NATIONAL NEWS
February 27, 2003
Winning World Trade Center Design Announced
A 1,776-foot tower, which would be the world's tallest, will be part of the new plan
 Architect Daniel Libeskind |
What should be built on the World Trade Center site? New York City and state officials have just decided. They chose a design put together by Studio Daniel Libeskind of Berlin, Germany. The winning design stood out because of its dramatic spire, a tall and narrow pointed structure that will make this building taller than any other in the world.
A Tribute to U.S. Independence
At 1,776 feet tall, the spire marks the year of U.S. independence (1776) and "the durability of democracy." The building will be made up of five simple geometrical towers and several smaller buildings for cultural events. The top floors of the building will be filled with indoor gardens that represent life.
 |  This is what New York City's skyline will look like once the new World Trade Center design is complete. |
Libeskind's design was chosen over more than 400 entries, including a finalist's design put forward by the Think team of New York. Libeskind's plan calls for the building to be constructed over the foundation of the original 1,350-foot twin towers. In the hollow foundation, Libeskind said he imagines a place for a museum and a memorial to those who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. It may take 12 years to build Libeskind's plan, which is estimated to cost $330 million.
Architect Has History in New York
Although Libeskind's design firm is based in Berlin, Germany, his family, who survived the Holocaust, came to the U.S. in 1959. When Libeskind was a teen, he arrived to the U.S. with his family by boat in the New York Harbor. He went on to study architecture in New York City.
|  An artist's rendering of the new World Trade Center design shows the Libeskind design. |
"I never forgot that skyline and what it means to an immigrant, an American. It's not just a symbol. It's not just something up in the air. It's about the values that we all share," Libeskind said of the city's famous skyline.
The Choice of TFK Readers
Shortly after the final two designs for the World Trade Center were presented to the public, TFK asked readers to choose which design they liked best. More than 29,600 kids voted in the poll with just over 60 percent choosing The Think plan design. That design included twin 1,665-foot lacy towers that resembled the skeletons of the original towers.
