THE YEAR IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

How 1 World Trade Center Officially Became the Tallest Building in the U.S.
When construction workers hoisted the final crown atop 1 World Trade Center back in May, it reached its symbolic 1,776 feet. Flags waved, onlookers cheered, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey proclaimed it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. But great controversy regarding whether the tower would in fact dethrone Chicagos Willis Tower ensued. The looming question: antennae or spire? The latter would solidify the accolade the Port Authority already touted, but the former would not. Last month, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat official ruled that a spirenot an antennaesits atop the 104-story tower. Below is a step-by-step guide to measuring a tall building and some key factors that played into the ruling at 1 WTC, as told to The Commercial Observers Al Barbarino by officials with the Council on Tall Buildings.

Council on Tall Buildings officials dont use tape measures. Developers submit a form with various building facts and measurements, and the committee normally takes them at their word. If there is a controversy, the form is accompanied by architectural drawings and renderings, and the Height Committee must reach a consensus.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and the Port Authority submitted architectural drawings and renderings for 1 WTC, showing measurement points and breaking down the crowing structures components. David Childs, chief architect at SOM, presented the drawings at the CTBUHs annual dinner and symposium in early November.

The CTBUH ruled on Nov. 12 that the crowning structure atop 1 WTC is in fact a spire, not an antenna. Antennas are pieces of equipment, not designed by the architects of the building, which can be replaced fairlyeasily. A spire is intended to be permanent. Spire included, the tower reaches its symbolic 1,776 feet.

The last time the CTBUH had a controversy was in 1998. The rules were claried then to exclude antennas, making the Petronas Towers in Malaysia taller than the Sears (Willis) Tower in Chicago, at the time the worlds tallest. With its antennae, the Sears was actually taller.

A tall building might not be so tall elsewhere. A 14-story building in a high-rise city isnt so tall, for instance, but in a suburb, it makes the cut. So the CTBUH established criteria for what constitutes a tall building, including height relative to context, proportion and tall building technologies.

34|DECEMBER 17, 2013|COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

DERRICK DENT ILLUSTRATION

The CTBUH denes supertall as a building more than 984 feet and megatall more than 1,968 feet. As of July 2013, there were only 73 supertall and two megatall buildings completed and occupied globally. The tallest of the tall, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, reaches 2,717 feet. The second megatall is the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Mecca.