Aspire To Be The Tallest

The spire for One World Trade Center is being delivered to the site in multiple segments via truck and barge. Once installed the spire will be 408 feet tall, topping the building out at a symbolic 1,776 feet, which will make it the tallest building in North America. Inspirational! The news is being reported throughout the media and the trade press. 

But there appears to be a minor amount of controversy, since the plans also call for an antenna – perhaps as tall as the spire – to be enclosed in "an ornamental white shell." Depending on how the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat views the spire, it may or may not count in calculating the building's official height. No sign yet that the One World Trade Center owner is perspiring over this issue. We'll just have to see what transpires.