Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

7 World Trade Center heralds the spirit of redevelopment and renewal in Lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001. The fifty-two-story, 1.7-million-square-foot glass pylon marks the entrance to the World Trade Center and, with its clarity of design and sustainability features, establishes a benchmark for future buildings on the site. Pulling back from its eastern property line, the tower creates a view corridor to the tip of Manhattan, letting in light where previously none existed. From the exterior, the surface of 7 WTC is a study in reflected color and light calibrated to create the illusion of depth and animated with light. With the variation of shifting daylight and sky conditions, this large glass expanse appears organic and lively.