Best of 2006 Awards
7 World Trade Center
AWARD OF MERIT: Office
PHOTO BY DAVID SUNDBERG |
Design work on the new 7 World Trade Center office tower began in November 2001 and construction began in May 2002, all while New York and much of the nation were still coping with the aftermath of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks.
The new building was replacing its 47- story predecessor, which had collapsed after a fire caused by the attacks. When the new 52-story tower opened in May, it not only filled the old site, but also marked a significant rebuilding achievement for the devastated World Trade Center site.
The construction effort overcame enormous staging and logistics hurdles, taking place in an area where major utilities had been destroyed and required substantial repairs. The building’s location directly across the street from the main 16- acre World Trade Center site also left it in the heart of the massive cleanup and various other reconstruction efforts to repair roads and buildings in the area.
“You see everything that was going on around it at the same time and you know it was special that they were able to build that structure in the time they did,” said one Best of 2006 judge.
Like its predecessor, the $700 million, 1.68-million-sq.-ft. building not only houses speculative office space but also a Consolidated Edison substation on the first 10 stories with several active transformer vaults that form a critical link in the Manhattan power grid. The vaults sit behind a high-precision, stainless steel screen to meet airflow requirements.
Above the podium, 42 stories of column- free office space wrap around a central core formed by 2-ft.thick, reinforced concrete walls. The walls, along with features such as wider-than-required pressurized staircases that repel smoke, help the structure surpass local building code fire ratings.
The exterior for the office floors has clear, floor-to-ceiling curtain wall with low-iron glass that has a slight reflective coating. The building, which earned gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for core and shell construction, used recycled materials and features high-efficiency heating, cooling, and plumbing systems that will reduce energy and water consumption.
Overall, the building incorporates 13,000 tons of steel, 266,000 ft. of security cable, and 450,000 sq. ft. of glass. Silverstein Properties of New York used $475 million in Liberty Bonds to help finance the project.
The project team worked on a fast-track schedule that involved building the tower’s steel frame ahead of its structural concrete core, allowing for completion of the core and shell in just 42 months.
“The project was extremely well executed,” said one judge.
Key Players
Owner: Silverstein Properties
Construction Manager: Tishman Construction
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Structural Engineer: WSP Cantor Seinuk
M-E-P Engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles
Civil Engineer: Philip Habib & Associates
Landscape: Ken Smith Landscape Design
Lighting: Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design |
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