Officials have released new renderings of 1 World Trade Center that show recent design changes to the building formerly known as the Freedom Tower.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released the images Tuesday. They show changes to the building's base and spire.

Previously the spire was to have been sheathed in a protective covering. The new images show a spire exposed directly to the elements. Plans still call for the spire to rise to a symbolic 1,776 feet.

The images display a new design for the first 20 stories.

Original plans called for those stories to be angled outward. Now the base will be broader.

Flat, stainless steel panels also are new design elements for the outside of the structure.
 

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