The new World Trade Center in New York currently under construction promises to be the most environmentally advanced structure ever built on such a scale.

The WTC complex is striving for LEED Gold Certification—the second highest attainable below Platinum—requiring a Net Zero CO2 footprint for its electrical consumption and a level of energy consumption 20 percent below New York State's energy code requirements.

In a project of this size, a Gold certification would be "a first of its kind," according to Eduardo Del Valle, Director of Design Management at 1 World Trade Center, who has incorporated hydrogen fuel cells and rows of sunny windows into the skyscraper's design.

Harvesting of rain water, controlled ventilation, wastewater recycling and use of recycled material for interior spaces are a few of the building's many green strategies.

(READ the full story from Gizmodo at Popular Science)