About Tower One

After years of design, debate and delays, America's greatest skyscraper and symbol of rebirth is finally rising skyward with speed. Tower One's 20-story base - a blast-proof bunker sheathed in glass - is essentially complete. The construction crew's mission is to complete a stunning new structure that will stand as the crown jewel of the New York City skyline and deliver on the dual promises of architectural beauty and unprecedented security. And though much has been accomplished, some of the most difficult challenges remain ahead, including the grand finale: topping the towering building with a spire that is taller than most of Manhattan's buildings.

Teams at all levels are working to turn the tower's 80 office floors from a skeleton into a full body. As the building's steel "bones" rise, its "muscle" (in the form of a super-strength concrete core) and "skin" (in the form of blast-resistant glass) are being methodically added to it. But this building is more than a work of steel, glass and concrete. It sets a new standard not only for safety and symbolic impact but also for sustainability. In addition to being the safest skyscraper ever built, Tower One will be one of the greenest. The structure is rewriting New York's building code and setting the 21st-century standard for high-rise construction in America.

There are many reasons that Tower One is truly one of a kind. The fastest elevators in the country will be installed to get visitors to and from all 80 floors. Below ground, deep in the basement levels, will live state-of-the-art utility systems - the "guts" - that fuel the building. Tower One's new neighbors - Towers Two, Three and Four, each world-class skyscrapers in their own right - complete the mandate to replace the 10 million square feet of office space lost on 9/11. Together with Tower One, these buildings will become the pillars of New York's commercial future, engineered to withstand whatever nature or man can dish out.

Imagine if this level of access and technology had been available when the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower were being built. Imagine now, generations later, being able to look back at the "making of" those buildings and hearing the stories and perspectives of not only the the project's elite figureheads but also the guys who brought lunch boxes to work every day. What a window into those projects, and the circumstances in which they were built, we would have. Decades from now, we hope this initiative will serve to immortalize these builders, and this generation, as they push the limits of engineering, architecture and human possibility into new frontiers and rise to a challenge unlike any faced by their ancestors. Their mission: to answer the fear, anxiety and uncertainty that followed 9/11 with a structure of unmistakable clarity, strength and magnificence.