World Trade Center Design

[Delano]

Here is the new design for the World Trade Center.

99% of the people I talked to wanted the towers rebuilt as they were. I was very disappointed that this jumble of jagged shards was chosen as a replacement. What do you think?

[RBHam]

1. I think the new design should be resembled to represent a "C"...

For the Carlyle Group - the chief architects and beneficiaries of the 9-11 "operation".

[rucky]

2. NYC needs more open, public space

make it a memorial park - not another office park.

[bkcc]

3. Living in NYC, I'm frankly just sick of hearing debate about it.

The new design isn't a work of art, but I doubt there would be complete agreement on anything regarding Ground Zero.

[KittyWampus]

4. Love It! Looks Like Crystals Pointing Upwards

to transduce the Energy streaming down from Heaven.

In a perfect world, it would remain a park.

[stellanoir]

5. it looks like. . .

some humongous radical Islamic samurai took an enormous saber and sliced and diced the old ones.

In one word. . .it resembles. . .fragmentation.

[Delano]

7. Exactly. It looks still destroyed.

Hate it - it's hideous and haphazard. :puke:

[Delano]

10. Kuala Lumpur has the Petronas Towers.

Why is it that a third-world country can build something beautiful, But we get something tha looks like a rejected movie set for Superman's hideout.

[Kaysera]

21. What's so beautiful about two more phallic symbols ?

[mot78]

23. What's so bad about Phallic smybols?

:D

[Delano]

27. No kidding. phallic buildings are great.

Besides, if you made a building like a vagina, it would just be a hole in the ground.:evilgrin:

[Kaysera]

32. It's been done ... and done again ... and done again ... and done again ..

[Borgnine]

6. If Bush wins in November...

...I half-expect a 500-foot George W. statue will be going there instead.

[stellanoir]

19. yeah with a bullhorn. . .

on his bully pulpit.

[mot78]

8. That's not what the actual design will look like

Here are some good pics:




Originally I wanted to see the Twin Towers rebuilt, but I know that won't happen anyway, so now I'm comfortable with the Freedom Tower. I don't think it's fair to link * and LIHOP/MIHOP to the Rebuilding of Ground Zero. I live outisde of NYC, and I know a lot of people who want the skyline restored with something tall. Most of the LMDC's public hearings bear that out.

[CaptainClark23]

14. freedom tower

THIS is what I do NOT like about this new project. "Freedom Tower" is a jingoistic term that just makes me sick.

The destruction of the WTC had nothing to do with Freedom. The building of new structures has nothing to do with Freedom.

I hope and expect that this blatant propaganda title will be ignored, at least here in NYC. I expect it will be called "The Tower".

We do not need a symbol of freedom in NYC, we already have one and She's standing quite nearby.

[mot78]

18. Blame Patakass

He's been trying to politicize the Rebuilding from day one. The LMDC was set up party to keep Mark Green (this was during the 2001 Mayoral election) from welding too much power in the debate and for his reelection in 2002. I really hope we get someone like Spitzer in '06.

[Finbar]

33. I tend to disagree with anything that arbitrarily tacks the word "feedom"

in front of it. I guess Freedom Fries left a sour taste in my mouth.

[CaptainClark23]

9. Nobody liked the Twin Towers either

NYC is in a constant state of change. Few of the changes are welcome at the time. But then they become part of NYC that is beloved when its turn comes to be replaced (with a few obvious criminal disasters, like the tearing down of Pennsylvania Station).

I loved the Towers. They were a part of "my" New York City. I saw no new design that I really liked at all.

I expect that those who grow up in the shadows of the new structures will feel just as strong an affinity for them.

At the end of the day, its not the buildings we really love, its the City. I'm not going to love the skyline of my home any less, regardless of what they put up.

[mot78]

13. Every new building is like that

When I was younger my favorite was the ESB. But the Twins really grew on me after 9/11, and because of the construction of buildings like the World Financial Center, the towers fit in more with the skyline on 9/11, since their surrounding buildings were boxes than spires.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

11. Meier.

They should have chosen Meier's design. Love it or hate it, you gotta admit that there's nothing in the world that looks like this (maybe for a good reason, but damn it'd be something to see)

http://www.richardmeier.com/PROJECTS/WTC.html

[Delano]

17. Impressive.

Not sure if I like it, but it looks like it would be a logistical beeyotch to build...

[Kaysera]

22. You like tic-tac-toe too ... don't you ?

[BattyDem]

38. There's a similar design called Memorial Circle

Even though I'm "pro-rebuilding", there are some new designs I like. Memorial Circle is one of them because the new buildings "frame" the outline of the towers, so the empty space looks like the the towers. It's pretty cool.



I also like Derek Turner's WTC2002 design. The name comes from the design: the top of the building would be 2000 feet high; the communications mast would make it 2002 feet high. There are three concepts of the building. The original concept is only about 1750 feet high, but concepts 2 and 3 would reach 2002 feet. It's a flash-based site, so I can't link to any pictures, but you can take a look for yourself at http://www.wtc2002.com

[markses]

12. Rebuilding as they were is nostalgic bullshit - the new design is great

One of the best things about the obviously distressing process is the decision to move forward, to rethink the space as a community space, to hook up the old roads that the old WTC cut off, and to connect BPC back into the heart of Lower Manhattan. I love the new design. i think it is fabulous, and will be a showcase for a reborn and enlivened Lower Manhattan. And while I'm not so enthusiastic about the memorial that was chosen, I think it is tasteful, and that people will grow quite fond of it.

The urge to rebuild the old WTC is a bad urge, and one that should be resisted. The old WTC design wasn't quite functional enough, and did more or less plop itself down onto the grid without much care. The Liebeskind (who also designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin, btw) design takes into account the life of the city, and for that, I'll take it over any symbolic gesture any day. Besides, you want to go work on the 107th Floor of an exactly rebuilt WTC? I wouldn't. A lot of people wouldn't. I don't even get the point of rebuilding the old WTC. What is it supposed to prove? What is it supposed to do? I'd rather have a design, like Liebeskind's, that tastefully presents the loss while it moves us forward to a new and envigorated New York.

I was there on 9/11. And I'm a life-long New Yorker. I was born after those Towers went up, so they served as a life-long marker to me. I could see them out of my Brooklyn window every day. I work in Lower Manhattan, and I was fond of the WTC. I went to The Greatest Bar on Earth often for music shows, and I always brought visiting friends there. I'm willing to bet that I have as nostalgic and loving a reaction to the old WTC as anybody on these boards. But it's time to build anew, to fix the problems that the old WTC produced as well as to remember it. Building them the same way is ridiculous, useless, and vain gesture of impotence.

[mot78]

16. A lot of the urban groups post-9/11 seem to have their own agendas

groups like New York New Visions and The Civic Alliance are more urban utopians than anything else. The superblock traffic-wise didn't bother me, but the plaza was pretty windswept.

[markses]

26. Problem being?

That's how things get hashed out, seems to me. A bunch of groups with their own agendas get together and something results from it. Why, is there some transcendent "New York City" agenda that nobody has told me about for the past 29 years?

[0rganism]

15. NYC needs the office space, not sure if I like the design or not tho

I agree with the previous post who said it looks "fragmented" -- and what is that tall antenna thing? Is it a big exacto knife?

If I were the architect, I'd try for something a bit more connected and rounded, with a large open atrium in the middle. Could be overhung by the upper floors of the surrounding buildings. Probably shouldn't be much taller than the surrounding buildings, tho.

[Liberal Veteran]

20. Let's just build the world's largest penis and be done with it.

:)

[redqueen]

24. I want the towers back

I like the big tower, but I wish it could just be like it was.

[Delano]

25. I wonder if the opinions at freakrepublic would mirror ours...

or maybe they would prefer something like this:

And it would blare "Proud to be an American" from loudspeakers 24/7.

[mot78]

28. I know most of them support Rebuilding the Towers

I think more Liberals tend to want a park there or militantly oppose tall buildings there, while Freepers are the opposite. I do note that it's just a generalization since I'm for Rebuilding and I'm a Liberal, and there are Freepers who oppose Rebuilding. My only real evidance for that though is the NY Times and NY Post editorials on the issue.

[Liberal Veteran]

29. Can't have that....looks too much like Janet Jackson's nipple.

LOL

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

43. ...?

What... is THAT?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

30. Danile Liebesking used to teach at my college...

...so I appreciate the design.

[regnaD kciN]

34. I liked Liebskind's original design...

...with the top floors being a greenhouse of hanging gardens. Unfortunately, TPTB forced a "revision" that replaces them with "wind turbines" to power the building. In other words, instead of gardens, we'll get a stack of giant industrial exhaust fans in a skeleton framework. Some "improvement."

:puke:

[MrSlayer]

31. I want them back the same way.

Everytime I go to New York I miss the towers. I would like to see them back as they were.

[Kahuna]

35. I want twins. I used to see them from my parking lot....

:cry:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

36. They should be rebuilt to look exactly as they did, except...

...one floor higher, to make a statement.

I still get a lump in the throat when I watch a pre-2001 movie depicting NYC.

Call me callous, inhuman or whatever. I know 3000 people died horribly that day, and I DO feel a lot for them and their families, as I do for other victims of catastrophes.

But, independently of that, I feel for the BUILDINGS themselves too! Is that silly or what?

[BattyDem]

37. That's exactly what I want ...

Make all the necessary modifications on the inside for safety and security, but build them again ... each tower one story higher.

JCCyC, I know exactly how you feel about the buildings. I see that skyline every day and I can't bring myself to look at the southern tip of the island anymore. It's so empty. I used to feel guilty about that because 3000 people died there, but I've come to realize that even though most of us didn't lose someone that day, we did lose something.

I had been to the WTC many times; I shopped and dined and sat in the Plaza by the golden sphere; I even stayed in the hotel a couple of times. It was a part of my life and I want it back. Europe rebuilt after WWII, the Pentagon was rebuilt ... I don't understand why rebuilding the towers would be disrespectful. I think it would be a wonderful way to honor those who died - rising from the ashes, bigger and better. Isn't that what America is supposed to be about? Hope, determination and courage - that's how we've survived during our dark times. Of course, there should be a memorial, but that memorial should be the centerpiece of a rebirth, not the cornerstone of a momument born of a defeated spirit.

When the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (across the street from the Twin Towers) reopened in September 2002, it was such a great feeling. I remember seeing people on the news saying how wonderful it was to have it back to "normal" and how they felt comforted by the fact that we had taken another step closer to putting things back together. It was a big step in the healing process and that's why I think the towers should be rebuilt. I'm afraid that if we build something that's not as high, not as grand and not as awe-inspiring as those towers, we're always going to feel like we gave into terror and fear ... we're always going to feel like we were defeated.

JMHO


NOTE: For those of you who don't know, the Winter Garden is a 45,000-square foot, glass and marble public atrium. There are indoor palm trees and lots of shops and restaurants, and free art and cultural events are presented all year round. It's a beautiful place! If you're interested, you can take a virtual tour at http://360vr.com/wfc/

[Chovexani]

40. The Winter Garden was my old stomping grounds

If you ever saw a bunch of goth kids walking around down there on summer nights it was probably my friends and I. We used to hang out there like every night before or after going to the Bank. It's beautiful during the day but it was unearthly at night--but I guess that's just the nocturnal romantic in me. :)

We went after it reopened to the public after 9/11 and it just isn't the same. Sure, it was comforting to be in a familiar place again. But there was an unfriendly air about it. I can't really describe it. We haven't really been there since (especially since they don't really take too kindly to black-clad weirdoes loitering there at ungodly hours of night anymore).

I totally understand the attachment to the WTC buildings themselves. Being an 80s child, they've always been there. I spent a big chunk of my life going to school in Downtown Brooklyn and some of my fondest memories are of rollerblading on the Promenade after school and just taking in that gorgeous view. I still feel pangs of sadness when I look at that empty skyline. I liken the feeling to a Japanese kid looking out the window one day and Mount Fuji suddenly not being there. That first ride on the D train right after 9/11 was haunting--everyone in the car was utterly silent when we emerged on the Manhattan Bridge and the still-smoking ruins came into view. A couple of people cried--and I don't mean the old Chinese ladies with their red shopping bags, I mean the big goombas with checkered shirts, Yankee caps and copies of the Post folded under their arms. Dead silence puncuated by tears.

I don't want to play the "only people who live here can understand" card, but as a native New Yorker I'm sorta weary of the whole debate. To me it's not even UP for debate. We gotta put something there. I'm not crazy about the design that was chosen (I adored the double helix-looking one), but I agree with the person upthread who said change is a good thing and we need to rebuild it, if for nothing else but to give a new generation of New Yorkers something to love like people my age got attached to the Twin Towers. We need *something* there, and with all due respect to the "leave the site alone" crowd, that is a bustling, VITAL area of the city, it's teeming with life and that is far more a fitting memorial IMO than some damn park.

"The Freedom Tower", though? Meh. They'd better serve free crackers at the place to go with that cheese.

--C

[Ilsa]

39. They should wait and build it on Shrub's grave after he's gone. n/t

[name not needed]

41. That was the plan from the beginning.

[Chovexani]

42. Here's an idea I've had for a while.

A giant ziggurat of glass and steel, with a big-ass statue of Kali on top. That can shoot laser beams out of her eyes. Just in case. :evilgrin:

--C