Almost forgotten in the midst of all this is the fact that the building that has emerged is one of the safest, technologically advanced, and environmentally sensitive in the world. “It has a concrete core, with very thick concrete walls,” says Eduardo del Valle, a design consultant for the Port Authority, which took control of the project in 2006. (Del Valle has a personal connection to the building—his first job as an architect was in an office on the 86th floor in the old World Trade Center’s south tower.) The three-foot concrete slabs are designed to withstand high winds and earthquakes; there’s also a rocklike anchor, referred to as the building’s “podium,” constructed to withstand other things. “The podium has some hefty blast-resistant walls at the base,” says del Valle. There are state-of-the-art fire-suppression systems, specially protected elevators (70 in total), and a separate, dedicated stairway for fire and safety personnel. “I can tell you that it may not be the tallest building in the world, but it is certainly the safest,” says del Valle.