New World Trade Center Open for Business

13 years after the destruction of the original World Trade Center (aka the Twin Towers), the new 1 World Trade Center, under construction since 2006, has opened for business. 1 World Trade Center is the main building in a complex of six other buildings named 2 to 7 World Trade Center. Construction just finished this month and  the official opening was on November 3. Magazine publisher Condé Nast moved their main headquarters to 1 World Trade Center as the building’s first commercial tenants. Condé Nast is located on the 20^th to 44^th floors of the 104 floor tower. The New Jersey and New York Port Authority also moved into the complex, in the neighbouring 4 World Trade Center. The State of New York also plans to move staff into several offices in 1 World Trade Center. Vantone Industrial Co., a Beijing-based company, plans to have offices in a 20-year lease between floors 64 and 69.

Originally named “Freedom Tower”, 1 World Trade Center, as well as the other buildings in the complex, underwent the design process almost immediately after the original World Trade Center was destroyed. These were mostly in the form of preliminary designs and proposals, most of which were rejected. The final design was presented in 2005 and, after some debate over cost and security, construction began the following year.

Upon the addition of the spire in 2013, 1 World Trade Center became the fourth tallest building in the world at 546.2 metres, and the tallest building in North America and the Western Hemisphere. 1 World Trade Center is almost as tall as the CN Tower (553 metres), the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere. For clarification on the difference between building and freestanding structure, a building is defined as a structure with continuously occupied floors, whereas a freestanding structure is a more general term that encompasses buildings and other structures, so long as they don’t have external support.

The new buildings had a lot more security features implemented into their designs. 1 World Trade Center has reinforced concrete walls that are nearly 1 metre thick (93 cm) in key locations of the building including stairwells and elevator shafts. Chemical filters are also present in the ventilation system. The new tower was also constructed further away from adjacent buildings to avoid significant collateral damage should the tower be in a similar situation as during 9/11. The façade facing these buildings are actually made of blast resistant tempered plastic, which appears just like glass.

Overall, 1 World Trade Center cost approximately $3.9 billion in construction. In addition, the design and construction was hindered by several political and engineering issues that would ultimately cause more financial problems. No matter the cost, the new World Trade Center complex will be known as a symbol of perseverance and resilience in New York, and likely, all of the United States, for many years to come.