Evolution of a Tower

DECEMBER 2002

Studio Daniel Libeskind's original proposal for a 1,776-foot skyscraper at the World Trade Center site was called Vertical World Gardens. The almost freestanding spire was to be filled in its upper reaches with trees and plants. Offices would have reached the 64th floor.

The scale of these drawings relative to one another is approximate.

FALL 2003

Before Mr. Libeskind's design concept was approved in February 2003, the building was modified, with the spire fused to a 70-story office building. Renamed Freedom Tower in April, this design continued to evolve through the fall, when this version was produced as part of the draft design guidelines for the site.

AUGUST 2003

At the same time, David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was designing an entirely different Freedom Tower for the developer Larry A. Silverstein. This version shows a twisting 2,000-foot tower. Offices reach the 64th floor. Above that is an array of wind turbines and antennas enclosed within an open-air superstructure.

DECEMBER 2003

The Freedom Tower unveiled last week restored Mr. Libeskind's spire, marking 1,776 feet, and a sloping roof on a 70-story building. It keeps the twist and taper proposed by Mr. Childs, as well as the open-air superstructure, windmills (visible on one of the concrete silos supporting a crownlike truss), and suspension cables.

GROUND LEVEL
Views from the south

Sources: Studio Daniel Libeskind; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

The New York Times; illustrations by Mika Gröndahl