The new One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City was designed by which architect?

The story behind the answer

David Childs is correct: as a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), he served as the lead architect for One World Trade Center, refining Daniel Libeskind’s site master plan into the building’s final design. The tower rises to a symbolic 1,776 feet, features a prismatic, tapering form, and integrates robust safety innovations developed after 9/11.

To keep the architects straight: Michael Arad designed the 9/11 Memorial pools, Fumihiko Maki designed 4 World Trade Center, and Bjarke Ingels proposed a later redesign for 2 World Trade Center. Memory tip: “Childs raised the tallest ‘child’ of the site”—One WTC, the flagship tower—while others shaped neighboring elements of the rebuilt complex.