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FREEDOM
TOWER
Prior to the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist
attack, ground was broken for the Freedom Tower in downtown
Manhattan on July 4, 2004. The design, by architect Daniel
Libeskind, was chosen from a field of nine proposals by the Lower
Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, Governor
George E. Pataki, and Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
The complex, that includes angular buildings and a 1,776 foot
spire with gardens above the 70th floor, leaves a section of the
World Trade Center Foundation exposed as part of a memorial.
The design features 7.5 million square feet of office space.
The tower will surpass Malaysia’s 1,483-foot Petronas
Twin Towers, currently the tallest buildings in the world.
The foundation will be based 30-feet below ground, allowing for
infrastructure and transportation underneath.
LMDC was created by Governor Pataki and former Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani to oversee the rebuilding of the trade
center site and downtown Manhattan. The site is owned by
the Port Authority.
Tishman
Construction Corporation, the contractor for the original
World Trade Center complex and the firm managing construction of
the replacement for Seven WTC has been named as the builder of
Freedom Tower, which is scheduled for completion by early 2009.
It has been indicated that the building will include the latest
safety standards and technology along with being functional and
will exceed the standards set forth in the New York City
building code. As one of the nation’s most active
builders, a few of Tishman’s landmark projects include The
John Hancock Center in Chicago, the Century City Theme
Center in Los Angeles, and Walt
Disney’s EPCOT Center in Florida.
To monitor the progress of this project, check the following
web sites:
http://www.september11news.com
http://www.enr.com
www.tishmanconstruction.com
http://www.tishmanconstruction.com/careers.html
Images © Studio Daniel Libeskind
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