The One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, but a project that is beginning to take off could take away this precious title. Its about ‘Legends Tower‘, a huge skyscraper of more than 580 meters that would be built in Oklahoma City.
One of the most curious facts about this initiative is that it does not have as its epicenter large cities historically known for their megastructures such as New York or Chicago. Its promoters, however, chose an urban center of just over 700,000 inhabitants.
Oklahoma, home of the largest building in the US
‘Legends Tower’ was intended to be less tall. Initially, developers AO Architects and Matteson Capital envisioned a height of about 533 metros. The problem? It couldn’t become the tallest building in the country, so they decided to update their plans.
The 150-foot variance on the project was recently approved by the Oklahoma City Planning Commission, so this ambitious project that was once thought impossible to accomplish is moving apace, and could receive final permit in June this year.
‘Legends Tower’ will be part of ‘The Boardwalk at Bricktown’, a commercial space that includes two other buildings and that, according to AOArchitects, will help the transformation of Oklahoma City. The architecture firm seeks to create “a new standard for urban innovation.”
A main mixed-use structure is planned, with a strong residential component with a large number of apartments and a huge Hyatt hotel. As we can see in the concept images, an impressive decoration with LED lights is imagined.
This modern style is intended not to go unnoticed and, precisely for this reason, some people they don’t completely agree. According to The Oklahoman, one resident believes that this type of decoration is not appropriate for the city. “We’re not Las Vegas,” she says.
Concerns have also been raised regarding the prevailing weather conditions in Oklahoma City. The place is prone to strong storms and has even been hit in the past by tornadoes that have left behind destruction, dozens of deaths and injuries.
The engineers behind the project say they have this scenario contemplated. The building, they explain to The Wall Street Journal, will have a concrete core with walls between 1.2 and 1.8 meters thick that will surround the elevator shaft and ultra-resistant windows.
Beyond the aforementioned challenges, as we say, the project is going from strength to strength. Financing of around $1.6 billion would be secured, ground preparation could begin as early as June and construction would begin later.
The work is expected to take between 24 and 30 months to complete. When ‘Legends Tower’ becomes a reality, it will become the fifth tallest building in the world. All of the above posts, it should be noted, correspond to skyscrapers outside the United States.
In first place we find the well-known Burj Khalifa of the United Arab Emirates (828 m), in second place the Merdeka 118 of Malaysia (678.9 m), in third place the Shanghai Tower of China (632 m), in fourth place the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia (601 m).
Images | AO Architects | Gerson Repreza
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