Resilient icon rises from the ashes
Rebuilding the World Trade Center neighbourhood in New York carried immense responsibility and an opportunity to provide a new symbol of sustainability and resilience, says AECOM’s executive vice president Jacinta McCann.
At 541 metres tall, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the western hemisphere. Rising from the ashes of Ground Zero in New York City, the 104-storey tower opened for business in November 2014.
“The catastrophic shock of 9/11 on New York meant that every aspect of building back the World Trade Center neighbourhood carried immense responsibility as the city slowly healed,” says McCann, who will be in Australia in October for The Property Congress.
AECOM’s Tishman Construction operation was responsible for managing the construction of One World Trade Center, towers 3, 4 and 7, as well as the transportation hub, vehicle security centre and retail program. AECOM also led the design of the streets and public realm including Liberty Park, catering to millions of tourists, visitors, commuters and residents.
“Our work at the World Trade Center has been special because we have been able to build back and transform the Lower Manhattan neighbourhood, including making it more resilient,” McCann explains.
Today, the World Trade Center is better connected with safer streets, new parks, state-of-the-art security, well-coordinated utilities, better performing transit and high performance buildings.
One World Trade Center was built to withstand a major natural or man-made disruptive incident. The building has thick reinforced concrete walls in all stairwells, elevator shafts, risers and sprinkler systems. Other features include extra-wide, pressurised stairwells, as well as stairwells exclusively for the use of firefighters, and biological and chemical filters throughout the ventilation system.
McCann says the complexity of the project proved the greatest challenge.
“It took years to rebuild the utilities and underground transportation infrastructure before any vertical construction could begin. It was also uncertain when market conditions would enable construction of the new buildings to begin.
“Decision-making was also extremely complex, with strong leadership needed to work through the myriad of stakeholders. It was always necessary to balance the long view with short term pressures.”
A focus on the long game has certainly paid off. Designed to achieve a LEED Gold rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, the building is entirely powered by renewable energy, slashing consumption by 21 per cent compared to business as usual. Ninety per cent of the occupied spaces use natural light, and 100 per cent of storm water is recycled.
A new icon of New York’s skyline, One World Trade Center is being touted as the most desirable office address in the world.
Jacinta McCann will share why One World Trade Center neighbourhood is one of the world’s best projects at The Property Congress 2015, from 18-20 October at the Gold Coast. While conference tickets are sold out, networking tickets are still available.