World Technology Center

09/06/2026

Narrated by Josh Porter, our official showcase video describes in brief detail the World Technology Center, a proposed mega-project in Chicago conceived as a vertical national laboratory campus for science and technology, education and public inspiration. It would serve as the United States’ national instrument for STEM discovery, education, and technological prosperity. Its architectural significance are Twin Towers that carry forward the iconic silhouette of the legacy, which were considered to be one of America’s most emblematic skyscrapers in the second-half of the 20th Century.

Not a conventional real-estate development project, the World Tech Center would be a mixed-use civic and scientific undertaking conceived for the mutual benefit of the public and private sectors alike — a place where universities, established companies, start-ups, national laboratories, and government authorities could work side by side; where dedicated workshop space brings regulators and researchers into daily contact; and where success is measured in scientific capability, education, employment, and inspiration rather than rentable square footage. Equipped with state-of-the-art laboratory, residential, educational and workspace facilities in a wide variety of disciplines, it would be a major hub to facilitate all of the above in a vastly efficient environment.

Its mission answers four national needs: the decline in long-horizon civic ambition, the fragmentation of the American STEM ecosystem, the over-concentration of innovation in a handful of coastal regions, and the estrangement of the public from the science that shapes its future.

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A Legacy Carried Forward

No aspect of the project has been weighed more carefully than the ethics of restoring a form so bound up with national sorrow. The proposal honors both convictions that emerged after September 11, 2001: the longing of many — including many bereaved families — to see the towers rise again, and the equally sincere conviction that the ground where they stood must remain a place of rest.

By raising the silhouette anew in a different city, the project keeps faith with both: the hallowed footprints at Ground Zero remain undisturbed as the memorial they have rightly become, while the towers' spirit is given a new and constructive life as a spiritual successor devoted to discovery.

This initiative from its roots have gathered roughly ten thousand signatures of support, including from some family members of 9/11 victims, and it carries forward Minoru Yamasaki's founding conviction that such a structure should stand as a living symbol of peace, cooperation, and human dignity.

Technology is defined as "the application of scientific knowledge to solve problems."

It deals with the creating and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.

Narrated by Josh Porter, our official showcase video describes in b...

08/31/2026

📘IT'S FINALLY HERE 📖

After many weeks of cross-checking, review and re-edit, today we are pleased to announce that our first edition of our contextual report: America's Twin Towers: History, Legacy, and the Case for Renewal — the full report behind our initiative - has been published on our website.

Read here:https://www.worldtechcenter.org/_files/ugd/5fde37_69bb9e99392240fca71dfb5f730237ed.pdf

The report underscores the roots behind our initiative: the story of the original Twin Towers and the people who built them, the long civic campaign to see them rise again, and our case for why the silhouette should rise again — this time devoted to science and technology.

Our documentary and press kit will follow (tentatively) on or around September 7th-14th.

07/29/2026

Contextual Report Update – Final Review Underway

A message from our founder Raphael Chryslar

"Over the past few weeks we've made significant progress on the World Technology Center's contextual report and accompanying media materials. Alongside this work, we've also released recent YouTube videos on July 4th and 20th to commemorate the America250 birthday and Apollo 11 anniversary, respectively.

Following a substantial round of revisions, the report has now entered its final review stage.

To ensure the highest possible quality and accuracy, co-authors have requested a little additional time to review the latest edits before publication. As a result, our release schedule has shifted slightly into the first weeks of August.

While this means a second delay, we're committed to releasing work that has been carefully reviewed and meets the high standards we set for ourselves. I believe it's worth taking the extra time to ensure every section is as accurate, clear, and professional as possible. As this initiative is continuous and evolving (with further publications, contributions and updates expected our team grows in the coming months and years), our report shall be released as a first edition in August 2026.

Thank you all for your continued patience and support throughout this unique journey. On behalf of our team we look forward to making our official publications in the first weeks of the month."

Read on our website:

A message from our founder "Over the past few weeks we've made significant progress on the World Technology Center's contextual report and accompanying media materials. Alongside this work, we've also released recent YouTube videos on July 4th and 20th to commemorate the America250 birthday and Apol...

07/21/2026

“𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨.
𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣; 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.” - 𝙉𝙚𝙞𝙡 𝘼. 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜

On July 20th 1969, humans first landed on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. To symbolize that historic achievement, the Science South Tower's spire of the World Technology Center will rise to 1,969 feet (600.15 m).

The building complements its twin as the campus' hub for general scientific research, cleanroom laboratories, and art and design workshops. The tower will honor John F. Kennedy, whose commitment to tasking the nation of achieving a crewed lunar landing by the end of the 1960s — and that charge be the United States chooses to do such things "not because they are easy, but because they are hard". This remains the defining modern statement of public scientific ambition. As a nexus for discovery and innovation, the building would provide lecture and meeting rooms for teaching and networking, alongside general sciences laboratories, cleanrooms, and offices for prestigious national and international institutions. Candidate tenants identified during concept development include the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Purdue University, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).

From this spire the largest waving flag of the United States would be flown - raised tall as a standing symbol of American leadership in exploration and discovery and lowered to half-mast on days of national observance and mourning. The second is the Wonders of the World restaurant, a large dining venue on the 107th floor conceived as a reincarnation of Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the original World Trade Center. In combination, the two towers express the project's central metaphor: science and technology as equal partners, standing side by side.

https://youtu.be/tdGrny2riNU?is=bWX3qXm_zeJF7uIw

On this day in 1969, humans first landed on the Moon during the Apo...

07/05/2026

Happy 250th, America! 🇺🇸
Our introductory showcase video about our vision has been published.

Official short introductory video of the proposed World Technology ...

07/01/2026

Founder and project lead Raphael J. Chryslar has a brief but important update regarding our upcoming media publications.

"I am happy to announce that our comprehensive report "America's Twin Towers: History, Legacy and the Case for Renewal" has been completed in its written form and is now in the final cross-review and sign-off with co-authors (including Ken Gardner) and our wider network. As mentioned previously, it is a 100+ page document that contains extensive literature review, technical work, and various discussions to a high standard. Supplemental material within includes renders and diagrams.

On behalf of our team I have made an important decision. In my statement on Fox 32 News back in May, I mentioned to release the materials on July 1st, which was aimed to join the observations of America 250 (the semi-quincentennial). However, since my interview there have been several delays that were not anticipated. Rather than rushing the release during a crowded holiday week, we are prioritizing accuracy, quality, and a professional standard worthy of the scale of the proposal.

On the 4th of July, we will publish an official short video showcase on our YouTube channel: featuring a first look at the towers, the campus, and the vision behind them. Consider it the opening note.

The full report and press kit will follow in mid-July, in the days around the Apollo 11 anniversaries. For a project rooted in engineering, ambition, and the long arc of human achievement, I feel that there is no more fitting window to present it in full.

We are not in a hurry. We are doing this right.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the project so far. Your patience and support are greatly appreciated."

— Raphael Chryslar

Read on our blog:

Founder and project lead Raphael J. Chryslar has a brief but important update regarding our upcoming media publications.I am happy to announce that our comprehensive report "America's Twin Towers: History, Legacy and the Case for Renewal" has been completed in its written form and is now in the fina...

06/21/2026

As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, our team would like to share an important update regarding the release schedule for our upcoming media publications about the World Tech Center vision.

Over the past seven weeks, we have been working intensively to complete three major media materials: our contextual report, our full-release press kit, and our documentary film. They represent a significant milestone for the project, bringing together architectural design, historical context, economic reasoning, public communication, and the broader vision behind the initiative.

Our original aim was to publish all three materials on July 1st, following the date mentioned during our founder’s recent appearance on Fox 32 News. However, after careful review of the remaining work, we have made the considered decision to delay the release of the documentary until August 2026.

This tough decision has not been made lightly. The documentary is a substantial 1-hour long production that summarizes our 80+ page report into no more than 11,000 words, narrated by our collaborator Haru Morioka, with the addition of Ken Gardner appearing in a short segment. Alongside this, our team has also been finalizing detailed SketchUp concept models, preparing high-quality visual renders, proofreading the report, and coordinating supporting contributions from our collaborators around their other life commitments. Given the time-consuming nature of CAD modelling, rendering, narration, and editing, we believe it is important that the documentary is completed to the high standard the project deserves.

Our revised publication schedule is as follows:

*July 1st — Contextual Report Release
*July 3rd — Full Release Press Kit and Short Introductory Video
*August 2026 — Documentary Release

Although this adjustment changes our original aimed release timeline, it allows us to present each publication more clearly and effectively. For high quality purposes which we strive for, we believe a phased release will give the report, press kit, and documentary the individual attention they deserve.

We are very grateful for the patience, encouragement, and interest shown by everyone who has followed our initiative so far. This project continues to grow through careful design work, public dialogue, historical reflection, and long-term strategic planning.

Further updates will be shared through our website and official social media pages.

Thank you for your continued support.

Read more:

As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, our team would like to share an important update regarding the release schedule for our upcoming media publications about the World Tech Center vision.Over the past seven weeks, we have been working intensively to complete three major media materials: our c...

05/18/2026

On May 11th 2026 (at 2:35 pm CDT), Raphael Chryslar, our founder and project leader, gave a televised interview with Fox 32 Chicago hosted by Anita Blanton. We congratulate his successful effort, considering that this is his first-ever live news presentation and such a challenge is particularly a high-anxiety moment for someone who is autistic. You can watch the full interview here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqC6pCwZuMY

In the days since, we have seen continued growth of our network. Darcellus Wrice (a risk management and capital oversight professional based in Chicago) joined our initiative and shared useful advice for Phases 3 and 4 in our strategy. Alongside a recommendation from our collaborator Ken Gardner, we have officially adopted the implantation of cost-effective residential space in both twin towers, particuarly the upper thirds of the buildings (floors 74-100), with STEM labs and facilities occupying the rest of the buildings. This would augment the functional diversity in our mixed-use campus.

As we advance towards our media publications on July 1st, we will also be conducting (CFD) simulations on the tower's effects on the surrounding city, and refined (FEA) on the structural elements.