :)

I'm glad to see that the One world trade center finally reaching the top. One question: Do you guys know whether they have really changed the spire for the current antenna or if it was just a proposal? That would be a pitty 'cause I found the building perfect with the spire. I think it definitely matches the whole building.:)

No...the One Liberty spire looks like it melds and matches with the building and doesn't have a bunch of platforms and spikes sticking out of it... 1WTC looks like an afterthought, chicken wire and doesn't match at all..it looks like a naked frame that's missing something.

there is no way that i could agree with you more......you ever see those old buildings from the twenties and thirties? they stick some kind of contraption on the top of it and it looks horrible usually........that's what this looks like. the finished product will look like someone just plunked some cheap piece of crap right on top of it............the geometry of the building must be carried through otherwise it will be a massive failure and they shouldn't even bother with the spire at all. i said in the beginning they should have just capped it with a nice pyramidal roof.....it's trite, i know, but that is what has made new york skyscrapers famous.

It amazes me that so many people on this forum are acting like spires are a brand new element of building design ,spires have been an integral part of building design for at lest 700 years maybe even older ever since the first Cathedrals were built .

No...the One Liberty spire looks like it melds and matches with the building and doesn't have a bunch of platforms and spikes sticking out of it... 1WTC looks like an afterthought, chicken wire and doesn't match at all..it looks like a naked frame that's missing something.

That's exactly what I was thinking too. Ugh why would that be compared to something like One WTC's new antenna

Can anybody tell me why the tower is lit up in red white and blue tonight?

Can anybody tell me why the tower is lit up in red white and blue tonight?
I dont know, but it makes a good picture!
http://i.imgur.com/TIxzj.png

flag day Thursday maybe?

That's exactly what I was thinking too. Ugh why would that be compared to something like One WTC's new antenna


It's not new, it's always been there, it was just covered up before.

Can anybody tell me why the tower is lit up in red white and blue tonight?

Reagan's Berlin Wall speech was 25 years ago today. That might be it...

Beautiful! Finally NY is back with a incredible skyline and a majestic tower. love it

flag day Thursday maybe?

That's what I was thinking. With that and the President's visit, it would make the most sense.

It amazes me that so many people on this forum are acting like spires are a brand new element of building design ,spires have been an integral part of building design for at lest 700 years maybe even older ever since the first Cathedrals were built .

Spires have changed.
If you compared a Cathedral with a skyscraper spire, i bet 99 percent of the people wouldn't know that the Cathedral was a spire.

[QUOTE=Mike____;92227069]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7167976527_f721de9d3c_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinbba/7167976527/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7226/7161457723_9e522a3d72_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nobbiusa/7161457723/[/QUOT

this is one amazing skyscraper!! i love this building and i think it will have a dramatic impact on new york's skyline.

Great article from the New York Times:

1 World Trade Center Is a Growing Presence, and a Changed One (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/1-world-trade-center-is-a-growing-presence-and-a-changed-one/)

When President Obama visits 1 World Trade Center on Thursday, he will find a tower that is undeniably impressive and — even a year and a half before its scheduled completion — unquestionably a landmark of 21st-century New York.

But it is not exactly the tower New Yorkers were led to believe they would see when the plans were unveiled in 2006. Since the Durst Organization joined the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2010 as the effective codeveloper of the project, it has revised the design in a number of ways.

“I think they’ve been few and minor,” Patrick J. Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority, said in a telephone interview Monday. The authority has approved all the revisions.

Taken together, it is true, the design revisions will probably not much alter the presence of 1 World Trade Center on the city’s skyline. But they may change its place in the civic consciousness, if the tower is perceived as too isolated or fortified at its base, or as having too little of a symbolic spire at its summit.

What was supposed to be a cascade of steps from the building’s west plaza down to Vesey and West Streets will instead be a terrace, set apart from West Street by a blocklong landscaped planter. Durst has also eliminated a skylight set into the plaza that was supposed to bring daylight to the observation deck lobby below ground.

Rather than being clad in panels of prismatic glass, the 185-foot-high base of the tower will be covered in hundreds of pairs of 13-foot vertical glass fins set against horizontal bands of eight-inch-wide stainless-steel slats. The corners of the base will lose what was supposed to have been a gentle but distinctive outward slope.

The glass fins in the new design are arranged in pairs, most of which form V shapes.
The rooftop mast will no longer be enclosed in a sculptural sheath of interlocking fiberglass panels but will instead be an exposed latticework structure. This may affect whether the arbiters of building height include the mast in their calculations, which would bring the 1,368-foot tower to a recognized height of 1,776 feet.

If the result of all these changes is to lower the construction budget — something the Durst Organization has a strong financial incentive to do — that was not their purpose, said Douglas Durst, the chairman.

“We didn’t make the changes to save money,” he said. “The changes were made in order to construct the building.” Mr. Durst said some features specified by the architects at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and the landscape architects at Peter Walker & Partners would have been all but impossible to build and maintain.

Whatever the motivations, savings worth millions of dollars have been identified, though neither the Durst Organization nor the Port Authority would estimate the amount.

Durst originally sought what would have been, in essence, a construction management fee of $35 million for what it envisioned as five years of work. The authority was unwilling to pay that amount. Instead, a deal was negotiated under which Durst would receive a $15 million fee and be entitled to a percentage of any “base building changes that result in net economic benefit to the project” — cost savings, in other words — that Durst had initiated and recommended.

In August 2010, the Port Authority board authorized incentives to Durst of 75 percent of any savings it realized up to $12 million, and 50 percent of any savings it realized beyond $12 million. Subsequent negotiations changed the benefit to Durst, with a formula running from 75 percent of savings up to $24 million, stepping down to 50 percent, 25 percent and 15 percent as the savings increased.

After a year in which the design revisions have come out publicly in dribs and drabs, Mr. Durst and his senior project manager, Tony Tarazi, sat down with a reporter last week to discuss the changes comprehensively.

The biggest revision that has received the least public attention is to the large triangular plaza on the west side of 1 World Trade Center. Because of a grade change on the site, the plaza is up to 5 feet 8 inches higher than the surrounding sidewalks. The original plan called for broad stainless-steel steps to address that height difference.

“We wanted to create as much plaza as possible,” Mr. Durst said. “We didn’t see that the steps added anything, because most people don’t come in from the west.” Durst executives also questioned the wisdom of using stainless steel as a walking surface.

Peter Walker & Partners stepped away from the project and was replaced by Mathews Nielsen, of which the landscape architect Signe Nielsen is a principal. The Walker firm remains involved in the the 9/11 Memorial.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/06/12/blogs/20120612Tower3/20120612Tower3-custom1.jpg
The west plaza in plan, with Vesey Street at the top. The 2006 design, left, had broad steps down the sidewalks and a skylight (blue circle) over the observation deck lobby. The current design, right, is a terrace, reached by stairs at Vesey Street and bordered by a blocklong planter.

Under the new design, the plaza would occupy a terrace above sidewalk level, reached by a stairacse on Vesey Street. The terrace would be paved in granite, have about a dozen sweetgum trees and a blocklong planter that would double as seating.

“The stainless-steel pavers turned out to be very slippery,” Mr. Foye said, “and there would have been times of inclement weather where there was a danger.”

The windowless base — a mechanical enclosure and protective concrete pedestal for the tower — is as high as a 15-story office building. The equipment within needs ventilation, so the facade must be permeable.

David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill specified a cladding in panels of laminated glass with a saw-tooth face made of prisms in a vertical array. Screened gaps between the panels would have allowed the mechanical equipment to breathe.

The chief problem, Mr. Tarazi said, was that the Chinese fabricator chosen for the job, Sanxin Glass, was unable to mill the saw-tooth pattern in sheets of tempered glass without deforming the panels beyond the tolerances needed for proper installation. Mr. Foye called this a “design failure.” Christopher O. Ward, the executive director of the authority when the decision was made to abandon prismatic glass, called it “a good design that couldn’t be fabricated.”

In any case, the revised design was made public last month in The New York Post. It consists of an aluminum screen, in front of which are horizontal stainless-steel slats, in front of which are rows of fins, arranged in pairs, that are made of laminated glass with a reflective surface on one side and a translucent, acid-etched matte finish on the other.

In the bottom and top rows, the fins will be “open,” flat against the facade. In the intermediate rows, the fins will “close” to form shallow V shapes, at angles ranging from 7.5 degrees to 60 degrees. The slats will be visible through the interstices.

Just behind the fins will be LED arrays whose light will be reflected outward by the slats. That could open the possibility of enormous multicolored lighting compositions. But Mr. Foye said the Port Authority would be “very measured and circumspect” in the kind of illumination it allowed at the tower, keeping in mind its location directly north of the 9/11 Memorial. “It will not be lit in a rainbow or a plethora of colors,” he said.

Perhaps the greatest architectural casualty of the redesigned facade are the inclined — or chamfered — corners of the base, which have already been constructed at the intended 3.8-degree angle, forming enormous, slender isosceles triangles in steel and concrete. These corners will be squared off by the cladding.

Mr. Tarazi said it was the architects’ idea to eliminate the chamfering when it became apparent how difficult it would be aesthetically to resolve the clash between the vertical lines created by the fins and the sloping lines at each edge. “S.O.M. saw it as an opportunity to improve on the design,” Mr. Tarazi said, “and I think they did.”

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/09/blogs/20120509Tall/20120509Tall-custom1.jpg

Durst Organization (left); Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/dbox (right)

The original design of 1 World Trade Center, in rendering at left, included a sculptural enclosure for the building’s mast. Stripped of the cladding, the mast could be considered an antenna, not a spire, reducing the official height.
Through a spokeswoman, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill declined to comment. That underscores how remarkable it was last month when Mr. Childs publicly expressed disappointment with the decision by his clients not to build a radome, as such structures are known, to enclose the mast. “Eliminating this integral part of the building’s design and leaving an exposed antenna and equipment is unfortunate,” he said in a statement.

Though radomes are common on tall buildings and towers, Mr. Foye said Mr. Childs’s design “would have been very difficult to build and impossible to maintain.”

Elimination of the radome may make it harder to persuade the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a worldwide arbiter of such things, to include the mast in its calculations. If the council rules in 2014 that 1 World Trade Center is 1,368 feet tall, Willis Tower in Chicago would not be dislodged as the tallest building in the United States.

The concept of the new trade center towers culminating in a point 1,776 feet in the sky was introduced nine years ago by Daniel Liebeskind, the original master planner of the site. Asked this week about the design change, he said through a spokeswoman that “the tape measure still extends 1,776 feet from the ground to the tip of the spire, so the tower remains a spectacular symbol of American resilience and democracy.”

Iron Sky did a render of the tower, anyone have that clip or shot?

After reading that article one thing comes to mind: both parties, the PA and Durst, should be dragged to court and found guilty of their crimes. What they did to this tower and the WTC site in general is inexcusable.

After reading that article one thing comes to mind: both parties, the PA and Durst, should be dragged to court and found guilty of their crimes. What they did to this tower and the WTC site in general is inexcusable.

well maybe not war crimes but yes, i agree with you, it's disgusting

^^ They didn´t do any crimes. I dislike heavy overstatements.

Also, the Plaza at WTC1 won´t stay forever the way they will build it now. I guess they will renovate it over time, and add new features etc. This is a vibrant site, which won´t stagnate forver ones it´s "finished".

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7352479364_1e4ecb491c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsquadnyc/7352479364/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsquadnyc/7352479364/) von bsquad.nYc (http://www.flickr.com/people/bsquadnyc/) auf Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7231/7360053062_809c0a2f9f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jb-images/7360053062/)
SoHo sunset. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jb-images/7360053062/) von jasonblacquierephotography (http://www.flickr.com/people/jb-images/) auf Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7081/7169668165_28bd6549d1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ataferner/7169668165/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ataferner/7169668165/) von ataferner (http://www.flickr.com/people/ataferner/) auf Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7170175493_cacc738cac_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ataferner/7170175493/)
New York City at Night (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ataferner/7170175493/) von ataferner (http://www.flickr.com/people/ataferner/) auf Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7354858886_db9c66086f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ataferner/7354858886/)
New York City Skyline (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ataferner/7354858886/) von ataferner (http://www.flickr.com/people/ataferner/) auf Flickr

After reading that article one thing comes to mind: both parties, the PA and Durst, should be dragged to court and found guilty of their crimes. What they did to this tower and the WTC site in general is inexcusable.

I think you are being a little over dramatic .:lol::lol::lol:

Spires have changed.
If you compared a Cathedral with a skyscraper spire, i bet 99 percent of the people wouldn't know that the Cathedral was a spire.


A cathedral can never 'be' a spire. It can only feature one.

I bet you, sir, don't know squat about religious architecture in the middle ages and the Ancien Régime.

People are putting to much blame on PA and durst and not Enough blame on SOM PA and durst gave SOM a number of years to make an alternate design in which SOM refuse so the blame goes all around when it comes to the spire issue and ,as for the wtc site every precaution should be made to make wtc area as safe as possible, i mean lets not show fear but lets not be fool hardy either so some sacrifices had to be made to ensure better security.

This should not of been a building where any compromises were made. I think the 3000 lives lost that day are worth the money. They need to cover up that antenna.

.I just don't agree with the west plaza redesign and from that article they had no really good arguments as to why they redesigned it. Now the stairs are now really tiny. It will be quite crowded and unwelcoming climbing up some skinny stairs (which, ironically, are less safe than open stairs). They mention stainless steel steps... Why not just (cheaper) stone steps? I don't understand.

Could they not just do something similar to bank of america's spire?

Security overkill is nonsense imo. It would be perfectly enough to make it more secure than an average tower (which it was right from the beginning of the construction) to shift new attacks from wtc to esb, chrysler or sears. I hope you get my point. I mean whats the point of constantly increasing security measures making secure place a madly secure when terrorists simply will chose another less secure iconic object?

Well there is one: public opinion ;)

It's not new, it's always been there, it was just covered up before.

Oh whoops I knew that too

Mr. Tarazi said it was the architects’ idea to eliminate the chamfering when it became apparent how difficult it would be aesthetically to resolve the clash between the vertical lines created by the fins and the sloping lines at each edge. “S.O.M. saw it as an opportunity to improve on the design,” Mr. Tarazi said, “and I think they did.”Count me among those that disagree. This change feels the most damaging to me. The antenna/spire was never holistic to begin with, so while I do think removing the radome makes the building feel less impressive the design for the covering was feable enough that the loss is not significant, IMO. Tha chamfering of the base, however, was to give more nuance to the resulting geometry above and not let the base become a generic element beneath a disjointed tower. I'm sorry they couldn't make the cladding as originally intended, but that seems a very harsh compromise to alter the form so as to apease the angularity of the new facade. Very dissappointed.

Could they not do this design for the antenna? Just a simple cross braced skeleton, it could even be in the same shape as the previous spire. It would be cheap, nice to look at and would count as height.

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc486/deadhead2621/Top_of_Bank_of_America_Plaza_2_by_conbot.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc486/deadhead2621/4190684822_21bde11f1c_o.jpg

The mast is already fabricated and is being stored at the ADF Group shop in Canada.

The mast is already fabricated and is being stored at the ADF Group shop in Canada.


So Will The Mast be hoisted in sections like the planned spire?
Or will it be hoisted all at once, like an antenna?

:lol: Can't imagine a -64ton max load- Favco 760D trying to lift a +440' ton steel tower at once.

http://twistedsifter.sifter.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/funny-baby-trying-to-lift-weights.jpg

Though if IIRC the project's logistics calls for another crane yet to come that will replace both Favco 760D.

Some glass has been installed today! I think we are at the 79th or 80th floor.

Great article from the New York Times:

1 World Trade Center Is a Growing Presence, and a Changed One (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/1-world-trade-center-is-a-growing-presence-and-a-changed-one/)

They eliminated the skylight? It was already built, you morons! All you had to do was put the fountain on top. We have pictures of the thing being built! For the love of Christ the Durst organization is a bunch of morons.

I'm glad that the guys behind the original plaza design stepped away and told them they didn't want to work with them anymore. They're butchering the design.

Also laughable is the comment that, "not many people will enter from the west entrance." Except a bunch of tourists, because that is the damned tourist entrance. That's why it was supposed to look inviting, but apparently any sense of good design is lost on these people.

I assume I'm very much alone in having a poor opinion of the mast, even in its first iteration. It's always seemed disconnected from the overall aesthetic of the tower, that is, not related in line or materials. Many of the city's best show an intensifying visual interest as one approaches the top. While I'm sure the approach here was no accident, I can't work up much enthusiasm for the original nor any great disappointment regarding the recent changes. I never really thought it very good.

What are those white rectangular boxes in the base of 1WTC?

This says it all:

Durst originally sought what would have been, in essence, a construction management fee of $35 million for what it envisioned as five years of work. The authority was unwilling to pay that amount. Instead, a deal was negotiated under which Durst would receive a $15 million fee and be entitled to a percentage of any “base building changes that result in net economic benefit to the project” — cost savings, in other words — that Durst had initiated and recommended.
.
Every million they cut is money in the bank.

At what floor will that vent-looking cladding start?

Ugh disgusting @ the budget cuts... Douglas Durst is a horrible bastard

^^You guys are saying this as if you AREN'T getting a 3 billion dollar tower...

Now, I am glad they built something on the site instead of nothing, however, for 3 billion dollars, this tower has had way too many design modifications and last minute alterations to be worthy of such a price. Durst Organization embodies what is wrong with this country today, by their underhanded greed and tactics to change the building's design by making lame excuses, when it was really only about saving money. This building has been way overpriced, and the final result with the new spire will not be a good tribute to the Twin Towers. Daniel Liebskind's original designs were even more hideous, so thank god David Childs remedied that somewhat. I'm glad we are getting a tower, but it could have been so much better. Not a fan of the concrete-bunker base or the new antenna. They should call this building the chameleon, because every week more changes are made. Something is better than nothing, but it didn't have to be so expensive, and the architects should have created a more inspiring design.

What if they put it together up there. Simple steel rings every 10 or so metres with vertival beams with 4 split vertecal beams. The same shape as the old spire but without glass and with beams instead.

What are those white rectangular boxes in the base of 1WTC?

The pic above, isn't a pic of the base. It's an antenna. Somebody said that they should enclose the antenna with that

^^You guys are saying this as if you AREN'T getting a 3 billion dollar tower...


Analogy: You order a new Mercedes. All the specs look great on paper and you will pay $100,000 when it's built. Then, before yours is finished, the engineers change all the real metal parts on the instrument panel to chrome plated plastic parts. Would you be just as happy with the finished product, knowing what was cost engineered out, but you paid the same price? Also, what did they do THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW ABOUT??!!

They have announced changes to 1WTC, but I think there are probably many more that we don't know about.

The pic above, isn't a pic of the base. It's an antenna. Somebody said that they should enclose the antenna with that

Oh no, I'm not talking about that picture but about this:
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/?cam=tower1base

there are various white 'containers' looking like a wall. I wonder what that is :yes:

Oh no, I'm not talking about that picture but about this:
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/?cam=tower1base

there are various white 'containers' looking like a wall. I wonder what that is :yes:

Oh, lol. Sorry. I'm guessing their are using it for preparation for the base cladding/
My best guess. sorry:bash:

Oh, lol. Sorry. I'm guessing their are using it for preparation for the base cladding/
My best guess. sorry:bash:

Haha, no problem!
Here's a picture:

http://i.imgur.com/7BCUa.jpg

Haha, no problem!
Here's a picture:

http://i.imgur.com/7BCUa.jpg

Obama secret service ammo... :)

Oh, lol. Sorry. I'm guessing their are using it for preparation for the base cladding/
My best guess. sorry:bash:

It's just a temp. wall to separate the President (visiting the site tomorrow) from everyone else.

Obama secret service ammo... :)

haha, the way things are going I have no doubt

It's just a temp. wall to separate the President (visiting the site tomorrow) from everyone else.

Interesting. I tought it was something about base cladding too

Haha, no problem!
Here's a picture:

http://i.imgur.com/7BCUa.jpg

That could be the cladding in those trucks under the white structure to maybe protect it from any possible falling debris.

Oh don't you know us president use regularly these corridors to get walking from point a to b. Snipers can't get him that way ;)

That could be the cladding in those trucks under the white structure to maybe protect it from any possible falling debris.

he is talking about a row of containers that run along memorial park

Imagine the antenna at 4 times square. That's what it will look like.

Imagine the antenna at 4 times square. That's what it will look like. It will look horrible on this building.

It will look horrible on this building.

AGREED! Im sorry. I know people get mad when we talk about the antenna. But its such a modern building,,, a 1980s style antenna will loot terrible. Look how Dubai incorporates the spires into the designs of their modern buildings. C'mon,,,, we can do better then this!!!!

Give em 20 million dollars and you got it. ^^

a window with a view...


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5457/7370282050_ac7567f70c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurijoe/7370282050/)
IMG_1730 copy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurijoe/7370282050/) by xurijoe (http://www.flickr.com/people/xurijoe/), on Flickr

Give em 20 million dollars and you got it. ^^

I really believe that it is not a financial issue and, i am willing to take durst word that the situation is really an engineering one.

a window with a view...


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5457/7370282050_ac7567f70c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurijoe/7370282050/)
IMG_1730 copy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurijoe/7370282050/) by xurijoe (http://www.flickr.com/people/xurijoe/), on Flickr
Wow! Im sure your glad that you get to see the WTC again out your window for the first time since 2001.

Do you know at what hours are going to stay President Obama? Thank you!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/kiko2/P1010169.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/kiko2/P1010178.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/kiko2/P1010177.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/kiko2/P1010176.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/kiko2/P1010181.jpg

Supposedly between 3-6pm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/kiko2/P1010169.jpg

The bare concrete side of that brown skyscraper is horrible. :ohno:

The movie "Iron Sky" has a good idea of the finalized tower.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/mojeda101/ironsky.png

^^ Everything but good!

The towers are in a total other position than in this picture. They are behind the o'leary tower.

What is the current hight, 400 or 410 m? How many floors (or jumps) left, thanx.

The movie "Iron Sky" has a good idea of the finalized tower.


If by good you mean bad, I'll agree with you :lol: As mentioned above me, it isn't in the right place. But the building itself is probably pretty similar to what it will look like.

^^

That view is even better no damn beekman to ruin the view.:)

From that angle, 2WTC will completely cover 1WTC. ^^

But I like Beekman. :(

Also the huge flag is back on the side of the base.

With the President visiting today is 1WTC topping out?

With the President visiting today is 1WTC topping out?

He supposedly will be signing the last steel beam that will go in when it is finally topped out. But it isn't going to happen today.

GSA is close to final deal at 1WTC (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/lease_it_can_do_HsTEYX7sAku0cYQKseWIqN)

By STEVE CUOZZO
Last Updated: 10:49 AM, June 14, 2012

"Just in time for President Obama’s Ground Zero visit today, the federal General Services Administration came a big step closer to finalizing a long-awaited lease at 1 World Trade Center.

The GSA just signed off on a “lease prospectus” covering nearly 300,000 square feet with the Durst Organization, which is managing 1 WTC for its partner, the Port Authority.

The deal will mean that more than half of 1 WTC’s 3 million square feet is leased — considered an important milestone to encourage more tenants to move into the iconic tower.

The GSA paperwork has been forwarded for approval to congressional panels — the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure — which are expected to affirm the terms promptly.

“I don’t see any red flags,” that might hold up a speedy approval, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told The Post.

Schumer — who prodded the GSA to follow through on the lease that was first proposed five years ago — added, “I think we can meet the July 4 deadline,” the date when Douglas Durst said he wanted the deal done.

The PA will finalize the lease as soon as it’s approved in Washington.

The tower is to open in early 2015, and the GSA will move in after Oct. 1 that year.
Condé Nast will make its new home at 1 WTC, and China’s Beijing Vantone has also leased space.

Schumer said, “Now, 1 WTC is just a step away from passing the critical 50-percent occupancy threshold.

“Now that the parties have agreed to final terms, I am calling on Congress to move ASAP to sign off” on it.

Although basic terms of the 20-year, 270,000-square-foot lease were agreed to in a term sheet last August, things stalled as the GSA was racked by turmoil over a spending scandal at the agency.

As The Post reported, Schumer reached out to GSA acting chief Daniel Tangherlini last spring to break the logjam.

Durst spokesman Jordan Barowitz called the all-but-done deal “the result of a lot of hard work.”

The rent is an average $66.33 per square foot over the first five years, but the deal will cost the GSA considerably less than that through various concessions. "

I have more info that i just got from NBC a few minuites ago:
Obama IS infact singing a steel to go on the WTC
1WTC WILL TOP OUT on July 4 of THIS YEAR
1WTC WILL reach 1776 feet
1WTC WILL open early 2014. :( Thats a long ways away

Here is a video about these updates from NBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJaKUwo4SXM

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7367566054_b2b063a9f1_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_wasserman/7367566054/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7075/7370300526_2336bc2897_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34130743@N02/7370300526/

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8021/7369983422_0480f1d3c8_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45745748@N00/7369983422/

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7179395715_69f314080f_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmarella/7179395715/

Do you know whats confusing... on NBC they said "Early 2014" however I have read Early 2013 from multiple sources, and 2014 from alot of sources as well... WHAT IS IT >.>

Do you know whats confusing... on NBC they said "Early 2014" however I have read Early 2013 from multiple sources, and 2014 from alot of sources as well... WHAT IS IT >.>

July 4, 2012 - Building Tops Out
September 11, 2012 - Concrete flooring reaches the top
December 2012 - Glass Cladding reaches the top of the building
March 2013 - Spire is constructed and installed.

6 or 8 months required to finish interior work of building, the plaza surrounding the building, and cladding of the base.

So it could be Late 2013 or Early 2014.

No way this building is opening in Early 2013.

The movie "Iron Sky" has a good idea of the finalized tower.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/mojeda101/ironsky.png

That's really inaccurate. Where is 7 WTC, plus the FT is not that close to the Beekman...

July 4, 2012 - Building Tops Out
September 11, 2012 - Concrete flooring reaches the top
December 2012 - Glass Cladding reaches the top of the building
March 2013 - Spire is constructed and installed.

6 or 8 months required to finish interior work of building, the plaza surrounding the building, and cladding of the base.

So it could be Late 2013 or Early 2014.

No way this building is opening in Early 2013.
I hope it will open by Late October 2013, I am planning to visit new york near my birthday in late october, in hopes to visit an open 1WTC.

July 4, 2012 - Building Tops Out
September 11, 2012 - Concrete flooring reaches the top
December 2012 - Glass Cladding reaches the top of the building
March 2013 - Spire is constructed and installed.

6 or 8 months required to finish interior work of building, the plaza surrounding the building, and cladding of the base.

So it could be Late 2013 or Early 2014.

No way this building is opening in Early 2013.

Okay, sorry but this is totally inaccurate. One, you don't know exactly what date when the concrete flooring reaches the final floor, the glass will be finished sooner than December, and three the spire isn't being constructed in March, it's being constructed this summer after topping out. Please don't use Wikipedia next time, that's exactly where this came from.

The tower is to open in early 2015, and the GSA will move in after Oct. 1 that year.


Will someone, pull their collective head, out of their collective ass, and give us a more definitive date, of when this fucking thing is to open??!!!!! 2013, 2014, 2015.:bash: Goddammit, different people give different dates, and that is no good! Somebody make up their fucking minds, and stick to it. Otherwise stop confusing the public as to when it is to either be done or open! :bash:

That's really inaccurate. Where is 7 WTC, plus the FT is not that close to the Beekman...

Yeah. The Beekman is in the shot, but it is behind 1 WTC, which means 1 WTC's location is way off.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7367566054_b2b063a9f1_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_wasserman/7367566054/




http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8021/7369983422_0480f1d3c8_b.jpg


Look like two eyes with full of tears. They're special.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QjLqcP52EC4/SwiIYzcP2uI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/IyDT_P-ZT3s/s1600/crying.bmp

The tower is to open in early 2015, and the GSA will move in after Oct. 1 that year.


Will someone, pull their collective head, out of their collective ass, and give us a more definitive date, of when this fucking thing is to open??!!!!! 2013, 2014, 2015.:bash: Goddammit, different people give different dates, and that is no good! Somebody make up their fucking minds, and stick to it. Otherwise stop confusing the public as to when it is to either be done or open! :bash:
I would say the MOST LIKELY opening date would be late 2013, cause the glass is near being complete, and the building will top out in less then a month. And the spire shouldnt take 1 year to install nor should the floors. I would say they would finish the tower 100% by Late August 2013, and will open in time for the 12th anniversary of 9/11.

I would say the MOST LIKELY opening date would be late 2013, cause the glass is near being complete, and the building will top out in less then a month. And the spire shouldnt take 1 year to install nor should the floors. I would say they would finish the tower 100% by Late August 2013, and will open in time for the 12th anniversary of 9/11.

^^^^^^^^ I hope you're right.

Great shot!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8155/7178175559_89bf267d16_b.jpg
Safidy Andrianantenaina

This can be useful for some individuals sides of incomplete project on time:bash:

Yea it's just so annoying how someone puts that misinformation. Idiots out there

The movie "Iron Sky" has a good idea of the finalized tower.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/mojeda101/ironsky.png

We can see one WTC under construction between the towers 2 and 3 :lol:

^^ lol. Also, they took a few of the Earth Cam's down of Tower 1, the base, and a couple others probably because of Obama?

^^ lol. Also, they took a few of the Earth Cam's down of Tower 1, the base, and a couple others probably because of Obama?
Nah, Its cause of aliens :p probably cause of obama

With this link: http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/?cam=tower1base
It says that the webcam is currently unavailble to the public :(

With this link: http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/?cam=tower1base
It says that the webcam is currently unavailble to the public :(
Security reasons, it should be back up after Obama leaves

People need to chill out about the completion date. It should be basically finished by the end of next year. But as to when the observation deck is opening will probably be sometime in 2014. I'd heard Conde Nast isn't moving in till probably mid '14 at the earliest, but likely won't be fully moved in till '15. Office buildouts can take quite a while to finish.

Here is a really interesting video and article about 1WTC:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/14/obama-to-sign-beam-of-one-world-trade-center/

With this link: http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/worldtradecenter/?cam=tower1base
It says that the webcam is currently unavailble to the public :(

I already said that right above your post.

i just saw a Chinook pass over the harbor so i'm guessing he's here? looking at the harbor cam there's also a coast guard ship in the harbor

i just saw a Chinook pass over the harbor so i'm guessing he's here? looking at the harbor cam there's also a coast guard ship in the harbor
I saw that on earthcam like 3 minuites ago! I took pictures of it :3
http://www.earthcam.com/swf/cam_player/temp_images/1339701216998.jpg
http://www.earthcam.com/swf/cam_player/temp_images/1339701322347.jpg

- edit

Here is a video of that helicopter to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMV0Oz-gjE

Pres. Obama to be briefed on progress of World Trade Center site during NYC visit

NEW YORK — Officials updating President Obama on progress of World Trade Center 1 this afternoon will be able to report that steel has been erected to the 104th floor, where it will top out, with concrete floors completed to a level 12 stories below that, and the building’s glass facade in place up to the 77th floor, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
The president is scheduled to receive an update from Port Authority officials at the WTC 1 tower before attending campaign fundraisers at the home of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and at the Plaza Hotel.
The tower, which will be the centerpiece of the redeveloped trade center site, is scheduled for completion next year, when it is to rise to a symbolic height of 1,776 feet, including antennae. Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said concrete floor slabs have been installed through the 92nd floor, while marble is now being installed in the lobby and the B-2 level.
Coleman said negotiations are continuing with the National September 11 Memorial and Museum Foundation in a dispute with the Port Authority over costs that has delayed completion of the underground museum. Obama urged Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, who share control of the Port Authority, to settle the embarrassing dispute over one of the nation’s most solemn locations.
For security reasons, the Port Authority announced that the World Trade Center PATH station would be closed during the president’s late afternoon visit, and urged commuters to use alternate routes to get uptown or to New Jersey.
NJ Transit said today that it would honor PATH tickets on its trains, light rail line and buses during the president’s visit, and that it would cross-honor all of its own tickets.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/pres_obama_to_be_briefed_on_pr.html

Will the building be alble to light up when it's completed?

Will the building be alble to light up when it's completed?

Yeah the corners of the slanted walls will have lights installed on them.

(From Article)

when it is to rise to a symbolic height of 1,776 feet, including antennae

Pathetic... good thing taller buildings are on the way. I wonder if Obama will say anything about it? I doubt he knows.

It's good to see the tower come close to completion though.

BTW, it's not topping out today, Obama is just signing the topping out beam, the media is wrong like always.

Will the building be alble to light up when it's completed?
the base, antenna, and mechanical floors at the top will be lit.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8744/millerhare6.jpg
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3520/millerhare1wtc03.png
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7906/millerhare1wtc05.png
rendering from Millerhare (http://www.millerhare.com/)


http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/1316089927-rising-dbox-004-1000x562.jpg
dbox renderings (http://www.archdaily.com/169413/update-rising-rebuilding-ground-zero-dbox/rising_dbox_004/)

Yeah it's not supposed to actually top out until around July 4th. There are still a couple floors plus the parapet.

One jump until the triangles connect.

the base, antenna, and mechanical floors at the top will be lit.

Look's good but it would of been nice to have the whole building lit up like it is occasionaly now.

Yeah it's not supposed to actually top out until around July 4th. There are still a couple floors plus the parapet.

I think just floor 105 is left, maybe 104M too im not sure though

July 4, 2012 - Building Tops Out
September 11, 2012 - Concrete flooring reaches the top
December 2012 - Glass Cladding reaches the top of the building
March 2013 - Spire is constructed and installed.

6 or 8 months required to finish interior work of building, the plaza surrounding the building, and cladding of the base.

So it could be Late 2013 or Early 2014.

No way this building is opening in Early 2013.

This is inaccurate.
The spire is already constructed and ready to be installed.
Glass is moving fast, so i doubt that in December it will be complete.
Their are no exact dates for this site, maybe July 4, topping out is right. But this is inaccurate

July 4, 2012 - Building Tops Out
September 11, 2012 - Concrete flooring reaches the top
December 2012 - Glass Cladding reaches the top of the building
March 2013 - Spire is constructed and installed.

This is so far off. First of all, concrete flooring is already at floor 100. You're saying it will take more than 3 months to do the other 4 floors. That's about 1 floor per 3 weeks. Second of all, Cladding is going extremely quickly. Glass cladding should reach the top by mid-september at this rate. And third of all, it's probably not going to take 2 years to open the building up, It will probably be opened in mid 2013. Early 2014 is way off.

Here are my predictions:

7/4/12 Topping out
8/3/12 Concrete flooring reaches top
9/16/12 Cladding reaches top
10/2/12 Spire is completed and building's height is 1776 ft
Mid-Late 2013 Building opens up

This is inaccurate.
The spire is already constructed and ready to be installed.
Glass is moving fast, so i doubt that in December it will be complete.
Their are no exact dates for this site, maybe July 4, topping out is right. But this is inaccurate

I already said that exact thing, idk why people don't see it. The information was taken from Wikipedia so any moron could've written it

14 june 2012:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010207.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010209.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010229.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010263.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010258.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010264.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010261.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010260.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010245.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010246.jpg


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/kiko3/P1010247.jpg

Pathetic huh whats the tallest building where you live ?

I am fine with what we are getting, but I wouldn't say it is impressive. It's a 417m building with a 400 ft antennae that is almost 1/3 of the actual building's height. It is a very nice design, but it isn't outstanding.

Don't get me wrong, I like this tower, but considering the importance of this tower, the design could have been better, and definitely more cutting edge

I'am speechless at how incredible and gorgeous the glass looks on the building! :eek2: I ...... WOW!

I agree 100%, it's not a bad building at all, anywhere else it would be amazing, but for what it's replacing, the complex, while still impressive in its own right, falls short.

However I am obviously very excited to see all 4 (or 5) towers on the skyline in the near future.

Even this, would have been better, if the building was filled in at the top. It is a more unique design, and hasn't been done much around the world, compared to the design they built which has a few near replicas


http://www.thecityreview.com/wtcfree7.jpg

http://www.thecityreview.com/wtcfree2.jpg

http://flatrock.org.nz/static/frontpage/assets/terrorism/freedom_tower_night_view.jpg

http://www.newyorkarchitecture.info/LegacyImages/F/FreedomTower-002.jpg

key words, "if it was filled to the top"

If it was, then yes that would have been amazing, but it wasn't, so it looked horrible and empty, almost like a ghost building, showing how scared we were at the time to build tall.

I was thrilled when the current design came out, just a solid building the size of the twins

¿Two jumps to the roof?

Even this, would have been better, if the building was filled in at the top. It is a more unique design, and hasn't been done much around the world, compared to the design they built which has a few near replicas


http://www.thecityreview.com/wtcfree7.jpg

http://www.thecityreview.com/wtcfree2.jpg

http://flatrock.org.nz/static/frontpage/assets/terrorism/freedom_tower_night_view.jpg

http://www.newyorkarchitecture.info/LegacyImages/F/FreedomTower-002.jpg

come on man, this is even more hideous seeing it 8-9 yrs later. look at the pathetic rest of the complex with the roofs slashed off! Its a joke but viva la difference!

some screenshot from NYBOY75
tkGsNOtQmNQ&feature=g-all-c

http://img5.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/898989cqf7rue9w1.png (http://www.fotos-hochladen.net)

^The old design would of been fine had it been filled out, which would not have happened. The other wtc buildings in that render are disgusting.

some screenshot from NYBOY75
tkGsNOtQmNQ&feature=g-all-c

http://img5.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/898989cqf7rue9w1.png (http://www.fotos-hochladen.net)

Tht second photo, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to take that perspective!! Awesome :D

I am fine with what we are getting, but I wouldn't say it is impressive. It's a 417m building with a 400 ft antennae that is almost 1/3 of the actual building's height. It is a very nice design, but it isn't outstanding.

Don't get me wrong, I like this tower, but considering the importance of this tower, the design could have been better, and definitely more cutting edge

The only way 1 wtc is not impressive in size is if you live in Dubai, other then that in my opinion 1 wtc is impressive in size remember 1 wtc when competed will be the third tallest building in the world by pinnacle, although not for long unfortunately. :(

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/obama-wtc-president-visits-world-trade-center-review-rebuilding-sign-steel-article-1.1095943

I am fine with what we are getting, but I wouldn't say it is impressive. It's a 417m building with a 400 ft antennae that is almost 1/3 of the actual building's height. It is a very nice design, but it isn't outstanding.

Don't get me wrong, I like this tower, but considering the importance of this tower, the design could have been better, and definitely more cutting edge


The earth could be pulled into a black hole and this building will still be in one piece...

...the burj dubai in a heap compared to this thing (engineering specifications wise)

When will they start plating the bottom?

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3520/millerhare1wtc03.png

http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/1316089927-rising-dbox-004-1000x562.jpg
dbox renderings (http://www.archdaily.com/169413/update-rising-rebuilding-ground-zero-dbox/rising_dbox_004/)

These pictures are stunning. Cant wait to see it done.

The only way 1 wtc is not impressive in size is if you live in Dubai, other then that in my opinion 1 wtc is impressive in size remember 1 wtc when competed will be the third tallest building in the world by pinnacle, although not for long unfortunately. :(

What are you talking about? It would stand out on the skyline of Dubai. The only building that surpasses one WTC in Dubai is the Burj Khalifa which just looks like a cell tower. Other than that, One WTC surpasses every other building there in roof height, and spire height.

WTC Progress Facebook:

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/282612_332834703460441_1356419644_n.jpg

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/600230_332835706793674_517219844_n.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/wtcprogress

This is so far off. First of all, concrete flooring is already at floor 100. You're saying it will take more than 3 months to do the other 4 floors. That's about 1 floor per 3 weeks. Second of all, Cladding is going extremely quickly. Glass cladding should reach the top by mid-september at this rate. And third of all, it's probably not going to take 2 years to open the building up, It will probably be opened in mid 2013. Early 2014 is way off.

Here are my predictions:

7/4/12 Topping out
8/3/12 Concrete flooring reaches top
9/16/12 Cladding reaches top
10/2/12 Spire is completed and building's height is 1776 ft
Mid-Late 2013 Building opens up
Actually the concrete/marble is only at the lobby...
"and workers had begun installing marble finishing on the ground floor."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57453882/obama-tours-new-world-trade-center-site/

Actually the concrete/marble is only at the lobby...
"and workers had begun installing marble finishing on the ground floor."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57453882/obama-tours-new-world-trade-center-site/

Yeah but what does the marble have to do with anything? The marble is only going from the sub level lobby to the main lobbies...the rest of the building will be fit out by tenants to their desire(besides plumbing, bathrooms ECT. that the building needs)

Is there a link showing the current height of 1WTC?

403 meters

The towers look stunning in those renders.

Here are a few pictures from INSIDE the building and glass.
This one is from the glass at the day time
http://i.imgur.com/Yg8lD.jpg
THis one is at the end of the glass
http://i.imgur.com/YLP8B.jpg
This one is the glass at night
http://i.imgur.com/xt1eI.jpg

I love those shots! Especially the ones at night, and seeing the floors already lit up.

So it's 1,318 feet?

Hopefully this is true....

*The following information was last updated on June 15, 2012.

Tower steel is now above floor 104. It is expected to top out at 1368 feet) in late June 2012.
Facade installation is now above floor 77
Concrete is now being installed above floor 93
Installation of the 408-foot-tall telecommunications spire in summer 2012 (bringing total tower height to 1776 feet)
Spray-on fireproofing underway
Elevator shaft fit-out
Multiple cranes on site for steel and concrete installation
Both the south and north*cores are now being erected as the structure rises
"Cocoon" safety system now in place around upper perimeter, to rise with structure
Utility installation and tie-ins
Crews are coordinating substructure construction while maintaining PATH service

So it's 1,318 feet?

To the top of the splices, yes.

What President Obama signed on the steel beam yesterday.

https://p.twimg.com/AvZE8qFCQAEa9JR.jpg

From Top of the Rock

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1460/img0207gf.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/137/img0207gf.jpg/)

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5536/img0205ca.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/88/img0205ca.jpg/)

From Veterans Memorial Waterfront Park, Elizabeth, NJ

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/631/img0232ns.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/580/img0232ns.jpg/)

What President Obama signed on the steel beam yesterday.



Looks legit.

http://www.joewoolhead.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_6324-688x1038.jpg
Photo by Joe Woolhead (http://www.joewoolhead.com/home/2012/06/13/site-photos-may-2012/dsc_6324/)

It's beginning to look more, & more like the renderings!

I am a bit lost here. So there is going to be a spire on the tower? Or just antenna?

^ Antenna.

^ Antenna.

ok thank you. But then how does it count to 1776 since antenna is not an architectural element?

IMHO Durst makes a mockery out of very special place to this country.

ok thank you. But then how does it count to 1776 since antenna is not an architectural element?

IMHO Durst makes a mockery out of very special place to this country.

I don't think it was confirmed to be just an antenna though, it might end up still being a spire. So for now it could go either way. And I agree about Durst

It's been confirmed, unless someone pulls a rabbit out of their hat

FROM: NYBOY75

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWrqmRxh85I&feature=youtu.be

Have a great weekend everybody!

Can't they count the beacon as an architectural feature??

It's been confirmed, unless someone pulls a rabbit out of their hat

Well it is confirmed it will be an antenna, but they never confirmed whether it will count or not. Can't they count the beacon as an architectural feature?

Tower steel is now above floor 104. It is expected to top out at 1368 feet) in late June 2012.
Facade installation is now above floor 77
Concrete is now being installed above floor 93
Installation of the 408-foot-tall telecommunications spire in summer 2012 (bringing total tower height to 1776 feet)
Spray-on fireproofing underway
Elevator shaft fit-out
Multiple cranes on site for steel and concrete installation
Both the south and north cores are now being erected as the structure rises
"Cocoon" safety system now in place around upper perimeter, to rise with structure
Utility installation and tie-ins
Crews are coordinating substructure construction while maintaining PATH service

I realize that the spire/antenna and official height issue has been beaten to death but I just want to express the opinion that if 1WTC ends up with that skinny little stick of an antenna and it's official height will be recognized as 1776 feet while the Sears/Willis Tower with it's much more substantial dual antennas that everyone recognizes is not included as it's official height then it's very clear to me that the organization that makes these decisions has been pressured to do so because of the national significance of The World Trade Center and that they're not following a consistent or honest course of action. That would be a shame because this is a beautiful building and it would be silly to twist the standards just so it could have the date of the Declaration of Independence as it's height.

Tower steel is now above floor 104. It is expected to top out at 1368 feet) in late June 2012.


It's not necessarily accurate. Other media outlets have reported July 4th.

It's not necessarily accurate. Other media outlets have reported July 4th.

How do you know it's not accurate? It came primarily from the PA. And yea the media said that, the same people who are reffering to it as Ground Zero...

What's this?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7380604918_fd6a31e739.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3520/millerhare1wtc03.png


Does anyone else think that it looks great on its own? I think it looks great with the complex done but I think it also looks good on its own.

It looks so tall now!

What's this?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7380604918_fd6a31e739_b.jpg
It looks like the start of the spire! Here is a better look at them, but they look like the support for the spire/antenna. I think work has started for the spire/antenna.
http://i.imgur.com/cWFxN.png

It looks like the start of the spire! Here is a better look at them, but they look like the support for the spire/antenna. I think work has started for the spire/antenna.
http://i.imgur.com/cWFxN.png

They still have to build the 105 floor and parapet, it's not the spire.

Does anyone else think that it looks great on its own? I think it looks great with the complex done but I think it also looks good on its own.

That pic you quoted is my new wallpaper :cheer:

As to what we saw the cranes carry, I think it were only floor beams. The antenna will start rising only after concrete has topped out too :cheers:

It looks like the start of the spire! Here is a better look at them, but they look like the support for the spire/antenna. I think work has started for the spire/antenna.
http://i.imgur.com/cWFxN.png

Are you serious? Those are the cables for the cranes.

Are you serious? Those are the cables for the cranes.

I was responding to this pic:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7380604918_fd6a31e739_b.jpg

Comparison between fiction and reality:

http://i.imgur.com/38Eu9.jpg

How do you know it's not accurate? It came primarily from the PA. And yea the media said that, the same people who are reffering to it as Ground Zero...

I didn't say I knew for sure, but that a July 4th topping out seems more likely at the moment because of what's been said. I can't claim it either way.

That highway construction really looks bad. I can't wait until the trees are finally planted there. :ohno:

I was responding to this pic:


That looks like part of the assembly to raise the blue netting, but since it is so far away it could be anything. Here is an old picture. And why do you think I was talking to you? I quoted the other guy.

http://i.imgur.com/kQYGS.jpg

Spire assembly can't begin until the roof is completed. We still need to finish the 105th floor and the parapet. It will begin after that most likely in July or August.

When should the glass installation be complete for this tower? End of next month?

^^ If only...

When should the glass installation be complete for this tower? End of next month?

Glass is on floor 77 now. It probably won't be finished until September.

Glass is on floor 77 now. It probably won't be finished until September.

That's better than I thought it would be.

That's better than I thought it would be.

Yea same, I was thinking December. Glass actually restarted 2 months ago today after that long period of no glass and has risen 11 floors since then. Thats over 145 feet of glass in just 60 days :)

Does anyone else think that it looks great on its own? I think it looks great with the complex done but I think it also looks good on its own.
It seems so "alone" or empty. Its just better with a complex, and a few other skyscrapers or supertalls.

June 16, 2012

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7383679418_6657cd10ec_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurijoe/7383679418/)
IMG_1741 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurijoe/7383679418/) by xurijoe (http://www.flickr.com/people/xurijoe/), on Flickr

It's looking so good. ^_^

Comparison between fiction and reality:
http://i.imgur.com/38Eu9.jpgI hate that they did away with the chamfered corners on the base; it's back to looking like a fortified bunker again, all to appease a crappy aluminum facade design.

I would have rather they opened the four sides to muralists than do to the base what's being done to it.