Freedom Tower will be world's safest skyscraper

The proposed Freedom Tower at the former World Trade Centre site, redesigned to address security concerns, will lose the distinctive asymmetrical shape envisioned in earlier plans but will be the world’s strongest and safest high-rise building, officials said today.

The redesigned tower will be straighter and squarer, will rise from a base clad in shimmering metal chosen for beauty and blast-resistance and will be topped with an illuminated spire.