About David Childs' 1 WTC:
- Height: 1,776 feet, tallest building in the U.S.
- Stories: 69
- Footprint: same size square footprint as the original Twin Towers
- Size: 2.6 million square feet
- Design: 200-foot concrete base surfaced with prismatic glass, beveled to eight, tall isosceles triangles, topped with a square, glass parapet
- Construction Began: April 2006; completion expected in 2013
- Architectural Firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
In the Words of the Architect:
"It's taken a decade, but frankly, that's not that long for a project of this scale." —2011 AIArchitect
"The Freedom Tower, now called 1 World Trade Center, has been more complicated [than Tower 7]. But we continue to be dedicated to the goal that the strength of the building's simple geometry as the vertical marker for that most important element—the Memorial—and the memory it evokes of the form of the missing towers will triumph, honoring those who lost their lives, filling the void torn in the downtown skyline, and verifying the steadfastness and endurance of our great nation."#8212;2012 AIA National Convention
Learn More:
- Designing One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower)
- The National 9/11 Memorial
- What Are They Building on Ground Zero?
- David M. Childs, SOM Design Partner
- Seven World Trade Center
Sources: About 1 World Trade Center ©2012 Silverstein Properties, Inc; Architects of Healing Videos, AIA website; "AIArchitect Talks with David Childs, FAIA," John Gendall, AIArchitect, 2011 [Websites accessed August 15, 2012]
