Why Freedom Tower Isn’t ‘Green’
NEW YORK—One World Trade Center, formerly known as “Freedom Tower,” is now the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. It’s also supposed to be one of the “greenest.” However, a series of circumstances prevented that. In 2007, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, a state agency created in the aftermath of 9/11 to coordinate rebuilding efforts, introduced aggressive green standards for the tower and its surrounding complex. The World Trade Center towers would be required to attain LEED Gold certification, achieve net zero CO2 emissions, and operate with at least 20% more energy efficiency than the state’s current building code. However, in 2008, “superstorm” Sandy hit. Its damage included the flooding of a fleet of fuel cells in the building. In May 2011, publishing giant Condé Nast signed a $2 billion deal to become the tower’s anchor tenant. Built into the terms of the lease was a move-in deadline that would hold the city liable for penalties or lost earnings if Condé Nast was forced to wait beyond Jan. 1, 2014, to begin the process of moving in. But the fuel cell disaster created the possibility that the building’s construction pace would not meet that deadline. This, in turn was exacerbated by a design flaw. A temporary underground structure serving an existing train station was preventing builders from finishing the tower’s giant underground loading dock. Without the dock, necessary construction equipment could not be hauled into the tower. So, to meet the deadline, a new loading dock was built and the fuel cells removed from the main tower. Now, the building must come up with alternate means to achieve its original energy mandate.
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