At Ground Zero, a Controversy Over Height

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As the world commemorates the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a controversy is percolating over the status of the replacement to the World Trade Center.

One World Trade Center, which is scheduled to complete next year, is routinely billed as the tallest building in the United States. Architect Daniel Libeskind, the original master planner for the site, specifically designated the height of the building at the symbolic 1,776 feet.

But the official height of the building may be hundreds of feet smaller. The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a non-profit group which tracks the heights of buildings, may not count the structure on top of the building in the height measurement.

The Council includes spires and other architectural structures in measurements, but not antennas and other temporary structures. Last year the Durst Organization, developers of the tower, changed the design of the spire on top of the building, leading to a discussion of whether or not the structure, which is 408 feet, would be included in the measurement.

In a rare public comment, David Childs, the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect who led the project design team, said, "eliminating this integral part of the building's design and leaving an exposed antenna and equipment is unfortunate."

The Council said it would wait until all the information is submitted before its height committee - a panel of tall building experts - would make the decision. In the latest development, the council says the height committee will meet in November to consider the height of the tower.

The council has no official role in the development community, but its height measurements are widely used as the international standard. The decision could have wide-ranging implications for the tower. Beyond bragging rights, there are marketing and sales benefits to the title of "tallest building in the United States."

"I think the common perception and the common wisdom ... is that it's 1,776," Nina Libeskind, Daniel Libeskind's wife and spokeswoman, recently told the Chicago Tribune. "I don't know how one suddenly dictates that it isn't because they don't consider antennas to be part of the building. I would say it's the wrong call."

The Council uses a detailed formula to determine heights, including the location of the base of the building, which may further complicate the decision. The Port Authority and SOM have submitted detailed plans and drawings to the Council for consideration.

"We certainly look forward to their decision," a SOM spokesman told the Tribune.