Engineering a MEGA Structure: Spire Placed atop One World Trade Center

On May 2, 2013, construction crews finally hoisted a 22 ton, 408 ft section atop the roof of One World Trade Center reaching it’s full height of 1776 feet. One World Trade Center has been under construction since 2006 and is in honor of the fallen “Twin Towers” of the original World Trade Center on Manhattan Island in New York City.

See a time-lapse video of the spire being hoisted skyward

At 541 meters One World Trade Center is now the tallest building in the western hemisphere, and more specifically it is the tallest building not in the middle east, where skyscrapers are reaching unprecedented heights.

Just how tall is the tallest building? Check out the diagram below of the tallest buildings on earth in the year 2020. The scale diagram includes some still under construction, including “Kingdom Tower” which will stand at exactly 1 Km! One World Trade Center is highlighted in blue and comes in at #12 in the worlds tallest of 2020.

For reference, we have added the real Eiffel Tower in Paris, France as well as the fake Eiffel Tower at Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. (It seems pretty tall to us cow-tippers!)