New York leaders unveiled Wednesday a revised, truck bomb-resistant design for the "Freedom Tower" - the soaring skyscraper that will form the focal point of the rebuilt World Trade Center site. The modified, slimmer version incorporates a 200-foot (61-meter) high building base, which will be draped in a reinforced mixture of stainless steel and titanium, providing a reflective security shield capable of withstanding a major blast.
Eight triangles rise from the base to form a perfect, reinforced octagon at the center of the structure which culminates in a glass parapet at 1,368 feet, the height of the twin towers destroyed on September 11, 2001.
An antenna mast will take the building to the symbolic height of 1,776 feet and carry a light beacon aimed at evoking the torch held by the Statue of Liberty.
"This new design reflects a soaring tribute to freedom and a bedrock commitment to safety and security," said New York Governor George Pataki.
Originally conceived by Ground Zero master planner Daniel Libeskind as a symbol of New York City's resilience and resurgence, the Freedom Tower has since become a byword for bureaucratic infighting.
The latest version is the third design in two years and, despite assertions to the contrary, bears little resemblance to the original blueprint.
Under pressure from World Trade Center site leaseholder Larry Silverstein, Libeskind was forced to collaborate with another architect to refine his design, which was unveiled in December 2003.
In May this year, Pataki ordered Childs to redesign the building again after the New York Police Department raised concerns that the tower's placement, adjacent to a major Manhattan thoroughfare, made it vulnerable to a truck bomb.
The latest version has the tower set a further 65 feet (20 m) back from the highway.
"The redesign of the Freedom Tower shows how our city is able to respond to the opportunities and challenges of our time," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"This spectacular addition to our skyline will be a commanding architectural symbol while addressing the security concerns we face in today's world," Bloomberg said.
Pataki laid the tower's cornerstone on July 4 last year. The design modifications and other delays mean construction is now scheduled to begin in early 2006, with the building ready for occupancy in 2010.
As part of the new design, the tower's footprint, measuring 200 feet by 200 feet, is the same size as the footprints of the original twin towers. The building will comprise 2.6 million square feet of office space.
Groundbreaking for a permanent September 11 memorial will take place early next year, with construction scheduled to be finished in September 2009.
The memorial, Reflecting Absence, will feature two reflecting pools where the twin towers stood.
As with the tower, the memorial has been the subject of heated debate, with some relatives of the 2,749 people who died in the World Trade Center angry at what they see as plans to shift the focus away from the victims.
The families are particularly unhappy with proposals for the memorial to include an International Freedom Center which would have exhibits on slavery, the Holocaust and global human rights issues.
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