Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg unveiled yesterday the design for the World Trade Center Cultural Center, to be built at the northeast corner of Fulton and Greenwich streets.

The building, which will house the Visitors Center, the International Freedom Center, and the Drawing Center, will have five stories, each of them twice the standard height. Ramps will wrap around the building to lead visitors into the different centers and galleries.

“The completion of the schematic design for the Cultural Center is another milestone in the rebirth of Lower Manhattan,” the recently tapped head of the rebuilding process, John Cahill, secretary to the governor, said.

Mr. Bloomberg called the design an “important step” in the process of rebuilding at ground zero. “It will be a fitting companion to the marvelous new World Trade Center Transportation Hub that Santiago Calatrava has designed,” the mayor said. Groundbreaking on the transit hub is scheduled for this summer.

The release of the Cultural Center’s design follows the withdrawal last week of the Freedom Tower design, which is being reworked to address security concerns raised by the New York Police Department. The redesign of the Freedom Tower is to be released next month.

The Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta, best known for its design of the Alexandria Library in Egypt, has raised the Cultural Center above the ground so that visitors have access to the World Trade Center Memorial and a view of the Memorial Plaza. The Drawing Center, the only not-for-profit institution in America that focuses solely on the exhibition of drawings, will occupy the first three floors at the north end of the building. The International Freedom Center, which will focus on the concept of freedom through lectures and exhibits, occupies the remainder of the space. It will have auditoriums, theaters, and a cafe. The Visitors Center, which will be an orientation area for visitors to the World Trade Center site, will be at street level.

Representatives from the International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center, staff from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the city Department of Cultural Affairs, and others selected Snohetta from among 34 competitors.

In a related development, the chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, Charles Gargano, has tapped the chief of public and government affairs for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Michael Petralia, to head up the $1.4 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits center. Formerly an aide to Senator D’Amato, Mr. Petralia has helped select a master plan for the World Trade Center site and serve as a senior vice president for public and government affairs for the New York Power Authority.

The expansion of the convention center will increase the exhibit space to 1.1 million square feet from 760,000 square feet. The additional capacity is projected to add $53 million in annual tax revenue to the $97 million the Javits center already generates, and will create 10,830 permanent jobs, according to Mr. Gargano.

“Expanding the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center will provide New York City with the space it needs to compete for hundreds of additional events and will bring millions of dollars in economic activity that the city and state now lose to other cities,” Mr. Gargano said.