New York's new One World Trade Center will be the tallest US skyscraper when it is completed, topping the former Sears Tower in Chicago, a panel of architects has decided.
Architects at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat agreed on Tuesday that the trade centre's 124.4 metre antenna was a permanent architectural feature of the building and should be counted in determining its height.
"The design of One World Trade Center, as explained to us, reinforces its role as a symbol of resurgence on this important site," CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood said.
"In particular, the spire which holds the beacon light, shining out at the symbolic height of 1776 feet (541 metres), is especially poignant - echoing the similarly symbolic beacon atop the Statue of Liberty across the water."
The One World Trade Center is built on the site of the original World Trade Center, whose iconic twin towers were toppled in the September 11, 2001 attack.
Without the antenna, the new building's 417 metre height would be topped by the former Sears Tower in Chicago, now officially named the Willis Tower, which rises 442 metres from the ground.
Neither skyscraper comes close to the world record, which is held by the 830-metre-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
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