7 World Trade Center

7 World Trade Center
The new 7 World Trade Center from the southeast (2008)
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Location	250 Greenwich Street Manhattan, New York 10007, United States
Coordinates	40°42′48″N 74°00′43″W / 40.7133°N 74.0120°W / 40.7133; -74.0120Coordinates: 40°42′48″N 74°00′43″W / 40.7133°N 74.0120°W / 40.7133; -74.0120
Construction started	May 7, 2002
Completed	2006
Opening	May 23, 2006
Height
Architectural	743 ft (226 m)
Roof	741 ft (226 m)
Top floor	679 ft (207 m)
Technical details
Floor count	52
Floor area	1,681,118 sq ft (156,181 m2)
Lifts/elevators	29
Design and construction
Architect	David Childs (SOM)
Developer	Silverstein Properties
Structural engineer	WSP Cantor Seinuk
Website
7 World Trade Center, wtc.com
References

7 World Trade Center refers to two buildings that have existed at the same location in the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The current structure is the second building to bear that name and address in the World Trade Center. The original structure, part of the old World Trade Center, was completed in 1987 and was destroyed in the September 11 attacks. The current building opened in 2006. Both buildings were developed by Larry Silverstein, who holds a ground lease for the site from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The original 7 World Trade Center was 47 stories tall, clad in red masonry, and occupied a trapezoidal footprint. An elevated walkway connected the building to the World Trade Center plaza. The building was situated above a Consolidated Edison power substation, which imposed unique structural design constraints. When the building opened in 1987, Silverstein had difficulties attracting tenants. In 1988, Salomon Brothers signed a long-term lease, and became the main tenants of the building. On September 11, 2001, 7 WTC was damaged by debris when the nearby North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. The debris also ignited fires, which continued to burn throughout the afternoon on lower floors of the building. The building's internal fire suppression system lacked water pressure to fight the fires, and the building collapsed completely at 5:21:10 pm, according to FEMA, while the 2008 NIST study placed the final collapse time at 5:20:52 pm. The collapse began when a critical internal column buckled and triggered structural failure throughout, which was first visible from the exterior with the crumbling of a rooftop penthouse structure at 5:20:33 pm. The collapse made the old 7 World Trade Center the first tall building known to have collapsed primarily due to uncontrolled fires, and the only steel skyscraper in the world to have collapsed due to fire.