Hana R. Alberts Curbed
Folks with eagle eyes should have noticed that the massive, imagery-filled reveal of the Bjarke Ingels’s stepped 2 World Trade Center tower also showed a design tweak for its neighbor to the south. 3 World Trade Center, which is also developed by Larry Silverstein, lost the two short antenna-like protrusions on its western facade. New York YIMBY approached the architects, Richard Rogers’ Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, about the change—and got a very reasonable response. Basically, the “masts” didn’t jive with 2 World Trade’s new look, so they got rid of them.
The original intention of the masts on 3 WTC was that they would express the structure of the building as it stretched towards the sky. But as the design developed, it became clear that they did not achieve this objective, and did not contribute to the aesthetic impact or functioning of the building. Furthermore, when we reviewed 3 WTC in relation to the new design of 2 WTC, we realized the two buildings complemented each other and the Libeskind Master Plan best without the masts. Therefore, they are not included in the final design.
3 World Trade Center from 1 World Trade Center
After funding got shored up and GroupM signed on as anchor tenant, a previously stalled 3 World Trade started rising again in February. The photo above, taken from One World Trade Center in April, shows its progress en route to a final height of 80 stories and 1,170 feet.
The building is slated for completion in 2018.
