On the 11th anniversary of the Sept.11,2001 terrorist attacks,work continues on One World Trade Center,which will rise 1,776 feet to the top of its spire,to become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Steel has risen to the 102nd floor,reports the Port Authority of New York&New Jersey website.Installation of the glass curtainwall has reached the 73rd floor and the installation of concrete floors has risen to the 90th floor.
The Port Authority and The Durst Organization are jointly developing the iconic,three-million-square-foot office tower now under construction in Lower Manhattan.It is targeted for completion in early 2014.
In June,President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited the construction site and were among a group of dignitaries and workers who signed a steel beam that is part of One World Trade Center's superstructure.Workers installed the first beam of the building in December 2006.
The white beam contains the words"One World Trade Center"painted in blue.Obama wrote in marker:"We remember,""We rebuild"and"We come back stronger!"
More than 3,500 men and women from more than 60 union trades work on the 16-acre site,with more than 1,000 devoted to building One World Trade Center.
Windsor,Ont.-based Collavino Construction Group is the main sub-contractor on the US$300 million-plus concrete job for the project.
One World Trade Center,whose construction is overseen by Tishman Construction,marked a major milestone in late April when it became the tallest building in New York surpassing the roofline of the 1,454-foot Empire State Building.
Recent renderings show design changes to the base and spire of the building.Previously the spire was to have been sheathed in a protective covering.The new images show a spire exposed to the elements.It will be 408 feet tall.The images display a new design for the first 20 storeys.Original plans called for those storeys to be angled outward.Now the base will be broader.Flat,stainless-steel panels also are new design elements for the outside of the building.
One World Trade Center aims to be one of the most sustainable office buildings of its size and to achieve LEED Gold certification standards.These standards will result in lower energy and operating expenses,access to natural light through floor-to-ceiling glass windows and highly filtered air.
Enhanced security and safety measures will make it the strongest office building in the world.Features include structural redundancy,enhanced fireproofing,extra-wide pressurized exit stairs,concrete-protected sprinklers,enhanced emergency communication cabling,dedicated staircases for use only by firefighters,and a protected tenant gathering point on each floor.
The building will serve as the headquarters of publisher CondéNast,which has leased nearly 1.2 million square feet on 25 floors.An additional 190,000 square feet has been leased by Vantone China Center and another 270,000 square feet by the federal General Services Administration,bringing One World Trade Center to 55 per cent leased.
