"Architect Unveils Details of Freedom Tower"

[GreenPartyVoter]

NEW YORK (AP) - Glass prisms, landscaped plazas and a lighted spire meant to resemble the Statue of Liberty's torch are all included in the latest design of the skyscraper being built to replace the World Trade Center.

Architect David Childs unveiled the new design details of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower Wednesday at an American Institute of Architects ceremony inside 7 World Trade Center, the skyscraper he designed that sits across from ground zero.

Construction began this spring on the Freedom Tower, after a redesign more than a year ago to address concerns it wasn't adequately protected from truck bombs. The building was moved several feet back from the street and made smaller, with a footprint the identical size of one of the twin towers.

Some derided the windowless, 20-story concrete base that security officials sought, saying it resembled more of a bunker than an office building. Architects had originally thought that shimmering metal panels would cover the bottom of the building, but recently decided on 13-foot-high panels that combine triangular glass prisms.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20060629/D8IHRA980.html