Large ventilation system complicates plans for 2 WTC site

Bjarke Ingels asked to build around logistical challenge

Rendering of 2 World Trade Center (credit: Bjarke Ingels Group) (inset: Bjarke Ingels and Larry Silverstein)
Rendering of 2 World Trade Center (credit: Bjarke Ingels Group) (inset: Bjarke Ingels and Larry Silverstein)

A massive ventilation system located on the development site for Larry Silverstein’s 2 World Trade Center could complicate plans for the state-of-the-art, Bjarke Ingels-designed tower.

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and News Corp. announced a tentative deal last month for to anchor the final building at Silverstein Properties’ World Trade Center complex, paving the way for the building’s development. The Murdoch-owned companies would vacate their current Midtown headquarters, at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Avenue, upon lease expiry in 2020.

But 2 World Trade Center’s actual construction could be an exceptional challenge given a massive ventilation system that currently occupies the development site’s space, according to Capital New York.

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The system, which regulates air quality in underground stairwells connected to the World Trade Center’s transportation hub, cannot be moved and must stay operational. Among other challenges, Ingels and his team have been asked to design the building’s support columns around the equipment.

“I think you probably couldn’t find a more difficult place in the world to build a 1,300-foot tower,” Ingels said recently. [Capital NY]Rey Mashayekhi