One World Trade Center New York, Tallest Building in USA, Manhattan Skyscraper Photos

One World Trade Center, NYC : Tallest Building in North America

1 WTC Manhattan Skyscraper design by David Childs, SOM Architects, NY, USA

Aug 23, 2021

Lightning Strikes One World Trade Center As Henri Approaches:

Film on YouTube

Jun 18, 2017

One World Trade Center Building

1 WTC Building in New York City Copyright

photo © Adrian Welch

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) sued for Freedom Tower copyright infringement in a suit filed on Wednesday by a Georgia-based architect.

Jeehoon Park, AIA, has filed suit against SOM for copyright infringement and false advertising of their One World Trade Center tower design. He alleges that SOM based their design on his 1999 graduate thesis from the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture in Chicago.

He asserts that his thesis adviser and former SOM architectural engineer and Associate Partner Ahmad Abdelrazaq saw the work prior to the Freedom Tower conceptualization. By 2004 Abdelrazaq had left SOM. The tower design was formally unveiled in 2005.

photograph © Adrian Welch

According to the civil action file, Park’s 122-story tower design is similar to the Freedom Tower for “substantially similar exterior cross-sectional shapes…at comparable floor levels.”

A SOM spokesperson released the following statement:
One World Trade Center is arguably the highest profile project built in the world in recent memory, and these types of projects often attract people who deceptively claim ownership of the design. This lawsuit filed yesterday is particularly suspect, because he is filing suit in June of 2017 about a design that was first unveiled publicly in June 2005 and that was completed and leased in 2013.

photos © Adrian Welch

The form of One World Trade Center is a simple and iconic geometric form and SOM has shown, countless times now, the origins of its concept and the development of its design. This lawsuit feels like an attempt to get attention or money and we are certain this claim will be found to be baseless.

Jul 6, 2016

One World Trade Center Building New York City

1 WTC Building in New York City

One WTC Building images from 26 Jun 2016 © Adrian Welch:

National September 11 Memorial & Museum twin reflecting pools – south pool:

World Trade Centre New York

Nov 13 + 11, 2013

One World Trade Center Height

Confirmation of Height for 1 WTC by Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

image from CTBUH

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) will hold a press conference to announce the determination of its Height Committee with respect to the architectural height of One World Trade Center, New York.

See CTBUH Events for more information.

May 10, 2012

One World Trade Center New York

1WTC New York Statement from Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has fielded many media queries about the ultimate height of the 1 WTC building, which is currently planned as the tallest building in North America.

image from CTBUH

We are aware that changes have been announced to the design of the structure on top of the tower, which may affect the final height measurement for the building. We understand that sculptural cladding has been removed, which will change the structure.

1 WTC which is still under construction, is currently listed in the CTBUH’s Skyscraper Center at an anticipated height to “architectural top” of 1,776 feet. This includes the structure described in the materials previously provided by the architect as a spire. A spire is typically a permanent structure and part of the architecture and artistic expression of the building.

The CTBUH includes spires in its height measurement to “architectural top,” the primary category in ranking the tallest buildings in the world. But antennas, masts, water towers and other functional-technical structures – which often are not designed by the architect of the building and change according to prevalent technologies – are not included in the height measurement to the architectural top.

However, they are included in measurements to the architectural “tip,” a secondary category tracked by the CTBUH. Definitions can be found on the CTBUH website at www.CTBUH.org.

picture from Wright Style

At this point, since the building is far from completion, there is no final determination on the height of 1 WTC. A final determination will be made by the CTBUH Technical Height Committee based on analysis of the drawings and other information submitted by the building owner, development and consultant team.

Building designs often change during construction and final ratification of the height and formal recognition on the list of 100 Tallest Completed Building in the World occur after the building is officially completed and application details submitted.

Over 40 years the CTBUH has developed detailed criteria for measuring the height of buildings, which are widely accepted in the industry. Any disputes are resolved by the CTBUH Height Committee – a panel of industry experts specifically set up for this purpose.

1 WTC New York Tower Building information from Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

One World Trade Center New York : Tallest NY building

tower under construction

Freedom Tower New York

Key Manhattan building no longer standing

Site of World Trade Center New York City, NY, USA
Dates built: 1966-73 (destroyed 2001)
Design: Minoru Yamasaki, Emery Roth & Sons
1 WTC was 417m high and Two World Trade Center was 415m high

World Trade Center Towers – photographs

Ground Zero New York photo, WTC7 on right: Andrew McRae, 2007

Freedom Tower – Site of World Trade Center
Ground Zero, Lower Manhattan
Date: 2004-
Daniel Libeskind Architects + David Childs of SOM Architects
Controversial towers to replace the World Trade Centre skyscrapers lost to New York in 2001. The main skyscraper by Libeskind was to be a significant number of feet high – 1,776 feet – to mark a key American date in history – United States Year of Independence; the building was largely handed over to architect David Childs.

Designed to be the tallest tower in the world for the site leaseholder – real estate developer Larry Silverstein. The angular design is typical for Libeskind but here echoes the Statue of Liberty.

Daniel Libeskind won the commission to design the Freedom Tower after a strongly contested World Trade Center design competition in Feb 2003, beating architects such as Norman Foster and in the end winning a two-strong shortlist.

Six architects teams were shortlisted for the 1 WTC building in Sep 2002 out of over 400 submissions, including:
Foster & Partners
Richard Meier Architect
Studio Daniel Libeskind
United Architects
Think Group

Freedom Tower New York – Article on Ground Zero / World Trade Center

World Trade Centre Buildings

For more data on 1 WTC New York City and thousands of tall buildings around the world, including tallest rankings, visit The Skyscraper Center (www.skyscrapercenter.com).

Location: 99 Church Street, New York City, USA