Official Height of 1WTC Set at 1,776 Feet

Even though New York City's One World Trade Center (1WTC) won't be completed until next year, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), in a Height Committee meeting on 8 November, determined that the "official" height of the tower is 1,776 feet (541 meters). This ruling will make 1WTC the tallest building in North America, taking that title from the Willis, né Sears, Tower in Chicago, which has a higher occupied floor but whose antennas are not considered an integral part of the design and therefore are not considered in CTBUH height determinations.

Much of the deliberation in CTBUH's decision (it was delayed a week) focused on whether to consider 1WTC's mast as an integral spire or a tacked-on antenna. The ruling favors the former, even though concerns were raised last year when the spire's fiberglass covering was eliminated due to budget constraints, thereby turning the mast into an "exposed antenna with equipment," as the tower's designer, David Childs of SOM, called it last May.

Further the ruling situates 1WTC as third tallest in the world – after Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca – instead of falling outside of the top ten, which would have happened if the 408-foot (124-meter) mast were considered an antenna. Therefore the bragging rights extend beyond the North American stage to the whole world, where more Asian supertall towers (8 of the skyscrapers in the top 10 are located on the continent) will be grabbing the headlines in coming years.