NEW YORK | One World Trade Center | 1,776' Pinnacle / 1,373' Roof | 108 FLOORS

[Roadcruiser1]

Originally Posted by NewYorkSkyline117

Well by shiny, the glass is extremely bright at sunset from here in Morristown, NJ: 40 miles away. I posted a photo a little while back of it at sunset...however I can only see it from a high point here, such as the 9/11 memorial ironically. The spire will light a beacon that will be project a beam visible nearly 3,000 feet up and seen from 70 miles+..it will also flash the letter "N" for New York in morse code

I expect the mast to be covered with this, but they would probably be a lot wider and bigger than the ones in the picture.

[AerialView]

Originally Posted by NewYorkSkyline117

Well by shiny, the glass is extremely bright at sunset from here in Morristown, NJ: 40 miles away. I posted a photo a little while back of it at sunset...however I can only see it from a high point here, such as the 9/11 memorial ironically. The spire will light a beacon that will be project a beam visible nearly 3,000 feet up and seen from 70 miles+..it will also flash the letter "N" for New York in morse code

Thanks !

[chris123678]

So is the mast being constructed now or is it already done, and waiting to be placed on after the roof is constructed.

How Long after the topping out, will it take to place the mast on?

And how long

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by chris123678

So is the mast being constructed now or is it already done, and waiting to be placed on after the roof is constructed.

How Long after the topping out, will it take to place the mast on?

And how long

I don't know about th current state of the mast,but the PA says that it will take six months to construct it.

[Roadcruiser1]

Originally Posted by chris123678

So is the mast being constructed now or is it already done, and waiting to be placed on after the roof is constructed.

How Long after the topping out, will it take to place the mast on?

And how long

I don't even think the mast has been built yet. I think everyone should just wait and see instead of asking questions though. The building will be done when everyone sees it done.

[NewYorkSkyline117]

Originally Posted by AerialView

Thanks !

no problem!

[599GTO]

Originally Posted by Roadcruiser1

I don't even think the mast has been built yet. I think everyone should just wait and see instead of asking questions though. The building will be done when everyone sees it done.

.....so whats the point of this thread? To stare at photos only?

Originally Posted by NewYorkSkyline117

Well by shiny, the glass is extremely bright at sunset from here in Morristown, NJ: 40 miles away. I posted a photo a little while back of it at sunset...however I can only see it from a high point here, such as the 9/11 memorial ironically. The spire will light a beacon that will be project a beam visible nearly 3,000 feet up and seen from 70 miles+..it will also flash the letter "N" for New York in morse code

I don't get it...so it will let out a vertical light and flash N at the same time???? Where would the N be? How does that work?

[Otie]

Originally Posted by Roadcruiser1

I don't even think the mast has been built yet. I think everyone should just wait and see instead of asking questions though. The building will be done when everyone sees it done.

I think right the opposite, the more you ask, the less ignorant you'll be. DCM has ordered to the steel shop to fabricate the mast steel more than 6 months ago.


First of all, let me clarify that once the tower reaches the roof, work will be devided in two separate projects: construction of the antenna with the erection of the roof and installing the mechanical systems.

Antenna
The antenna alone will weight about 400 tons and it will be assembled in 7 stacked sections that decrease in diameter the higher they go, there's an 8th section that will sit up above the rest that will form the beacon, the top of the 8th section will mark the 1776' elevation from Main Lobby.

These sections are all different between them, some of them will have as much as 20 sides while others will only have 4 sides, some will have a lattice steel structure while others will be made of steel plates with cut-out zones. The mast includes a variety of fabrication and construction methods so that transmission equipment can be inserted into it and can also give attachment points for antenna and satellite dishes.

The transition between sections will be achieved by using cast-steel connectors, this solves the problem of placing a structure above another one with different geometries.
The antenna will be anchored to the roof slab with 8 Kevlar guy wires, each of them being 8" thick. These cables will be made of aramid, a synthetic fiber that does not obstruct broadcast signal. (See picture below)

Cable of aramid fiber reinforcement


Larger version



Radome Enclosure
The radome enclosure was necessary not only for aesthetic purposes but will also solve practical issues with the antenna and the wind loads.
The enclosure will have attached stiffness due to the 2.5" thick panels made of fiberglass and foam (See picture below), this stiffness will help resist the wind load. Fiberglass and foam are radio-frequency “transparent” materials, and were selected in order to avoid problems with the broadcasting equipment.


Fiberglass-and-foam sandwich panel

The enclosure will also help protect personel at the maintenance areas inside the spire (platforms) and its repeating modular system will allow easy replacement in case they need to replace any section.
The radome will be assembled in 20 foot sections, all of them consisting of octagonal modules.

For further wind support, large helices or stakes will wrap the radome and will direct wind away from the mast, mitigating vortex shading and reducing structural fatigue. This, along with the guy wires, will help reduce the range of deflection to as much as 0.5 degrees in a constant 50 mile-per-hour wind,an engineering achievement...

Crown, or Communication Platform Ring
The three-level circular lattice ring will house microwave dishes, ENG antennas and whip-type radio antennas that television companies will use.


The Window Washing Track consists of 3 circular tracks located just below the lower platform ring and above the parapet line, it will allow three window-washing cranes to ride on it. These cranes will have telescoping arms, they will look similar to the Burj Khalifa's boom units (see image below).



May 2012?

[MadGnome]

Very nice Otie. But it would suprise me if the antenna configuration was like that when it's finished. It's kind of 90s, before fiber took over most of the microwave link business. Those round enclosures must be 10 feet tall. Room enough to house dozens of smaller elements each. That ring would be a great place for some of the fancy spot beam data services you see in other countries.
Never heard of "Electronic news gathering antennas".
I imagine a lot of the configuration will depend on if they get the broadcasters back.

Any idea if they're building it from the top down and jacking it up?

[CarlosV]

Glass continues to rise....on another very cold day in NY...16 degrees when i got up this AM to go to work!!! brrrrrrrr



DSC_5087 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

[uaarkson]

Working on MLK? These guys are committed.

[meh_cd]

Originally Posted by MadGnome

Very nice Otie. But it would suprise me if the antenna configuration was like that when it's finished. It's kind of 90s, before fiber took over most of the microwave link business. Those round enclosures must be 10 feet tall. Room enough to house dozens of smaller elements each. That ring would be a great place for some of the fancy spot beam data services you see in other countries.
Never heard of "Electronic news gathering antennas".
I imagine a lot of the configuration will depend on if they get the broadcasters back.

Any idea if they're building it from the top down and jacking it up?

I think that is just the "ideal" configuration. It'll probably never look that pretty, if it even looks like that at all in the coming decades.

Fantastic post, Otie. I had another question you might be able to answer. Since they have apparently removed the restaurant service elevator (is this confirmed?), does that also mean that it would prevent them from placing a bar up top? If we can't get Windows on the World back right away, perhaps we can at least get The Greatest Bar on Earth back? Seems to me like a bar serving only drinks and some small appetizers would require far less equipment.

[Otie]

^The PA decided to scrap the restaurant idea a while ago, but it was until November we got official information about using the empty space as an extra level for the Observation. (See post 17414)..
The restaurant service elevator used to be in the empty red square, the shuttle elevator still remains at its original position, and it will provide service to the disabled people. Though I still can't figure it out how will people access to the levels below or above them, the floorplans I have show some stairs at the yellow rectangle, but seing this more recent plan makes me wonder if we're going to be able to access to only one floor, being the lower floors (100 and 101) a bit cheaper than the 102nd.

Hope this helps

Fantastic update, Carlos!

[CarlosV]

Are you crazy? I love your renderings how do you do that? you must work for the PA!

[Otie]

^Research, my friend, it takes hell alot of time, and can get frustrating if you don't organize all the info. I wish I could get a chance to get involved in the rebuilding...

Originally Posted by MadGnome

Very nice Otie. But it would suprise me if the antenna configuration was like that when it's finished. It's kind of 90s, before fiber took over most of the microwave link business. Those round enclosures must be 10 feet tall. Room enough to house dozens of smaller elements each. That ring would be a great place for some of the fancy spot beam data services you see in other countries.
Never heard of "Electronic news gathering antennas".
I imagine a lot of the configuration will depend on if they get the broadcasters back.

Any idea if they're building it from the top down and jacking it up?

The mast structure is accurate, and if the PA gets into contract again with broadcasting companies (MTVA's the closest), it will get filled with antennas all the way up, looking more like a jungle, thank God it will be hidden.

The enclosure will be as wide as 30 feet in diameter and the sections are 20' tall, excluding the lower ones, which are a bit taller.
Never heard of the ENG antennas either, but they do apppear to exist... The only photo I could find over the internet:


Based on the photo above:

[Domamania]

Does anyone one know if the mast aka the spire is being construcuted? and if so, where is is being made right now? Thank you so much...

[Otie]

The steel was ordered to be fabricated at South Plainfield, New Jersey by MRP LLC. Everything will come in parts and be assembled at the top (please read).

[hunser]

Thanks Otie for sharing, it was pretty informative.

[gramsjdg]

I am pretty sure that if for some reason there is not a need for that many microwave radomes they will still install the empty housings to make it look uniform...

[jd3189]

Now I know why that outdoors obs deck would have never worked. Too much equipment up there. But if a taller building is built somewhere else in Manhattan that can possess an broadcasting antenna,there still might be hope for it.