New York's new One World Trade Centre will be the tallest US skyscraper when it is completed, topping the former Sears Tower in Chicago, a panel of architects decided today.
Architects at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat agreed that the trade centre's 124.4 meter (408 foot) antenna was a permanent architectural feature of the building and should be counted in determining its height.
"The design of One World Trade Centre, as explained to us, reinforces its role as a symbol of resurgence on this important site," said CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood.
"In particular, the spire which holds the beacon light, shining out at the symbolic height of 1,776 feet, is especially poignant -- echoing the similarly symbolic beacon atop the Statue of Liberty across the water."
The new One World Trade Centre is built on the site of the original World Trade Centre, whose iconic twin towers were toppled in the September 11, 2001 attack.
Without the antenna, the new building's 417 meter (1,368 foot) height would be topped by the former Sears Tower in Chicago, now officially named the Willis Tower, which rises 442 meters (1,450 feet) from the ground.
Neither skyscraper comes close to the world record, which is held by the 830-meter-high (2,723-feet-high) Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
