The World Technology Center, also known as the World Tech Center (WTC), is a visionary infrastructure project that aims to bring together and facilitate greater advances in international STEM.[1]
It is being designed by British aerospace engineer and entrepreneur Raphael Chryslar, and his devoted team of freelance volunteers and engineers. The project is still in its infacy and is yet to be formally designed in collaboration with professional architects and then pitched to authorities and news media for review and approval, as well as investor crowdfunding.
The WTC is planned to be built in Chicago, America's third-biggest city. The project features a reincarnation of the Twin Towers that once stood in New York City, and it respawns the nearly forgotten "Twin Towers II" proposal by American architect Kenneth Gardner.
The World Tech Center will be a complex of eight buildings, each for varying purposes in the STEM field. Its landmark Twin Towers will have the same external appearance as the ones in New York, but its structural design would be completely different. It will consist of an ultra-high-strength steel alloy called Eglin steel, which will form the load-bearing perimeter columns; and an extremely rugged and safe concrete core made from UHPC concrete. The floors will be made from traditional steel I-beams, each coated with an ablative, or heatproof fire-resistant material.
History and origins[]
Kenneth Gardner unveilling the Twin Towers II in 2005.
Between 2004 and 2007, architect Kenneth Gardner designed the Twin Towers II project to rebuild the World Trade Center, with high performance eglin steel and concrete, 115 floors and 450 metres high. He received strong support from many New Yorkers and further endorsement from Donald Trump.
In 2005, MSNBC did a survey where around 86% of New York residents and notably the victims families wanted new and safer twin towers. This plan was almost ready to be projected at the New York Redevelopment committee. Sadly though, Silverstein properties - the lease owner of the site, and heavily endorsed by the port authority, they wanted something different. They pressured the Port Authority to go ahead with their Freedom Tower proposal, and thus began construction in 2006. As a result, the pitching competition was cancelled - Kenneth Gardner and his team were so close in getting his vision formally pitched and accepted by the committe. Today, his vision was shelved and has been largely forgotten.
By the time Raphael Chryslar reincarnated Gardner’s vision, the original World Trade Center site became occupied with today’s structures. Chryslar considers the present New York skyline (particularly the midtown are) have been overshadowed by new supertall glass skyscrapers, to which Chryslar feels that the city is being spoiled, and that available land to source such a massive project would be impractical, especially with today’s issues of huge congestion, crime, and the high cost of living. He deems New York to be no longer the ideal city for rebuilding the Twin Towers (despite their former iconic status representing the city prior to their unfortunate demise).
Chicago is America’s third biggest city, which is comparatively more pleasent in quality of life, and has underdeveloped land opportunities. From research there is a growing demand for new science centers and educational institutions, as well as the city’s considerable but underrated heritage in science and technology. The city is also Chryslar’s personal favorite city in America. Chicago has been falling behind in jobs and economic progress and infrastructure development. The World Technology Center will provide the solution for tens of thousands of much needed new jobs in the STEM field, which will massively increase the City’s stand in competitiveness in economic development and trade on the national and international level.
Chryslar has considered New York and other cities throughout the US, though he feels that Chicago is the best choice, and so far has received positive support (albeit in a tiny outreach milestone for now) from Chicago residents though comments on his WTC vaporwave YouTube video series.
Concept and development[]
Raphael Chryslar - the project's founder, as seen in 2019
Raphael Chryslar has posulated his idea since 2009, but it wasnt until 2023 when he seriously put down his vision on paper and started working on it.
At present he is working solo on the project duing his daily life studying for a masters in aerospace engineering at a British university, but he has some freelance volunteers and engineers helping him refine his project. He is currently learning AutoCAD, CATIA and ArchiCAD and using these software to develop this project, with the addition of hand-drawn sketches and Minecraft.
Locations[]
The presently defined site of the World Technology Center (referred to as "Site B") is located in a 350 by 412 metre rectangular site that’s at the intersection of West Polk, Taylor, and Harrison streets. The site is in the downtown area about a kilometre south from the Sears Tower. This area is a run-down underdeveloped area consisting of small mechanic repair shops, two courthouses, empty parking lots, and two electrical substations.
The proposed Site A and B locations for the World Tech Center.
The World Technology Center was originally aimed to be built on the Ohio Street Beach basin, right in between just east of Lake Shore Drive, the Lake Point Condo Tower, and the James W. Jardine Water Purification Facility. This concept (now called Site A) was dropped in October 2024, citing from strong envrionmental and regulatory constraints, as well as concerns and mixed review feedback from facebook groups. Site A was deemed too costly, complex, and impractical, and therefore Site B is consisered the most realistic option.
Planned features[]
Complex map of Site B
The World Tech Center would host an impressive complex of mixed-use buildings that facilitate the many disciplines in science and technology, and a variety of general use amenities and recreational sites.
Buildings[]
The main focal point of the WTC is its landmark Twin Towers, a healing of, and reincarnation to the original World Trade Center in New York City, that was tragically destroyed during 9/11. The twins shall be 450 metres high, 110 floors, and the antenna spire rises to 1969 feet - to represent the year when mankind landed on the Moon.
Surrounding the Twin Towers are seven smaller buildings, each with a dedicated purpose of facilitating scientific and technological developments. The Chemistry and biological sciences building, and the Physics and Engineering building form the west side of the complex. Just south of tower 2 is the government agency building, which would host agency firms such as the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Chemical Safety Board, and NASA.
Gallery[]
Current progress[]
As of January 2025, the World Tech Center project is still being worked on part time by Chryslar, who has university studies and book projects to priortize. He aims to get many sophisticated renders and drawings made by the end of the year.
Engineering safety in mind[]
From the very beginning, Chryslar (the project's founder) made a list of structural engineering materials and techniques that have been subjected to fire and aircraft impacts. Though Chryslar believes that 9/11 was an inside job, he did take into account the official investigation into how the original twin towers tragically collapsed.
To ensure that the World Tech Center Twin Towers would be much safer and more resilient in the event of an aircraft impact, the steel used in the buildings would be a heavier, super-strong but cost effective alloy called Eglin Steel (normally used in military bunker buster kinetic energy impact bombs). Eglin steel has a phenomenal yield strength of 1,330 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength of 1700 MPa, compared with typical structural steel's yield strength of 248-344 MPa and ultimate tensile strength of 482 MPa. Overall, Eglin steel is roughly 3.5 times stronger than typical structural steel used in today's skyscrapers.
The World Tech Center's core would be made from 1m thick Ultra-High-Performance concrete (UHPC), which consists of a mix of regular concrete with silica, glass and polymer fibres mixed in. This gives UHPC about 16 times the compressive strength of regular concrete used in buildings.
The floor beams that connect the central core to the perimeter load-bearing wall would be regular I-Beam girders that replace the somewhat flimsy floor trusses used in the original WTC. I beams have a high second moment of area which resists bending and deflection.
To ensure fire resistance, all the steel columns in the World Tech Center would be coated with an ablative fire-resistant material (normally used on spacecraft) that expands under heat, providing insulation protection to the steel and resists thermal conduction. The steel column surface would be sanded to roughen the texture, allowing for the insulation to adhere more strongly and resist chipping off in the event of an aircraft impact.
For the first time for a civilian structure, these skyscrapers will have an air defence, radio communication and radar tracking system installed on the roof, to detect and address any potential threat. As a last resort, 1 megawatt lasers will deploy on the roof to shoot down attacking aircraft.
To conclude, the World Tech Center Twin Towers will have the ability to defend themselves (both structurally and externally) and regarded as one of the most secure civilian occupied high-rise structures ever designed.