Benson Industries, Portland, Oregon, has won the US$ 160.65M contract to build & install the windows of New York City's Freedom Tower. The contract, on what will become one of the world's most prominent buildings, will be a showcase for a company well-known in development for its skilled glass work. Benson submitted its first proposal for the work in Aug/04, 3y after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Then, after a cornerstone was laid in 2004, the proposed tower was relocated. Despite the architectural appeal of the first tower design, it did not have enough floor space to make it affordable. At 1,776ft, the redesigned Freedom Tower, including an antenna, will be the tallest building in N America. Its 103 floors are fewer than the 110 in Chicago's Sears Tower. But that building is 1,450ft tall, 1,725ft to the top of its tallest antenna.
