There are green buildings, and then there are green buildings. A sustainably built and operated skyscraper is currently rising over the skyline of New York City, and it has more eyes on it than any high-rise building in human history.
Upon its completion in 2013, New York’s One World Trade Center (colloquially known as the “Freedom Tower”), part of a complex currently under construction to replace and honor the World Trade Center Twin Towers and other buildings destroyed on September 11, 2001, will be the tallest building in the United States (Sorry, Chicago!) and one of the tallest buildings in the world. At the very top of the completed skyscraper, the radio antenna that will top the 400-foot spire will reach a symbolic height: precisely 1,776 feet high, in honor of the year of American independence. One World Trade Center, which will feature three million square feet of Class A office space alone (set on 71 floors dedicated for office use) will be accompanied by three other high-rise office buildings and the new National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located at the foot of One World Trade Center. The museum was opened during memorial ceremonies on September 11, 2011.