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THE NEW WORLD Trade Centre tower in New York has been named the tallest building in the western hemisphere after a panel of architects decided in its favour in a row that could have reduced its official height.
Due to be completed next year, One World Trade Center will replace Chicago’s Willis Tower as the tallest building in the US.
The Height Committee of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat said that because the needle atop the New York skyscraper is a permanent spire and not an antenna it can be counted when measuring the structure’s height.
The new World Trade Center tower (right) in New York knocked Chicago’s Willis Tower off its pedestal as the USA’s tallest building today. Pic: AP Photos/File
The needle, measuring 408 feet tall, was more than enough to confirm Chicago is the second city when it comes to tall buildings in the US.
With the needle, 1 World Trade Center is a symbolically important 1,776 feet tall. Without it, the building would have been only 1,368 feet tall — well short of the 1,451-foot Willis Tower.
At stake was more than just the pride of two cities that feast on superlatives and the tourist dollars that might follow, One World Trade Center, with its beacon on top will stand as a monument to those killed in the 9/11 attacks, and its architects had sought to capture the echo of America’s founding year in the structure’s height.
Not only that, but the building’s height without the needle also holds symbolism because at 1,368 feet it is the height of the original World Trade Center.
Graphic showing the height of the One World Trade Center compared against the tallest buildings in the world. Pic: AP Images.
Antony Wood, the council’s executive director, said the needle is particularly important as a “structural and symbolic element.”
Further, he said, the decision to put the spire atop the building was part of a ‘quest” to build a permanent reminder of what the nation went through.
“This was not an economic quest for bragging rights to the U.S.’s tallest,’ he said. “This was a quest to put something meaningful and symbolic on that site because of the horrible history of what happened on that site.”
He said the antennae on top of the Willis Tower help to make the committee’s point about permanence, explaining that when the building went up there were no antennae, and that the original antennae have been replaced with taller ones.
Wood also made another point that, though not a factor on the committee’s decision, is significant, that the Willis Tower will continue to be an attraction for years just like the Empire State Building is decades after it, too, was eclipsed by taller buildings.
“Are any fewer people going to come to Chicago or even travel and visit the Willis Tower because it no longer holds the title of the U.S. tallest? ” he asked. “No,” I don’t think it does.”
In this 10 May 2013 photo, the final piece of spire is hoisted in place on top of 1 World Trade Center. Pic: AP photo/Mark Lennihan.
The Height Committee comprises about two dozen industry professionals from all over the world and is widely recognised as the final arbiter of official building heights around the world . They conferred behind closed doors last week in Chicago, where the world’s first skyscraper appeared in 1884.
The new World Trade Center tower remains under construction and is expected to open next year.
The designers originally had intended to enclose the mast’s communications gear in decorative cladding made of fiberglass and steel. But the developer removed that exterior shell from the design, saying it would be impossible to properly maintain or repair. Without it, the question was whether the mast was now primarily just a broadcast antenna.
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So Liberty Hall not in the final few.
That made me laugh :)
Such an ugly building. If someone wants to blow it up they would do us a favour
maybe they’ve already put some thermite in there like the last two
I’d love to see liberty hall knocked preferably with the whole of ictu inside
Great to see that building nearly finished. It gives two fingers up too terrorism.
How’s that ?
Do you mean Larry Silverstein ?
Or is presents them with a new target for which they can use pre-existing plans to attack.
When did sears tower become Willis tower?
Beat me to it Monty’s, lived in Chicago 1985/86 and it will always be the Sear’s tower to me. There used to be the Sear’s catalogue too. one of the only mail order catalogues in Ireland during the 70′s.
Silly people. It was sears then knockatomi and renamed willis after john mcclane killed hans grouber and his east german terrorist group.
True story
Would be good to see a few buildings like that in Dublin.
I like the clock tower
Definitely, I know we’re trying to keep it old fashioned for tourist reasons but a few skyscrapers even down past the Beckett bridge would look lovely.
I have followed the 1wtc development and it truly is an amazing building. More than just a building but a symbol for New York City. The beacon that will flash on top can be seen for 50 miles. The building is so strong…..let’s say god forbid a plane were to hit it, she ain’t coming down.
Anyone visiting New York, I would encourage you to visit the pools at the base of this building. They are the footprints of the twin towers and the names of all victims surround them. The number of irish surnames is unreal.
You know the World Trade Centres were supposedly able to withstand a plane crashing into them aswell
Not supposed to have, they did.
and then they were brought down by controlled demolition along with WTC Building 7 which was never even hit by a plane – go see for yourself
Go see it where?
Sorry I wasn’t clearer Aaron.
If you are unable to look it up for yourself check it out at AE911truth.org
Plenty of other info out there on it. The more you look at it the more ridiculous
the ‘official story’ is.
Cool thanks, seen a couple of things before on YouTube and a couple of sites, i’ll check it out thanks
Do!
They ran a billboard campaign in NYC this year to make people aware of this,
most people don’t even realize that building came down in that way.
It’s the smoking gun
red thumbs go educate yourself a little on WTC building 7 and get back to me
It’s important to remember that 9/11 didn’t only effect New Yorkers. Thousands more innocent people died in countries like Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan at the hands of the US military. Nobody ever thinks of those affected living outside America.
I am not familiar really with the conspiracies…so as far as understand it WTC7 collapsed because of fire damage, it had fuel tanks for generators which added to the destruction, and was obviously seismically damaged from WTC 1 + 2 and from falling debris.
Without flying off the handle, can you explain why this isn’t the case?
I didn’t red thumb you either, genuinely interested in a “truthers” side of the story.
Eh who died in Iran, Jor-El?
Look it up Olaf, he gave you the website, even YouTube it you’ll see hundreds if not thousands of videos explaining logically how these buildings came down by controlled explosion, the whole thing is a sham and everyone should know the truth that has been covered up so blatantly.
@KIng Olaf
Look at the footage of WTC Building 7 collapse and fall neatly in it’s own footprint.
There’s no way it could collapse that way without assistance from explosives as explained by real architects and engineers on AE911truth.org.
I’d like to know what source you got your info from re. fire / seismic damage and upon re watching the footage do you still really believe that to be credible?
I’d appreciate you dropping the ‘truther’ label
WTC 7 was demolished as a precaution rather than have it collapse on the firemen, since it was extensively damaged by the thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete that had just collapsed around it. I challenge any of you conspiracy theorists to go stand between two collapsing skyscrapers and see if you come out still able to stand, same principle applies to WTC 7. these conspiracy theories are ludicrous at best.
WTC 1 and 2 collapsed, while 7 was demolished cause of the damage caused by 1 and 2 collapsing. So why according to you did WTC 6 not collapse or get demolished as it was right beside WTC 1 and in the middle of 1 and 7, 7 being the furthest away from all the buildings
so you’re telling me they quickly went in and rigged the building full of explosives for the safety of the firemen ( who they could’ve just gotten to evacuate in that same time ).
That’s quite strange as the ‘official’ NIST and FEMA reports deny any use of explosives.
Again, look at AE911truth.org – is all the evidence from architects and engineers so ludicrous?
As for the challenge to stand between two collapsing skyscrapers, I think I’ll pass.
Expert group: “how high is she?”
Builder: “oh she’s 1776 feet!”
Expert group: “that will do, she’s the tallest so”
Hope they checked it for Pyrite!
Love how the design incorporates references to both the founding of the US, and the original tower. Very clever architecture, I like it!
The Burj Khalifa dwarfs them all. Wow! Over 828m, amazing. I’d say a kilometer high building is in the cross-hairs in the next 10 to 20 years. Crazy stuff !
Burj khalifa is sublime, that km tall building will be in the Middle East. All about the MONEY!!!
There is one planned for Kuwait thats allegedly over 1km. Think theyre still trying to find investers.
Wonder if that French Spider-man guy will try scale it,will he even get off the first floor before being tazered or shot,security be fierce for this building
He is getting bit auld for that Lark now
An ariel over 400 feet should not be counted as part of the buildings height. It should be measured on habitable floors only.
Why?
Would you call the Spire a building?
No the spire isn’t a building but it is a man-made structure. How tall would the Pyramids be if only habitable floors were counted?
That’s why the discussion isn’t as easy as you make it out to be.
Typical Americans , build it higher , bigger , stronger why ?? …. to remember those who perished or to piss off the terrorists ? Or to give them an even bigger target to hit next time !
Or to, you know, replace an economically important structure which was destroyed with another building to fill the gap left in the city’s economy.
Dumb b****
Some balls on the crane operator
Use metric for fawks sake, we’re not brits or yanks, or Liberians “The love of liberty brought us here”
Not me,i have used feet /in for close on seventy years,you go right ahead boy and be a good European.
Ah Richard now, Its an international standard, maybe if you wandered outside your bogtown once in those 70 years you’d know that
Well Steve i have some news you may not like,i have lived 10 years in the UK and have family there and the US,before making ignorant comments do get some advice.
Oh good man Richie, Just Liberia now left to visit
2 old men arguing about the metric system at 3 in the morning. That’s what I’m talkin about!
Actually Steve, many US government agencies use metric….all roads are built in metric, NASA and the military use metric. I just people themselves are reluctant to use it because it is inconvenient for them to relearn something and also expensive.
Over here in the UK, you get crazy situation where people give you measurements in both imperial and metric. The other day I was told to walk about half mile down the street, turn left and about 15 metres away from the corners is where you need to be.
Cannot beat the Sears towers man. Best of the biggies
Paid for by the blood of innocent people cos hey demolition or retro fitting the old towers was just not cost effective…
1776 feet – anyone else see the symbolic importance in that? I’m sure there’s a few on here
Msm, it’s written in the article!
Msm, my mistake. It doesn’t give that bit of info in the article. The lower number was the height of the twin towers- also symbolic.
Typical of the journal to leave out the important bits.
Look past the article, you won’t find it there Declan!
Yes I know!! I had read another longer article and got both mixed up! Ok.
Hopefully it’ll be empty the next time some idiots decide to fly a plane into it.
What’s the odd it’s bombed within a year
11/9…..9/11 if a teabagger gets elected!
What about the CN Tower in Toronto 1815 feet which puts it in the top 3
7 WTC had the police bunker communications center (dumb) place for it. Fuel storage for emergency generator cought fire, 1,000s gallons plus structure damage from the collapse. The building failed after hours of fire compromised they structure. The word was out that it would come down within hours. They had engineer’s monitoring it and blasted the siren when it was about to collapse and it did. Hundreds of firefighters and cops, construction workers witnessed it.
Although there are some unique features in this building, putting a tall poll on the roof does not make it the tallest building! I think it looks subpar compared to the twin towers. I think NYC deserved a 3,000 ‘ tower like they are building in Dubai. It still a painful topic.
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