Freedom Tower unveiled
Architects redesigning the former World Trade Centre site unveiled on Friday their models for the Freedom Tower.
The 1,776-foot tall (also the date when America declared independence) building, set to become the world’s tallest, is described as a modernist structure, taking inspiration from two New York landmarks: the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.
The design was unveiled yesterday at Federal Hall, the place where George Washington was inaugurated as the US’s first president.
Finishing off the GBP850 million building will be a latticework of cables, remembering the suspension system that made the Brooklyn Bridge such an amazing engineering feat in the 19th century.
Inside the cable network will be a series of windmills to harness strong gusts of wind from the nearby Hudson River, ready to convert them into electricity for the building.
A spire rising from the top evokes the torch in the raised hand of the Statue of Liberty.
The design is the result of a fractious collaboration between architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs.
The December 15 deadline for final designs, set by New York Governor George Pataki, was extended a little as the architects fought over last minute sticking points.
Mr Pataki said. “We are keeping the promise we made to thousands of heroes of New York. We will never give in to those who intimidated us.”
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Freedom Tower will reclaim a part of the New York
City skyline lost on September 11, 2001,
The building is expected to be finished by September 2006.
