WTC: Final Designs Revealed

The developer of the new WTC site revealed the final designs on 7th September, just few days before 9-11 anniversary.Unveiled are the towers:Tower 2 (Norman Foster), Tower 3 (Richard Rogers) & Tower 4 (Fumihiko Maki)- that will stand along Freedom Tower (Tower 1) by Skidmore, Owings & Merril.

* * * * * TOWER 2 * * * * *

Architect: Norman Foster

Design Concept: 78 stories (62 for offices, 4 for trading, the rest for retail & mechanical space. 1265 ft. high, slightly taller than Empire State Building). The uppermost of the rooftop diamonds will be a tripod shaped antenna whose pinnacle is 1,350 feet above street level.





The main shaft of Tower 2 is to be divided by notches into quadrants, culminating in diamond forms that are meant to lead the eye down to the memorial plaza. The surface of these structures will be a porous screen on which snow and ice are not expected to accumulate.

* * * * * TOWER 3 * * * * *

Architect: Richard Rogers
Design Concept: 1155 ft tall. 71 stories (54 for offices, 5 for trading, 3 for retail, 9 for machanical). Flat topped building with asymmetrical shoulders and exposed diagonal framework.

* * * * * TOWER 4 * * * * *

Architect: Fumihiko Maki
Design Concept: 61 stories, rises for most of its height as a parallelogram and then, nearly 700 feet in the sky, it becomes a trapezoid, reaching an overall height of 946 feet, with no antennas. The upper part of the facade inclines toward the towers to the north and is meant as a unifying gesture.