Killian Coen

Annotated Rhetorical Analysis:

One World Trade Center

As is always the case with assignments that have so much freedom as far as topic
selection, the most difficult part of this assignment was choosing the target of my analysis. Of all
the plethora of choices, it seems that some of the most powerful and eye-catching visual artifacts
are buildings, and among buildings, towers and skyscrapers are notably the most imposing. As
such, I chose One World Trade Center as the topic of my rhetorical analysis.
The designers of this artifact are the architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs. Both
are well-known artists in their field that have worked on large projects such as this one before,
though admittedly nowhere near the scale of this one. Examples include the Centre Pompidou in
France for Libeskind, and the Worldwide Plaza in New York for Childs. As often as these two
men worked in their trade, they must have still been daunted by the sheer size of this project, as
well as its huge cultural importance to viewers.
Of the many notable things about this building, one of the most important ways it makes
an argument visually is simply by existing at the time that it does. There have been so many
stories in news about the controversy surrounding this building that its hardly necessary to go
into them here. Suffice it to say, it is the kairos of this building that is arguably its most
significant rhetorical device. After the events of 9/11 and the conclusion of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, this artifact serves as a reminder to all those observing of all of the emotions they
feel regarding these incredible events. If this building were made at any other time in history,
many of the arguments that it makes would not be present.

The size of this building is incredibly impressive. In terms of design, the sheer height of
the building was an important design element, as it mirrors the height of the Twin Towers that
originally stood in its place. As one of the emotions that the building needed to evoke was
American patriotism, the building stands at 1,776 feet tall, an obvious reference to the date of
American independence; this also makes it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. In
terms of a figure ground relationship, it is incredibly imposing relative to the buildings
surrounding it, as well as the most visually prominent position in the skyline. This is significant
as well, as the previous Twin Towers held this exact same point before, and the image of them
among New Yorks other skyscrapers was an American visual icon of its time.
The shape of this building is another of its distinctive design features with rhetorical, as
well as practical, reasons behind it. The tower is shaped like a column that is composed of many
triangles laid side-by-side; one with its apex pointing toward the sky, the other pointing toward
the ground. This creates a tower that strongly resembles a crystal that somehow formed into a
perfectly straight column, but that is composed of geometric shapes. Its crystalline appearance is
also shaped by the fact that the faade is composed entirely of gigantic glass panels. This design
feature makes the tower look exactly the same regardless of the angle from which it is viewed.
The visual consistency to the buildings design plays off of the instability people felt after 9/11,
and uses the sight of the tower as a sort of cultural reaffirmation that everything is safe and back
to the way it was before the attacks. Another note about the shape of the building has to do with
the antenna-like structure on top. This antenna brings the building to the precise height of (1,776
ft). It also serves a rhetorical purpose; through pointing straight up to the sky on top of a
structure that is already gigantic, it gives the viewer a sense of strength and power.

This tower uses all of the classic rhetorical arguments in one way or another. Regarding
topos, this building shares many characteristics of other buildings that classify them as
skyscrapers, but differs enough in form and function that it can safely be considered in a class of
its own. While the building was excellently designed, well executed, and utilizes ethos quite
well, the impact made by it on viewers is largely dependent on the viewers opinions of other
issues, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American imperialism, and indeed American
society as a whole. The building also features an appeal to logos in that it stands in the exact
place the Twin Towers used to stand, and thus serves as a historical reference to them; this
suggests to viewers that America is still safe and strong even after the attacks that made this
building necessary. Theres also a significant argument made by the building in terms of pathos,
but here again the emotion felt when viewing this building is almost entirely dependent on their
opinions regarding other issues.
In conclusion, this building is a spectacular sight and an excellent example of American
craftsmanship, ingenuity, and design. At the end of the day, however, the experience one has
upon seeing it has very little to do with the building itself, and more to do with the historical
context surrounding it. That being said, the design rhetoric of the building as described here most
assuredly conveys the ideas of strength, progress, and patriotism.

References:

One World Trade Center Website. The Durst Organization, 2012. Web.
September 20, 2015.

Bindelglass, Evan. The Status of the World Trade Center Complex, 13 Years Later.
Curbed NY, September 11, 2014. Web. September 20, 2015.

Studio Libeskind Website. Daniel Libeskind, 2015. Web. September 15, 2015

Sullivan, Robert. A Look at the New World Trade Center. Architectural Digest.
Web. September 19, 2015.

This tower dwarfs the many other large buildings around it. It is this
use of the figure-ground relationship that gives it the huge sense of
scope and visual prominence in the skyline, as well as appearing
monstrous to viewers from the ground.

The structure
on top of the
tower brings it
to its official
1,776 height,
and also
points to the
sky and
convinces
viewers of its
strength and
importance.

This tower stands

in the exact place
formally occupied
by the Twin
Towers, and it is
this aspect to it that
gives viewers a
sense of
reassurance and
renewed safety.

One World Trade Center. Photo: New York Port Authority

The eight triangular, glass shapes that make up the faade of the tower
serve to give the tower its strong geometric shape and crystalline
appearance, as well as make it resistant to the pressures of wind. It also
serves an additional rhetorical purpose by using visual consistency to
reassure the viewers of the return to cultural normalcy.