Silverstein Properties’ Janno Lieber and Serge Demerjian Talk WTC

reprints


Bridges in the hub?
Mr. Demerjian: There is a bridge that was created over the subway box, a clear span so you can walk underneath. It’s 180 feet. He didn’t want columns. 180 feet clear span, which is great, but there is a price to pay for that. On the west side, there is a bridge structure over the PATH wall, which are the entrances down to the PATH station. That is a complex structure. It makes building really tall buildings look simple.

What were some of the engineering challenges on 4 World Trade?
Mr. Demerjian: One of the exciting things we’re doing is creating an outdoor terrace on that setback for tenants to use as functional space, like Rock Center. That’s up on the 56th floor, which is taller than 7 WTC. Some of the challenge is the wind. How do you deal with that and create a windscreen? We’re talking about that, making sure it’s a usable, friendly space. There are some challenges with that and it’s great.

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What’s next for you, Serge? Construction seems like it’s winding down at the WTC site.
Mr. Lieber: Serge’s role has evolved. He came here as an architect. He’s now the construction manager for the Tower 2 project, which is only coming up to grade—but it’s how many square feet below grade?

Mr. Demerjian: It’s 400,000 square feet. The footprint is much bigger underground: it’s probably like four stories. It’s loading docks, mechanical systems, retail corridors, power distribution networks, spot networks.

Is it the biggest underground building in the city no one knows about?
Mr. Demerjian: Yeah. This site is 3.5 million square feet of below-ground space.

Mr. Lieber: Serge has grown in his role, so he’s now development manager. He’s definitely expanded, and we are taking advantage of his know-how for other projects. Serge has a future. He has been a big piece of our success at the site.

dgeiger@observer.com