[19] The twin towers at 1 and 2 World Trade Center were designed as framed tube structures, giving tenants open floor plans, unobstructed by columns or walls.

[44] The same year, then–New York Governor George Pataki faced accusations of cronyism for supposedly using his influence to get the winning architect's design picked as a personal favor for his friend and campaign contributor, Ronald Lauder.

[44] This design underwent many revisions, mainly because of disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein, who held the lease to the World Trade Center site at that time.

SOM partner Ken Lewis recalled that the new building had to provide office space for various types of tenants while alluding to the Twin Towers and filling a metaphorical gap in New York City's skyline,.

The design originally included plans to clad the base in glass prisms in order to address criticism that the building might have looked uninviting and resembled a "concrete bunker".

[54] The last major issues were resolved on April 26, 2006, when a deal was made between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, so the cornerstone was temporarily removed from the site on June 23, 2006.

[57] In a December 18, 2006, ceremony held in nearby Battery Park City, members of the public were invited to sign the first 30-foot (9.1 m) steel beam installed onto the building's base.

The name change also served a practical purpose: real estate agents believed that it would be easier to lease space in a building with a traditional street address.

For example, it was lit in red, white, and blue for Independence Day and the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and it was illuminated in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The temporary PATH station was not to be removed until its official replacement, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, was completed, blocking access to the planned loading area.

[72] Chadbourne & Parke, a Midtown Manhattan-based law firm, was supposed to lease 300,000 square feet (30,000 m2) in January 2012,[73] but the deal was abruptly canceled that March.

[79][80] President Barack Obama visited the construction site two months later and wrote, on a steel beam that would be hoisted to the top of the tower, the sentence "We remember, we rebuild, we come back stronger!

[88][89] On May 10, 2013, the final piece of the spire was lifted to the top of One WTC, bringing the tower to its full height of 1,776 feet (541 m), and making it the fourth-tallest building in the world at the time.

[97] It was expected that the company would attract new tenants to occupy the remaining 40% of unleased space in the tower,[97] as Condé Nast had revitalized Times Square after moving there in 1999.

[101] On November 12, 2014, shortly after the building opened supporting wire rope cables of a suspended working platform slacked, trapping a two-man window washing team.

One World Trade Center's final design consisted of simple symmetries and a more traditional profile, intended to compare with selected elements of the contemporary New York skyline.

[51] The current base cladding consists of angled glass fins protruding from stainless steel panels, similar to those on 7 World Trade Center.

[155] The Manhattan District Attorney investigated whether Legends Hospitality had received the contract for the observation deck's operation based on inappropriate political dealings.

A Curbed commentary criticized the food prices; the need for a full observatory ticket purchase to enter; and their reputations compared to Windows on the World.

[167] Along with the protection provided by the reinforced concrete base, a number of other safety features were included in the building's design, so that it would be prepared for a major accident or terrorist attack.

Like 7 World Trade Center, the building has 3-foot (91 cm) thick reinforced concrete walls in all stairwells, elevator shafts, risers, and sprinkler systems.

[128][168] In comparison, the original Twin Towers used a purely steel central core to house utility functions, protected only by lightweight drywall panels.

[128] The Port Authority has stated: "Its structure is designed around a strong, redundant steel moment frame consisting of beams and columns connected by a combination of welding and bolting.

Paired with a concrete-core shear wall, the moment frame lends substantial rigidity and redundancy to the overall building structure while providing column-free interior spans for maximum flexibility.

"[120] After joining the project in 2010, The Durst Organization had suggested eliminating the radome to reduce costs, but the proposal was rejected by the Port Authority's then-executive director, Christopher O.

[177] The tower's spire brings it to a pinnacle height of 1,776 feet (541 m),[5][178] a figure intended to symbolize the year 1776, when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed.

[187] Without the spire, One World Trade Center would be 1,368 feet (417 m) tall, making it the seventh-tallest building in the United States, behind the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.

[95] Architectural Digest called it "a symbol of strength, resilience, and hope" in 2021,[207] and the same magazine wrote in 2024 that "when viewing One World Trade Center from a relatively close distance, it becomes an event".

[225] In April 2011, a new interior design for the China Center was unveiled, featuring a vertical "Folding Garden", based on a proposal by the Chinese artist Zhou Wei.

[227] On August 3, 2010, Condé Nast Publications signed a tentative agreement to move the headquarters and offices for its magazines into One World Trade Center, occupying up to 1,000,000 square feet (90,000 m2) of floor space.