Talk:World Trade Center/old
- This article is about the World Trade Center complex in New York City. For the many other buildings around the world similarly named, see world trade center.
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The World Trade Center in New York City (sometimes informally referred to as the WTC) was a complex of seven buildings designed by Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki andleased by Larry Silverstein from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey around a central plaza, near the south end of Manhattan in the downtown financial district. The complex contained 13.4 million square feet of office space, almost four percent of Manhattan's entire office inventory [1]. Best known for its iconic 110-story Twin Towers, after having survived a bombing on February 26, 1993, all of the original buildings in the complex were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks; two collapsed (1 and 2) and the others (3, 4, 5, 6) were damaged beyond repair and later demolished. Building Seven collapsed in the late afternoon on the day of the attacks.
Overview
The complex towers were designed by Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki with Antonio Brittiochi, and was one of the most striking American implementations of the architectural ethic of Le Corbusier, as well as the seminal expression of Yamasaki's gothic modernist tendencies. Constructed in the early 1970s under the auspices of the semi-autonomous Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the WTC had its ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 4, 1973. Ultimately the complex came to consist of 7 buildings, but its most notable features were the main twin towers. On any given day, some 50,000 people worked in the towers with another 200,000 passing through as visitors. The complex was so large that it had its own ZIP Code: 10048.
Although the towers became an undeniable icon of New York City, they were not without their flaws and were troubled in many ways. Initially conceived (as the name suggests) as a complex dedicated to companies and organizations directly involved in "world trade," they at first failed to attract the anticipated clientele; during the WTC's early years various governmental organizations became key tenants. It was not until the 1980s that the city's perilous financial state eased, after which an increasing number of private companies — mostly financial firms tied to Wall Street — became tenants.
Moreover, the trade center's "superblock", which replaced a more traditional, dense neighborhood, was regarded by some critics as an inhospitable environment that disrupted the intricate flows of traffic typical of Manhattan. For example, in his book The Pentagon of Power, the technical historian Lewis Mumford denounced the center as an "example of the purposeless giantism and technological exhibitionism that are now eviscerating the living tissue of every great city." Also, at the center of the complex, the immense Austin J. Tobin Plaza (named after the former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who oversaw the WTC's construction) was perpetually unpopular among New Yorkers.
However, the spectacular views available from the WTC's observation deck (located on top of the South Tower) and the Windows on the World restaurant (located on top of the North Tower) made up for its flaws, by offering city-dwellers and tourists alike a perspective on the region that became central to the city's identity.
To be sure, the trade center had its many loyal fans, particularly out-of-towners. For those who deemed it cold and sterile, there were just as many who appreciated its sheer enormity; some even took advantage of it. French high wire artist Philippe Petit walked between the towers on a tightrope in 1974, and Brooklyn toymaker George Willig scaled the south tower in 1977. Memorable moments such as these lent the World Trade Center a sense of humanity in ways that would forever be immortalized in New York City legend.
The Twin Towers
Each of the WTC towers had 110 stories. Tower One (the North Tower, which featured a massive antenna) stood 1,368 feet (417 m) high, and Tower Two (the South Tower, which contained the observation deck) was 1,362 feet (415 m) high. The length and breadth of the towers were 208 feet (63.4 m) x 208 feet (63.4 m). When the towers were completed in 1972 and 1973, respectively, they were the tallest buildings on Earth, 100 feet (30 m) taller than the Empire State Building. However, the WTC towers held the height record only briefly. As the building neared completion in 1973, work had already begun on Chicago's Sears Tower, which ultimately reached 1,450 feet (442 m). With the World Trade Center's destruction, the Empire State Building again became the tallest building in New York, after spending almost 30 years as the third-tallest. The towers' enormity was the subject of a joke during a press conference unveiling the landmarks. Minoru Yamasaki was asked: "Why two 110-story buildings? Why not one 220-story building?" His response was: "I didn't want to lose the human scale." Another joke was that the towers looked like the boxes that the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building came out of.
What the towers may have lacked in architectural aestheticism, they made up for with engineering innovation. To solve the problem of wind sway or vibration in the construction of the towers, chief engineer Leslie Robertson took a then unusual approach — instead of bracing the buildings corner-to-corner or using internal walls, the towers were essentially hollow steel tubes surrounding a strong central core. The 208 feet (63.4 m) wide facade is, in effect, a prefabricated steel lattice, with columns on 39 inch (100 cm) centers acting as wind bracing to resist all overturning forces; the central core takes all the gravity loads of the building. A very light, economical structure results by keeping the wind bracing in the most efficient place, the outside surface of the building, thus not transferring the forces through the floor membrane to the core, as in most curtain-wall structures. The core supported the weight of the entire building and the outer shell containing 240 vertical steel columns called Vierendeel trusses around the outside of the building, which were bound to each other using ordinary steel trusses. In addition, 10,000 dampers were included in the structure. With a strong shell and core such as this, the exterior walls could be simply light steel and concrete. With the massive core and lightweight shell for structural integrity, Robertson created a tower that was extremely light for its size. This method of construction also meant that the twin towers had the world's highest load-bearing walls.
Of the 110 stories, eight were set aside for technical services (mechanical floors), in four two-floor areas evenly spread up the building. All the remaining floors were free for open-plan offices. Each tower had 3.8 million square feet (350,000 m²) of office space, ample room for companies to set up shop. Altogether the entire complex of seven buildings had 11.2 million square feet (1.04 km²) of space. During the 1990s some 500 companies, especially financial firms, had offices in the complex, including Morgan Stanley, Aon Corporation, Salomon Brothers, and the Port Authority itself.
The twin towers were also the first supertall buildings to use sky lobbies, spaces where commuters can switch from one local elevator to another. Located on the 44th and 78th floors of each tower, those sky lobbies enabled the elevators (each tower had 104) to be used efficiently while taking up a minimum of valuable office space.
Five smaller buildings stood around the 16 [acre]] (65,000 m²) block. One was the 22-floor Vista Hotel, later a Marriott Hotel, that was squeezed between the two towers. Three low-rise buildings in the same hollow tube design as the towers also stood around the plaza; they housed the US Customs Service and the US Commodities Exchange. In 1987, a 46-floor office building called 7 WTC was built north of the block. Under the block was a highly profitable underground shopping mall, which in turn led to various mass transit facilities, particularly the New York City subway system and the Port Authority's own PATH trains connecting Manhattan to Jersey City.
The excavation of the foundations of the building, known as the Bathtub, located on the former Radio Row, was particularly complicated since there were two subway tubes close by needing protection without service interruption. A six-level basement was built in the foundations. The excavation of about 1 million cubic yards (760,000 m³) of earth and rock created a $90 million real estate asset for the project owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which helped offset the enormous loss in revenues which came from the tax breaks given to the Trade Center itself. The soil was used to create 23 acres (93,000 m²) of landfill in the Hudson river next to the World Trade Center site, which became the site of Battery Park City (still under development).
One of the world's largest gold depositories was stored underneath the World Trade Center, owned by a group of commercial banks. The 1993 bomb detonated close to the vault, but it withstood the explosion, as did the towers.
- See World Trade Center site for information on the reconstruction.
Observation Deck and Windows on the World
Although the majority of space in the WTC complex was off-limits to the general public, 1 WTC (north tower) had a restaurant on the 107th floor called "Windows on the World", and 2 WTC (south tower) featured a public observation area aptly named "Top Of The World."
When visiting the observation deck, visitors would first pass through security checks instated after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Next, visitors were whisked to the 107th floor indoor observatory and greeted with a 360 degree view of the New York City skyline. Weather-permitting, visitors could take two short escalator rides up from the 107th floor and visit the outdoor portion of the observation deck. At a height of 1,362 feet (415 m), visitors were able to take in a view of the North Tower and New York City unlike any other. On a clear day, it was claimed that visitors could see up to 45 miles (72 km) in any given direction.
Windows on the World, was an elegant restaurant known as a place for big celebrations, such as weddings. In its last full year of operation, the year 2000, Windows reported revenues of $37.5 million United States dollars, making it the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States.
1993 terrorist attack
On February 26, 1993 at 12:17 PM, a Ryder truck filled with 1,500 pounds (682 kg) of explosives was planted by terrorists and detonated in the underground garage of the North Tower, opening a 100 foot (30 m) hole through 4 sublevels of concrete. Six people were killed and over a thousand injured.
Six Islamic extremist conspirators were convicted of the crime in 1997 and 1998 and given prison sentences of 240 years each. According to a presiding judge, the conspirators' chief aim at the time of the attack was to de-stabilize the north tower and send it crashing into the south tower, toppling both landmarks.
To commemorate the bombing of the tower, a reflecting pool was installed with the names of those who had been killed in the blast. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, relief workers found a single fractured piece of this fountain; to date it is the only remaining part of the 1993 memorial that survived the collapse of the towers.
2001 terrorist attack
The Twin Towers collapsed as a result of a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, in which two commercial jetliners were deliberately crashed into each of the buildings. Later that day, 7 World Trade Center subsequently collapsed as a result of the initial attack. The four remaining buildings in the WTC plaza also sustained heavy damage from debris and were later demolished.
For details on this terrorist attack, see September 11, 2001 attacks; for details of the towers' collapse, see Collapse of the World Trade Center. For details of the tenants at the time of the attack, see One World Trade Center tenants and Two World Trade Center tenants.
While the official explanation and findings as to the collapse are widely accepted by most, a small number of individuals and groups have presented alternate viewpoints and theories. These individual viewpoints and opinions are part of a larger belief in a 9/11 Conspiracy.
As of February 2005, a total of 2,749 death certificates related to the WTC attacks had been filed. All but 13 persons died on September 11; of the 13 persons who were injured on September 11 and died subsequently, three persons died in other states, one each in Massachusetts, Missouri, and New Jersey. Of these 2,749 people who died, 2,117 (77%) were males and 632 (23%) were females. Remains of 1,588 of the 2,749 people who died at the World Trade Center, or 58%, were identified on the basis of recovered physical remains. The median age for these victims was 39 years (range: 2–85 years); the median age was 38 years for females (range: 2–81 years) and 39 years for males (range: 3–85 years). Three people were aged <5 years, and three were aged >80 years.
"CNN". Identification of 9/11 remains comes to an end. February 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
"USA Today". NYC's work to ID 9/11 victims ends — for now. February 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
Rebuilding
The World Trade Center is slated to be rebuilt as a new mixed-use complex of buildings called Memory Foundations, including the 1776 ft (541 m) Freedom Tower. The height of 1,776 feet (541 m) was chosen as a reference to the year of American independence. The new 7 World Trade Center is now under construction, and has recently been "topped-off" (meaning the structural steel has reached the full height of the building).
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency charged with coordinating the reconstruction of the WTC site, sponsored an international design competition for the World Trade Center Memorial in spring 2003. The winning design, Michael Arad and Peter Walker's Reflecting Absence, was chosen in January 2004.
The Norwegian architecture company Snøhetta was chosen for design of the Freedom Cultural Center on the northwest corner of the site. The Cultural Center was to originally contain the Freedom Center which will attempt to trace the history of freedom and the Drawing Center, however Governor George Pataki forced them out citing previous exibitions by both that showcase anti-American art. Many questioned this action as anti-first amendment. The building will now be used as a showcase of WTC history and as a welcome center for those visiting the memorial and museum.
While the master plan has been named Memory Foundations, the future site will continue to use the name of the World Trade Center, as will the New York City Subway and PATH train stations that serve the complex. A temporary PATH station, largely following the layout of the original, is the first part of the complex to have re-opened.
On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named the living former presidents as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center.
On May 18, 2005 Donald Trump, long-time opponent of the Freedom Tower design, held a press conference where he endorsed the alternative "Twin Towers II" proposal for rebuilding the Twin Towers with a design closely resembling the originals, but with various safety, structural, and technological improvements, and one story taller. (New York Times). Many New Yorkers like this plan, however most officials involved in the rebuilding have dismissed Trump's endorsment as a publicity stunt.
On June 29, 2005, a redesigned Freedom Tower was unveiled which more closely resembled the character of the fallen towers. The new design also boasted several safety improvements over previous proposals. As of early 2006 progress is slowly building up, workers will soon move PATH train cables out of the way in order to start foundation work on both the Freedom Tower, permanent PATH station, underground parking and the Memorial, by years end the site is finally expected to look like the massive construction project that built the previous WTC.
On December 15, 2005, Sir Norman Foster was announced as the architect that will design the second of five new office towers planned for the site.
Bayonne TV Tower
When the World Trade Center collapsed, many of New York's radio and television broadcasting facilities were destroyed. As a permanent replacement for them, a 2,000 foot (609.6 m) high TV tower at Bayonne, New Jersey was considered. A transmission site away from the coast would have allowed a much larger reception zone than the original WTC facilities. In spite of this advantage, the plans seem to have been cancelled.
World Trade Center pregnancy studies
There is scientific speculation that exposure to various toxic products (asbestos insulation was used for the first 17 floors of the two towers, when legislation was passed banning the use of asbestos the builders decided not to remove it) and the pollutant air surrounding the Towers after the WTC collapse may have negative effects on fetal development. Due to this potential harm, a notable children's environmental health center is currently analyzing some children whose mothers were pregnant during the WTC collapse, and were living or working near the World Trade Center towers. The staff of this study assess the children using psychological testing every year and interviews the mothers every six months. The purpose of the study is to determine whether there is significant difference in development and health progression of children whose mothers were exposed versus those who were not exposed after the WTC collapse.
World Trade Center buildings
- 1 World Trade Center (North Tower)
- 2 World Trade Center (South Tower)
- 3 World Trade Center (Marriott WTC Hotel)
- 4 World Trade Center
- 5 World Trade Center
- 6 World Trade Center (US Customs House)
- 7 World Trade Center
Film and media
The World Trade Center has been featured in numerous films, as well as made appearances in many television shows, cartoons, comic books, and computer/video games.
See also
- Collapse of the World Trade Center
- Twin Towers 2
- World Trade and Convention Centre
- Philippe Petit — Stuntman — Tightrope Walk Between Towers
- George Willig — Stuntman — AKA "The Human Fly" — Climbed 2 WTC
- 50 Tallest buildings in the U.S.
- List of Skyscrapers
External links
- New York Architecture Images- World Trade Center
- PBS — Building Big: Databank: World Trade Center
- "Complete 9/11 Timeline" by Center for Cooperative Research
- Emporis — Special Coverage of the World Trade Center in New York City
- Wired New York — The World Trade Center
- A View On Cities — World Trade Center, New York City
- New York Scrapers — International Style III
- Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
Articles
- Biggest Buildings in World to Rise at Trade Center - Bernard Stengren, New York Times, January 19, 1964
- Requiem for a cathedral to power - Jan Wong, The Globe and Mail, September 12, 2001
Photographs
- The Mega WTC Picture Thread — SkyscraperCity Forums
- World Trade Center Photos by Robert Swanson
- World Trade Center — Minoru Yamasaki — Great Buildings Online
- World Trade Center Photos
- View from the top
- Pictures — insecula
- New York's World Trade Center: A Living Archive
- Emporis World Trade Center photos
- NYCfoto.com — Main WTC Photo Gallery at NYCfoto.com
- NYCfoto.com — Views from World Trade Center
- NYCfoto.com — Photographs of World Trade Center interiors
- Virtual 360° View From WTC Outside Observation Deck
Tenants
- North Tower Tenants — from boston.com
- South Tower Tenants — from boston.com
Other
- World Trade Center in 3D
- Top of the World
- Rebuild the Twin Towers
- Twin Towers Tribute Essay
- The Sonic Memorial Project
- WTC plug-in for Google Earth
- Film workprint showing construction of WTC towers
- World Trade Center Memorial
- Original footage of the WTC attacks
- Buildable paper model of the WTC complex
- World Trade Center Facts, FOX News, September 12, 2001
Webcams
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