So who's gonna be the first? :)
http://www.cnn.com/.../wtc.plan/index.html NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Freedom Tower, proposed to restore Lower Manhattan's skyline, will still be one of the world's tallest buildings, according to a revised model unveiled Friday by the architects collaborating on its design.
The tower, designed to be a centerpiece of the rebuilding plan for the World Trade Center site, will rise 1,776 feet -- a nod to the year the United States won its independence. The height stays as originally proposed a year ago by architect Daniel Libeskind, since designated the site's master planner.
The downed 110-story Twin Towers of the World Trade Center site were once the world's tallest structures but ranked about fifth before the attacks.
The tower's angular shape and appearance has been altered as a result of Libeskind's work with David Childs, the architect for real estate developer Larry Silverstein, the trade center leaseholder. Silverstein hopes to replace all 10 million square feet of commercial space lost in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center.
The intentional crashes of hijacked passenger jets leveled the Twin Towers and five smaller buildings, killing 2,752 people.
Libeskind and Childs, forced to work together by rebuilding officials, were asked to submit a final design this week by New York Gov. George Pataki, who wants to break ground on the building before the Republican National Convention next August.
The new building design, unveiled at Federal Hall, the site of President George Washington's first inaugural, includes 70 floors topped by a column of energy-generating wind turbines. The tower is encased from top to bottom in a steel cabled netting that designers likened to cables on a suspension bridge like the Brooklyn Bridge.
A broadcast antenna brings the structure's total height above 2,000 feet. The building includes 2.6 million square feet of commercial space.
There will be 63 floors of office space capped by an indoor observation deck, a restaurant above that, and a vent space on top. The glass tower has a twisted shape which designers say is meant to echo the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
