New York City's new 3 World Trade Center, designed by London-based firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, has been declared open for business in an official ribbon cutting ceremony. Standing on the same Manhattan plot as the original building destroyed in the September 11 attacks, the supertall skyscraper rises to a height of 1,079 ft (328 m).
3 WTC is the second-tallest skyscraper at the World Trade Center site, after SOM's One World Trade Center. It's also the 5th tallest in the USA.
Its interior comprises 2.5 million sq ft (232,260 sq m) of floorspace, spread over 80 floors. Access is gained by a triple height lobby finished in Italian granite flooring. The five lowest floors are given over to retail, while the remaining floors are all office space, three with access to outdoor terrace areas. A total of 44 passenger elevators are used to move people around the building.
Structurally, 3 WTC features a reinforced concrete core encased in a load-sharing k-shaped steel bracing system and glass curtain wall ensuring column-free uninterrupted 360-degree views for those inside. Its construction involved over 4,000 people working millions of combined hours and it required 10,000 panels of glass, 27,000 tons of steel and 145,000 cubic yards (110,860 cubic meters) of concrete.
The building is slated to receive LEED Gold certification (a green building standard) and has a degree of energy-efficient design, including a focus on natural lighting. Air is drawn into the building and filtered before being distributed intelligently, depending on factors such as the number of people on each floor and the quality of the air inside.
With the completion of 3 WTC, there's just one remaining major tower yet to be finished at the World Trade Center site. However, though the foundations have been poured, it remains to be seen whether BIG's eye-catching design for Two World Trade Center will be realized.
"The new 3 World Trade Center is a soaring symbol of the revitalization of downtown New York City and a testament to the enduring spirit of New Yorkers after 9/11," says New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. "3 World Trade will be a hub of commercial activity and growth for the city and support our efforts to ensure New York remains the economic capital of the world."
Sources: WTC, Silverstein Properties
