Construction to begin on façade of 1 WTC

The stainless steel and glass panels on the façade of One World Trade Center will be erected next month to cover the skyscraper formerly known as the Freedom Tower, according to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Materials for the 20th through 24th floors are on their way to Lower Manhattan, DNAinfo reported. The 1,766-foot tower, designed by David Childs, features eight tall triangles of glass and steel, which grow alternately narrower and wider as they approach the building’s peak, forming an octagon halfway up the tower. “Its overall effect is that of a crystalline form that captures an ever?evolving display of refracted light,” said Childs’ firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, in a statement.
“As the sun moves through the sky or we move around the tower, the surfaces appear like a kaleidoscope, and will change throughout the day as light and weather conditions change.” The $3.2 billion building is slated to open in 2013. [DNAinfo]