At 1,776 feet tall, One World Trade Center is not only the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, but its sheer size, geographic constraints and operational necessities make it easily one of the region’s — if not the nation’s — most complex projects ever built.
In 2004, AECOM Tishman was selected to provide preconstruction and construction management services to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the iconic 104-story, 3.5 million SF tower. As the builder of the original Twin Towers in 1973, AECOM Tishman has a long history at the site, and had already been onsite assisting with 9/11 rebuild efforts beginning in 2001, ultimately managing more than 11 million square feet of new construction.
We implemented an innovative safety cocoon system, resulting in zero total incidents of significance on the project. The cocoon enveloped 16 floors and rose with the building to protect initial floor trades: steel, concrete and spray fireproofing. This was the first cocoon on a hybrid steel-and-concrete building.
We brought together all of the architects, engineers and subcontractors — including electrical, plumbing, fire and life safety, concrete, and others — into one centralized Building Information Modeling command center located in the project field office at 7 WTC. This enabled each subcontractor to add their components to the models as they were created in direct collaboration with the other subcontractors. One World Trade Center has won numerous awards, including a 2015 “Best of the Best” award in the Office/Retail/Mixed-Use category from Engineering News-Record.
Through carefully devising solutions for affected thoroughfares and transit facilities, coordinating with teams on adjacent projects and efficiently managing the various trades and their nearly 2,000 workers, AECOM Tishman’s diligent work on this national icon led to its successful completion – all while the world watched.