3 World Trade Center vs One World Trade Center

Comparing the 3 World Trade Center and the One World Trade Center is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed within 4 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The One World Trade Center is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 1775ft (541m) with 104 floors above ground, while the 3 World Trade Center reaches 1079ft (329m) with 69 floors above ground.

One World Trade Center also offers more total built-up area, a total fo 3,500,000 sqf (325,161m²), which is about 699,998 sqf (65,032m²) more than what the 3 World Trade Center offers.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the 3 World Trade Center and the One World Trade Center were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the 3 World Trade Center and the One World Trade Center were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

The two towers rely on different structural systems, reflecting distinct engineering strategies.

The 3 World Trade Center uses a Trussed Frame structural system, which uses diagonal bracing in addition to beams and columns for stability, while the One World Trade Center uses a Framed Tube In Tube system, that combines a strong central core with a perimeter tube of columns.

Yet, when it comes to their facade, they both employed the same solution, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.