One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York City has been crowned the tallest building of the United States by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The iconic building, which is still completing construction, beat Chicago's Willis tower for the title, according to several news reports.
One World Trade Center formerly known as The Freedom Tower won the coveted title after much debate and analysis.
The main problem was the height determination. Usually, CTBUH does not consider antennas, flagpoles or signage when analyzing the architectural height of a structure. One WTC stands at 1776 feet (architectural height). This is, however, inclusive of the 408 feet mast on top of the building.
CTBUH's height committee met Nov.8 to determine the nature of the mast and 'Datum Line' or the bottom point from which the architectural height would be calculated. After a panel of 25 committee members examined the design and the construction drawings of the structure, they received a 15-minute presentation from the 1 WTC team.
After carefully analyzing the facts, the committee decided that the mast was a spire that was not intended to be'functional- technical equipment' and is more of a 'permanent architectural feature'. The committee unanimously decided that the building would be the tallest when completed.
"The design of One World Trade Center, as explained to us, reinforces its role as a symbol of resurgence on this important site. In particular, the spire which holds the beacon light, shining out at the symbolic height of 1,776 feet, is especially poignant - echoing the similarly symbolic beacon atop the Statue of Liberty across the water," Antony Wood, CTBUH Executive Director said in a statement.
Though 1 WTC has been named the tallest skyscraper in the country, it will not be able to enter CTBUH's rankings of tallest buildings yet as it hasn't completed construction. Once completed, it will reportedly be the third tallest building of the world. Currently, Dubai's Burj Khalifa (2717 ft) is the tallest building on Earth and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel (1972 ft) is the second tallest.
The 104 story office and commercial use tower is expected to open in early 2014. Apparently, publishing giant, Conde Nast will be its anchor tenant, reports NBC News. One World Trade Center remains a historic, symbolic monument to those killed in the September 11 attacks.
Check out the time-lapse video of the construction (2004-13) of the majestic building below:
