By 2012, World Trade Center Tower 2 will stand as New York’s second-tallest skyscraper, after the Freedom Tower. Designed by British architect Lord Norman Foster, “T2” will rise 78 stories (1,254 feet), and stand out for its distinct cruciform core and diagonal roof that slopes toward the WTC Memorial plaza.

The tower will be located at 200 Greenwich Street, just east of the Freedom Tower, at the corner of Vesey Street. Its design -- along with those of Towers 3 and 4 -- was unveiled on September 8, 2006, by former Governor George Pataki, former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, developer Larry Silverstein, and other rebuilding officials.

Tower 2 appears to be made of four slim blocks that top off in diamond shapes. In fact, “notches” rise up each of the building’s four solid sides, creating the illusion of four separate mini-towers while serving to draw light into its column-free floors.

The glass “roof” begins its slant upward beginning on the west side of the 59th floor, simultaneously sending morning sunlight to the memorial. The diagonal silhouette also suits WTC Master Planner Daniel Libeskind’s “wedge of light” concept, which casts no shadows on the memorial on the day of September 11th each year.

In total, 200 Greenwich Street will house 2.3 million square feet of office and 143,000 square feet of retail space (95,000 square feet of which is at or above street level). It will be home to 60 office floors each offering more than 36,000 square feet of space. There also will be four trading floors, 11.5 floors of building mechanicals, a sky lobby, and a 65-foot-tall entrance lobby.

Like each of the WTC towers being built by Silverstein Properties, Tower 2 will consist of a central concrete core, made of steel encased in reinforced concrete. It also will have an external structural steel frame and safety systems that exceed New York City building code and Port Authority requirements.

In designing the building, the tower’s architects sought to achieve the gold standard under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council, the highest energy-efficiency rating.

The tower’s architects also have established a visual and practical relationship with the surrounding streets, as evidenced by its heightened main lobby and glass façade, as well as the direct access the building provides to the adjacent transit hubs and the memorial plaza.

Construction of the new tower began in September 2008, upon the Port Authority’s completion of the WTC’s “east bathtub,” located between Church Street and the future restored Greenwich Street.

Click here to view a slide show of Tower Two, 200 Greenwich Street.