One World Trade Center: Revised

There have been numerous events in U.S. history that have become unforgettable. The most recent, and one of the most known, are the attacks of September 11, 2001. Almost 13 years have passed by and this event still seems as it happened yesterday, but this does not mean that the country as a whole has not began to move forward. The greatest example of how we as a country are overcoming this tragic event can be seen through the reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York. This major project is not just an architectural marvel throughout its 7 different buildings and the 9/11 memorial, but, it is also a symbol of strength and revival to the entire country.

Out of these 7 buildings, the main building is known as the One World Trade Center which I will focus on today. 

The One World Trade Center, previously known as The Freedom Tower, is the center point of the World Trade Center renovation project. The tower was designed to measure 1,776 feet from the ground up to its highest point, the spire, as an allusion to the year in which the Declaration of Independence was signed. This makes it the tallest tower in the country, overtaking the Empire State Building by 526 feet, and the existing Twin Towers by 408 feet. The One World Trade Center also has 104 stories, all covered with over 2,000 pieces of glass. The building also has an unique design compared to the rest of the buildings in New York, allowing it to stand out as a beautiful new addition to the view of the city. The head architect, David Childs, designed two buildings in the World Trade Center project; the 1WTC along with the 7 WTC, which opened back in 2006. His design included the square base of the building, which then divides in to a hexagon-like shape as the structure goes up with slanted glass walls.
This design, although beautiful at sight, has been criticized and has shown certain flaws. On Wednesday, February 19, after one of the very common snow storms in the Northeastern part of the United States in 2013, large amounts of ice began sliding off the building, potentially harming pedestrians. This obviously frightening incident could have been caused by the irregular shape of the building. A reporter from the website Popular Mechanics points out something very interesting in one of his posts. In it he says that architects and engineers could design buildings in a way that would prevent ice from forming at the top of buildings, which then break off and fall dangerously to the ground. Other places where snow is much more common have solved this dilemma with designs that that prevent the break and fall of ice, one example is Russia and its onion shaped roofs. This is a very typical architectural trait from Russia and be seen in many important buildings from that country, but is purpose is not just to look good. The rounded shape prevents ice from forming on top it, any snow or water that falls on top of the roof would simply slide down before being able to freeze in to large chunks. Designers of modern skyscrapers have opted to not include the onion shape roofs, but use a either a type of snow guard that keeps the snow from falling from the sides or inward slanted roofs that contain the snow or ice. Unfortunately, the One World Trade Center does not seem to incorporate any of these additions to it's design. Perhaps the architects and engineers missed a small, little details.

In any case, the building is yet to be completed, but expected to be completed this year. Apart from being a beautiful sight to look at, once it is completed it will encourage many who are still devastated from the attacks of 9/11 on to overcoming such horrible events, and move forward.