2005: The design for Freedom Tower, meant to replace the World Trade Center towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, is formally introduced.

The tower will rise 1,776 feet above Lower Manhattan, replacing 2.6 million of the 15 million square feet of office space lost when the twin towers and a nearby building collapsed. Three other new towers will accompany it in the rebuilt WTC.

But Freedom Tower, designed by architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs, is about much more than creating new office space. Its design is symbolic (as well as tremendously reinforced). The stainless-steel-and-titanium-clad base of the building reflects on the past and is surrounded by a memorial to the victims of 9/11. Freedom Tower itself recalls the classic design of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings in midtown and, like those, is topped by a spire.

The overall effect, however, can only be described as defiant and forward looking. Not only will Freedom Tower soar 400 feet higher than the twin towers, but the entire building will be illuminated at night. Libeskind described this effect as “a beacon in the downtown skyline, gesturing now toward the glowing torch of Lady Liberty.”

An observation deck will be open to the public near the 1,362-foot top of the main structure (below the spire), at the level of the top of the original south tower.

Condé Nast, publisher of Wired.com and Wired magazine, announced May 17, 2011, that it is moving its global headquarters to the Freedom Tower, aka 1 World Trade Center, starting in 2014.

If Freedom Tower were to open today, it would be the second tallest office building in the world, trailing only the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. No building, however, is likely to eclipse Freedom Tower as a symbol — or a memorial.

Source: Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, others

Photo: Architect David Childs puts his hand behind a design model for the Freedom Tower. This perspective looks from across the Hudson River. (Gregory Bull/AP)

This is an update of an article that first appeared on Wired.com June 28, 2007.