World Trade Center

The twin towers of the World Trade Centre were more than just two simple office buildings. They were a symbol of belief for New York City in themselves. Built at a time when the future of New York seemed uncertain, the towers restored confidence and helped to put an end to the downfall of Lower Manhattan. Brave, flamboyant and magnificent, they quickly turned into some of the main symbols of New York.

The World Trade Centre was built at the start of the 1960s in the middle of Lower Manhattan by the Manhattan Development Association, to revitalise the area that was simply filled with sleazy electronic stores. The president of Chase Bank, David Rockfeller, was the founder of the Development Association, and his brother, the Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller, pushed hard for the project, insisting that it would be beneficial for the whole city.

In 1962, the Port of New York and New Jersey started plans for constructing the new centre. Minoru Yamasaki and Michigan Associates were contracted as architects. Finally, Yamasaki decided on two enormous towers. Critics complained that such a modern monolith would take away New York's character, ruin the horizon of the city, interrupt the television reception and create difficulties for the city's services. However, the project was approved and construction started in 1966.

In order to create the 16 acres of space needed for the World Trade Centre, 5 streets were closed and 164 buildings were demolished. The construction required the excavation of more than 1. 2 million square metres of land, which was used to create 23. 5 acres of land along the Hudson river, now part of Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan. During the main construction period, 3, 500 workers were working on site. A total of 10, 000 people worked on the towers, 60 died during the construction.

The north tower opened in December 1970 and the south tower in January 1972, they were opened as offices in April 1973. They were the tallest towers in the world for only a short time, since the Sears Towers in Chicago were completed in May 1973. However, the towers were named as the fifth and sixth tallest buildings in the world at the time of their destruction on 11th September 2001.

4 smaller buildings and a hotel, all built in the close surroundings of a central landscaped square, completed the complex. The shopping centre in the World Trade Centre, which was located immediately infront of the square, was the biggest shopping centre in south Manhattan. Under the site were two metro stations and a train stop.

Around 50, 000 people worked in the buildings, whilst another 200, 000 visited it or passed through it every day. The complex even had its own post code, 10048.

In 1993, terrorists drove a truck loaded with 100 kilos of explosives into the underground car park at the World Trade Centre. Despite the size of the explosion, which left a crater 22 feet wide and 5 stories deep, only six people were killed and 1 000 wounded. The towers were repaired, cleaned and reopened in less than a month.

In 2002, a competition was held for the new design of the reconstruction for the new World Trade Centre and for a memorial to remember the victims of the attacks. In July 2002, the first round of finalists for the site were widely criticized for being too boring and for having too much of an emphasis on office space, leading to a new round of finalists in December.

In February 2003, the Corporation of Development for Lower Manhattan, which was established by Governor Pataki to coordinate the various agencies and advisory committees involved in reconstruction efforts, chose a design by architect Daniel Libeskind. The design included a hanging garden, a monument, a cultural centre, and a Freedom Tower, which would be a symbolic 1, 776 meters tall.

In July 2003, David Childs was hired as the new chief architect of the Freedom Tower, while Libeskind was in charge of the design of the site in general. The two had different visions of the tower; a design that combined both of the architect's ideas was unveiled in December 2003. Wind turbines were also included in its tower, designed to generate up to 20% of the energy of the building.

On July 4, 2004, New York Governor Pataki, New Jersey Governor McGreevey and New York City Mayor Bloomberg laid the first cornerstone of the Freedom Tower. The skyscraper, which cost a estimated $1. 5 billion, was due to be finished in late 2008, while it is expected that the construction on the site in general, will not be finished until 2015.

As construction began, security issues were raised, leading to a complete redesign of the tower. The new plans were released on 29 June 2005. The tower is to be moved further back from the street-and have a cubic base the same size as each of the Twin Towers. Wind turbines were eliminated. The design is reminiscent of the old buildings, while adding its own twists. From its square base, it moves upwards in a triangular shape, turning into an octagon in the middle, and culminating in a square at the top, rotated 45 degrees from its base. A needle will rise a little more than 400 meters beyond that, so that the final height remains at 1, 776 feet.

Steady progress has been made on the Freedom Tower since construction began in April 2006. The 2. 6 million square feet building will house offices, an observation deck, restaurants, and transmission facilities. Freedom Tower is now scheduled to open in 2011.

The Corporation of Development for Lower Manhattan announced in January 2004 that two architects, Michael Arad and Peter Walker, were the winners of the competition for the memorial design. There had been no more than 5, 000 entries in the competition.

The memorial, called Reflecting Absence, honours those who died in the World Trade Centre during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993.

Reflecting Absence, built where the Twin Towers once stood, includes two shallow pools surrounded by leafy trees. The names of the victims are engraved on the walls around the pools.

"In its powerful but simple articulation of the footprints of the Twin Towers, Reflecting Absence made the huge gaps left by the destruction a main symbol of the fall, " said Vartan Gregorian, the chair of the jury that chose the winner.

Plans for a new monument at the site of the World Trade Centre were rethought in June 2006 in order to address security concerns, budget problems, and include the contributions of the families of the victims. The waterfalls kept the same features, including the same plants around the pools. The names of those killed in the attacks were moved to the surrounding square, on top of the ground.

Work began on the foundation in 2006 and was completed in the fall of 2007. Construction of the first structural framework began in 2007. Visitors can see the retaining wall, which stopped the Hudson River from flooding the subways during the attacks of September 11, at the memorial. So far $300 million of the target $350, 000, 000 dollars has been raised. The World Trade Center Memorial is expected to be opened on September 11, 2009. The museum is expected to be complete in 2010.

It is hoped that the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) will help to bring more beauty and transport efficiency to Manhattan. It was designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava and aims to accommodate 250, 000 passengers a day, which is the estimated number of users by 2025. One of the innovative features of its design is the fact that natural light reaches as far down as 60 metres below street level. The Federal Transit Administration has given the 800, 000 square metre project $192 million towards its estimated cost of $2000 million. In September 2007, its construction began.

Five World Trade Centre office towers have been built in down-town Manhattan and have beautifully transformed the New York skyline. They hold more than 10 million square feet of office space. Construction was completed in 2012.

A World Trade Centre Performing Arts Centre (PACWTC) is currently being constructed just 60 metres away from One World Trade Centre at the intersection of Fulton and Greenwich Street. Frank Gehry will design the project, which is expected to cost $500 million. The modern dance school Joyce Theatre performs at the Performing Arts Centre and the Tribeca Film Festival each spring. The construction of the centre began in 2010/2011.