World Trade Center History (part 2 of 2): Rebuilding Plans In 2002, separate design contests were held for rebuilding the World Trade Center site and creating a memorial for the victims of the attacks. The first round of finalists for the site, unveiled in July 2002, were widely criticized as being too boring and having too much of an emphasis on office space, leading to a new round of finalists in December. In February 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which was established by Governor Pataki to coordinate the various agencies and advisory committees involved in the rebuilding efforts, chose architect Daniel Libeskind's design for rebuilding the 16-acre site of the former World Trade Center. The design included a hanging garden, a memorial, a cultural center, and Freedom Tower, which would be a symbolic 1,776 feet tall from the ground to the top of its spire. This would make it taller than any building currently standing in the world. (The Burj Dubai skyscraper currently under construction in the United Arab Emirates is expected to be higher, however.) In July 2003, David Childs was brought in as the new lead architect of Freedom Tower, although Libeskind remained in charge of designing the site in general. The two had different visions for the tower; a design combining the approaches of both architects was unveiled in December 2003. It would include wind turbines in its spire, designed to generate as much as 20% of the building's power. On July 4, 2004, New York Governor Pataki, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, and New York City Mayor Bloomberg laid the cornerstone for Freedom Tower. The skyscraper, estimated to cost $1.5 billion, was expected to be ready for its first occupants by late 2008, while construction on the site in general was expected to last through 2015. Just as construction was beginning, security concerns were raised, leading to a complete redesign of the tower. The new plans were released on June 29, 2005. The tower is to be moved further back from the street, and will have a cubic base the same size as each of the Twin Towers. The wind turbines have been eliminated. The design recalls that of the old buildings, while adding its own twists: starting with the square base, the tower's design moves to triangular forms, creating an octagon in the middle, and culminates in a square at the top, rotated 45 degrees from the base. A spire will rise a bit more than 400 feet beyond that, to retain the planned total height of 1,776 feet. Work on excavating the foundation finally got underway in late April 2006. Refined plans were announced in June 2006, calling for glass prisms around a concrete base, to liven up the area while meeting security requirements. The tower is now planned to cost $2 billion, and be ready for occupants in 2011. Design for World Trade Center Memorial Selected The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced in January 2004 that architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker had won a competition to design the memorial to the people who died at the World Trade Center. There had been more than 5,000 entries in the competition. The memorial, Reflecting Absence, would honor those who died at the World Trade Center in terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993. In the 1993 tragedy, a truck bomb exploded in a garage in the north tower, killing six people and injuring more than a thousand. Reflecting Absence, which will be built where the Twin Towers once stood, includes two shallow pools surrounded by leafy trees. The names of the victims would be etched in walls around the pools. “In its powerful, yet simple articulation of the footprints of the Twin Towers, Reflecting Absence has made the gaping voids left by the towers' destruction the primary symbol of loss,” said Vartan Gregorian, who chaired the jury that chose the winner. The memorial plans were redesigned in June 2006 due to security concerns, budgetary issues, and input from the victims' families. The central features—including the two pools, fed by waterfalls—will be retained. The names of those killed would be moved to the surrounding plaza, above ground. Construction will begin in 2006, and the memorial is scheduled to open on Sept. 11, 2009. Twin Towers Stats —200,000 tons of steel —425,000 cubic yards of concrete —43,600 windows —12,000 miles of electric cables —198 miles of heating ducts —23,000 fluorescent light bulbs Each Tower —110 floors —208 ft by 208 ft at base —1,368 ft high (north tower) —1,362 ft high (south tower) —Weighed 500,000 tons —97 elevators for passengers, 6 for freight