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Revealed: the latest pictures of Calatrava’s New York World Trade Centre hub

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has released pictures of the state of play at the World Trade Centre’s $3.8bn transportation hub, which is being constructed above and below the temporary Trans-Hudson station in lower Manhattan.

The centrepiece of design of Spanish engineer and architect Santiago Calatrava is this fan of girders that form the "wings" of the hub. The pictures above show the architect’s rendering of the finished structure from inside and outside. The picture below shows what it looks like now.

The rusty appearance of the girders is due to corrosion of the unprotected steel. This usually occurs to steel while it is being welded. Once the welding is completed the girders will be blasted clean and the appropriate corrosion protection system applied. 

Beneath the fan of girders, based on Calatrava’s image of a child releasing a bird, is the main transit hall, or oculus. From here, commuters will be able to switch between 11 subway lines. Here the finishing touches are already being applied to the escalators.

The project has been on site for almost 10 years and is scheduled to be completed later this year. In its early stages, construction was delayed by disputes over the cost, the security and the design. 

In 2012, the site was flooded by Hurricane Sandy, and millions of gallons had to be pumped out in a matter of days. Other events were even more unexpected, such as the discovery of the remains of an 18th century ship.  

Steve Plate, the WTC Director of Construction, commented: "The Port Authority recognises the Hub as the most complex project in the world, due to the complexities of the World Trade Centre site, such as maintaining service on the No 1 Subway Line while work on the Hub continued below it, extensive recovery and repairs following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, repairs to the slurry wall after Hurricane Sandy, and the construction of the 9/11 memorial and museum and the World Trade Centre towers." 

When it opens, the 110m long, marble clad Hub will be the third biggest transport centre in New York, after Grand Central and Penn Station, both in Midtown Manhattan. It will serve more than 250,000 passengers a day.  

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is the owner and the head of programme management for the World Trade Centre Redevelopment. Working for it are a number of project, programme and construction management firms. Management responsibilities for the major projects are being managed by joint ventures between Skanska and Granite; Turner, Tischman and Hill International; the Louis Berger Group and Lend Lease.

The picture below shows the hub in the context of the wider World Trade Centre site.

All photographs courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

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Comments

  1. It is a wonderful building, what i want to see!

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