In May 2006, the first building of the New World Trade Center opened, i.e. Tower 7, an almost 230-metre high steel and glass skyscraper, slightly less than its predecessor, which features 52 floors and a whopping 29 ultrafast lifts. It claims to be the first green skyscraper in the city and to have set new standards in security and technology. On the one hand, it is reinforced and prepared in case a fire occurs. On the other, it takes into account the environment by using rainwater, making the most of sunlight and other details. Thus, it received a LEED Gold certification as the first green office building in New York.
The remaining complex consists of four more skyscrapers, among which, at its northwest end, the One World Trade Center should be noted, which was initially named the Freedom Tower. However, the current name was chosen, because this was also the official name of the North Tower, which was destroyed in the 11 September attacks. This building is 541 metres high (including the antenna) or, in other words, 1,776 feet, after the year in which the United States declared itself independent. Although originally it was planned to be the world's tallest building, this title was already seized by the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, which already exceeded its height in 2009.
A year before the opening of the One World Trade Center, on 13 November 2013, another of the buildings that make up the financial complex of the new World Trade Center was opened, i.e. the 4 World Trade Center. This skyscraper, 298 metres high and featuring 72 floors, is the work of the architectural firm Maki and Associates and is one more example of the modernity that characterises the World Trade Center buildings.
If you look closely, you will see that the new financial complex has not been completed yet, as the last two buildings remain to be finished so as to complete the overall appearance of the New World Trade Center. This is the 3 World Trade Center, a skyscraper featuring 80 floors and 329 metres, whose opening is planned for early 2018; and 2 World Trade Center, which, with its 387 metres, will be the second tallest skyscraper of the World Trade Center, when completed, after the One World Trade Center. The design of the latter tower will integrate the characteristic style of both districts where it is located: on the one hand, the financial district, with its distinctive skyscrapers, and, on the other, TriBeCa, with its lofts and roof gardens. The design of this building is expected to be a mixture of both architectural styles, combining different heights (to the point of creating seven different volumes), whereas you will be able to see more modern elements and more classical ones. A unique skyscraper, which, seen from the 9/11 Memorial, has the appearance of a slender and high tower, much like the neighbouring towers, whereas, if you change perspective and put yourself in TriBeCa, you will see a stepped facade with urban gardens in each of the "rungs".
Moreover, the Memorial Plaza and the 9/11 Memorial, the square with over 400 oak trees and a memorial dedicated to the nearly 3,000 victims of 11 September were already opened in 2011.
The new World Trade Centre also features a new underground station, designed by Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, which was partially opened to the public at the beginning of March 2016.
The works on the new World Trade Center are expected to be definitely completed in 2018, a date that is already much later than originally planned. While the reconstruction of the new World Trade Center was envisaged to conclude in 2013, the project has suffered multiple delays and financial problems that have made it impossible to meet the estimated deadlines. Many even doubt that this last deadline is going to be met. Time will tell. Meanwhile, the city of New York hopes to be able to turn the page quickly and permanently close one of the most tragic chapters in its history.
