Revealed: Designs for Final World Trade Center Tower

2 WTC was designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and already has a tentative lease agreement with Rupert Murdoch’s media companies, 21st Century Fox and News Corp.

2 minute read

June 9, 2015, 10:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


One World Trade Center

Steve Heap / Shutterstock

Wired, and an article by Andrew Rice, wins the bonanza as the media outlet to break the big reveal of the final tower designed for the World Trade Center site in New York City.

According to Rice, the design concept is the result of a super-secret design process known as Project Gotham, led by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. Once complete the project will become the headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s media companies, 21st Century Fox and News Corp.

Bjarke Ingels describes his design concept in a video included with the article, saying that the project, when viewed from Tribeca, will be "like a vertical village of singular buildings, each tailored to their individual activities, stacked on top of each other, forming parks and plazas in the sky." Viewed from the World Trade Center, explains Ingels, "the individual blocks unite, completing the spiral of towers framing the memorial." Then the video follows with the soaring three dimensional renderings and animated interior shots of the proposed design.

Rice also makes the point that the long process of redeveloping the World Trade Center, once beset by political infighting, has given way in its final chapters to the realities of the real estate market in Manhattan. "The once-dowdy area known as the Financial District has been transformed by an influx of companies from the advertising, design, and tech industries," writes Rice.

The article includes a lot more detail about the design of the building, including similarities between how the buildings will work for Murdoch's companies and designs by Ingels for Google on the other side of the country.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015 in Wired

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 11, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Metrorail train pulling into newly opened subterranean station in Washington, D.C. with crowd on platform taking photos.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”

The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

June 2, 2025 - The Hill

Large crowd on street in San Francisco, California during Oktoberfest festival.

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns

In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

June 2, 2025 - Robbie Silver

Color-coded map of labor & delivery departments and losses in United States.

The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace

In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.

June 15 - Maine Morning Star

Street scene in Kathmandu, Nepal with yellow minibuses and other traffic.

The Small South Asian Republic Going all in on EVs

Thanks to one simple policy change less than five years ago, 65% of new cars in this Himalayan country are now electric.

June 15 - Fast Company

Bike lane in Washington D.C. protected by low concrete barriers.

DC Backpedals on Bike Lane Protection, Swaps Barriers for Paint

Citing aesthetic concerns, the city is removing the concrete barriers and flexposts that once separated Arizona Avenue cyclists from motor vehicles.

June 15 - The Washington Post