One World Trade Center: Five amazing facts as skyscraper turns seven

This article is part of Yahoo's 'On This Day' series

Locals knew it as the ‘Freedom Tower’, and the building of the One World Trade Center was a symbol of defiance against the terrorists who had killed thousands on 9/11.

The tower, built on the site of the original World Trade Centre, rose from a square which had been a tightly secured building site since the attacks.

The One World Trade Center, unveiled on this day in 2014, is the tallest building in America and the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

As the New York skyscraper turns seven years old, here are five facts you may not know about the building.

You can reach the top floor in a minute

The Sky Pod elevators at the One World Trade Center rockets 104 storeys upwards in just 60 seconds.

It’s not the fastest in the world, but it’s 25% faster than the elevators in the Twin Towers.

The elevators are powered by eight two-ton electric motors and a pulley system, with 454,000kg of counterweights.

The height is significant

The One World Trade Center stands at 1,776 feet, which is a reference to the year of America’s Declaration of Independence.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, local people referred to it as the ‘Freedom Tower’, but since it opened in 2014, it’s been known as One World Trade Center.

The height includes the spire (without it, the One World Trade Center is just 1,368 feet, which has led some to question whether it really is the highest building in the United States).

It has its own smell

When you visit the viewing observatory on the 101st floor, it has its own distinctive smell - and it’s not natural.

Instead, a distinctive smell of wood and citrus, created by cent designers IFF, billows through the space.

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Not everyone is a fan, but the smell has its own name: ‘One World’.

Keith Douglas, managing director of the observatory, told the New York Times, “We didn’t want it to be something that was distracting or overwhelming. We wanted the exact polar opposite.”

It’s not on the site of the original building

The new tower was not built exactly on the same spot as the original World Trade Centre.

Instead, rows of trees surround pools built in the ‘footprint’ of the two original towers, a memorial which is called ‘Reflecting Absence.’

The entrance to the new tower is 230 feet northwest of the centre of the pool on the site of the North Tower.

It’s one of the greenest buildings in the world

The building is one of the most environmentally friendly on the planet, with around 75% of the building materials recycled from construction sites.

Up to 70% of the power in the building comes from green renewable energy, and the building is designed to address energy savings and water use.

In September 2016, One World Trade Center became the tallest building in the Western hemisphere to be awarded a gold certification from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Watch: Meghan and Harry visit One World Trade Center