Archinect - News

One World Trade Center needs a bath—but its washing system is broken

2016-11-28T13:38:00-05:00

A majority of the windows at One World Trade Center haven’t been washed since 2015, because the system used to suspend the washers isn’t safe, a representative for the Durst Organization told The Real Deal. Typically, a boom at the top of the building lowers a window-washing rig that moves horizontally as the boom moves along a track on the roof. But in early 2016, Durst noticed that welding in the track — where pieces of metal are joined together — was riddled with cracks.

The track, built in 2013, also has undersized bolts and suffers from other design flaws, said Jordan Barowitz, a spokesperson for Durst.

The view from One World Trade Center

2015-06-01T12:49:00-04:00

Legends, a company that manages skyboxes and stadiums and now runs the World Trade Center observation deck, has turned the view into a high-tech spectacular. Before you get a glimpse of an actual place, you follow a winding path through cheesy synthetic bedrock; ride an elevator where 500 years of an ever-changing New York unfold as if seen from a rising balloon [...] A view gives the illusion of omniscience.

The observatory, located on floors 100, 101 and 102, opened to the public on May 29th.

One World Trade Center Spire: Workers Begin To Hoist Spire Atop City's Tallest Building

2012-12-12T13:07:00-05:00

Workers lifted the first section of the 408-foot spire to the top of One World Trade Center Wednesday morning. When completed, the spire will bring One WTC to a staggering 1,776 feet tall, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. (Though some skyscraper purists disagree.)

Image of Democracy: Why I Want to Build Nine Freedom Towers in Tiananmen Square

2012-03-22T12:39:00-04:00

Eleven years ago I made a modest proposal to create a series of three massively flat and empty superblocks (two in New York and one in Washington DC). I last showed these proposals as three large architectural site models, just six months before September 11th attacks. Because my proposals seemed to foreshadow the 16 acre gap left in Manhattan’s grid, I was urged to revisit the project.