NATIONAL NEWS
December 22, 2003
Freedom Tower Planned in NY
A glass tower planned for the site of the World Trade Center will be the world's tallest building
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The world’s tallest building will stand proudly in New York City by the year 2009, officials said Friday. Plans for a 1,776-foot glass "Freedom Tower" will be built on land where the twin towers once stood, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced.
What Will the Tower Look Like?
The twisty-shaped tower will have 70 floors of office space, a public observation deck, rooftop restaurants and an open area at the top of the building. Its 1,776-foot height represents the year America signed the Declaration of Independence. The tower will be supported by crisscrossing cables meant to look just like the nearby Brooklyn Bridge.
A 276-foot spire on top of the tower will represent the Statue of Liberty’s arm holding the torch of freedom. Energy-generating windmills will also sit atop the building. Using wind to make electricity, they will provide 20 to 40 percent of the building's energy. The tower is expected to cost about $1.5 billion to build.
Safety First
Architects David Child and Daniel Libeskind designed the tower. Childs said the tower will be "the safest building in the world." He said it will include wider staircases, a separate stairway and elevator for firefighters, "blast-resistant glazing" and more public stairways with direct access to the street.
New York Governor George E. Pataki said the building "will show the world that freedom will always triumph over terror." Larry Silverstein, the developer of the new World Trade Center site, said the five-building complex will be complete by 2013.
The Freedom Tower is scheduled to be complete by 2009. Until then, Taipei 101 remains the tallest building in the world. It stands 1,676 feet high in Taiwan.
