BUILDING ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER

One World Trade Center rose from the ashes of the Twin Towers. Now, as the tallest building in New York City, it looks to the skies and the future. Here's how this sustainable and secure record-breaker was built

- MIKE JENNINGS

New York City's famous skyline was forever altered in 2001 when terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers - the two tallest buildings in the wider World Trade Center complex. After the attacks, debate began about the future of the site. Talk quickly turned to reconstruction, alongside a permanent memorial, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation invited members of the public to submit ideas. A winning concept was chosen in February 2003. Plans were finalised, a symbolic cornerstone was laid on Independence Day 2004 and by June 2005 a final design for One World Trade Center (One WTC) was revealed - an ambitious skyscraper with a twisting shape and glass that would reflect light like a kaleidoscope.

Construction began in 2006, with members of the public signing the first steel beam, and by 2008 the tower's concrete core reached street level. By 2010, the base was complete, and the tower started to rise. By April 2012, One WTC had become the most expensive building in the world and New York City's tallest building. In May 2013, the spire was completed, and a steel beam at the top was signed by then-President Obama with the inscription: "We remember, we rebuild, we come back stronger!"