Office building in New York (One World Trade Center)

One World Trade Center (New York) by Praneeth Thalla, License CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)

John Hopkins University – United States

Office building in New York (One World Trade Center)

Building use

Office building

Country/Region

United States

Overview

A hybrid system combining concrete and steel was adopted to enable large, column-free spaces within the One World Trade Center efficiently and innovatively, while maintaining the highest safety standards.

Basic information (construction date, number of stories, gross floor area, adopted design code, engineer(s), Contractor(s), etc.)

Construction date: 2013
Number of stories: 104
Gross floor area: 325,160m2
Adopted design code: IBC2003; NYC Building Code; AISC; ACI
Engineer(s): WSP Cantor Seinuk
Contractor(s): Tishman Construction

Issue and/or innovation

To enable large, column-free spaces, this building leverages a hybrid system combining concrete and steel. Steel beams are strategically set into a concrete core, thus pioneering a new structural approach that enhances spatial flexibility while maintaining structural integrity. The composite system includes floors outside the core made out of concrete on a composite metal deck. These floors are supported on steel beams and connected via shear connectors. This system not only redefines the architectural aesthetics and interior functionality but also elevates the standards of structural resilience and safety for large-scale, high-rise structures.

Reason for composite solution

To enable large, column-free spaces within the One World Trade Center efficiently and innovatively, while maintaining the highest safety standards.

Specific solution/technical details

Steel beams set into the concrete core to support the floors.

Impact or effectiveness

The safety requirements were beyond the published standards, given that this was built on the site of the WTC. As such, stability and safety were achieved via the composite system mentioned.

References / Technical Papers Content

WSP. (2023). One World Trade Center, New York. https://www.wsp.com/en-us/projects/one-world-trade-center
https://www.structuremag.org/issues/2012-digital-issues/november-2012/

Supplementary documents

Supplementary document - 1

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