After several delays, workers hoisted the tip of One World Trade Center’s antenna from its temporary platform to the top of the mast this morning, capping off a building that began construction in 2006. It’s quite obvious the mast was meant to be covered by a radome, and the last section is completely out of proportion to the rest of the pointy obtrusion.
As CTBUH Chairman Timothy Johnson hinted to NBC, the appendage is clearly not a spire. Durst employees have even spun the story, as if the final product is what was originally intended; luckily the internet preserves evidence to the contrary.
Besides the incredibly visible and high-profile travesty that rises above the tower, the facade is progressing rapidly, and two sides are almost finished. The glass is fine, but it’s surprising that the $4 billion One World Trade Center has a less attractive profile than its $1.81 billion neighbor, 150 Greenwich. Maki’s tower thrives on simplicity; SOM’s wades in the shallows of dull.
One World Trade Center is a physical testament to what may be compromised for an ultimate sense of security. The base is an actual fortress, encased in concrete walls three feet thick. The glass that surrounds it may not be pretty, but it’s certainly shatter-proof. Instead of cutting the redundant and excessive security features, the most prominent part of the building has been sacrificed to value-engineering, leaving a 400-foot eyesore perched 1,368 feet above lower Manhattan.
More pics will be added through the day, but the below is from NBC Today’s Twitter as the final piece was installed, bringing the building to its pinnacle height of 1,787 feet.
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