New WTC design proposals released today (1 Viewer)

[Ted Todorov]

Skyscrapers even taller than the 110-story World Trade Center towers, and memorials ranging from twin reflecting pools to a ``Park of Heroes,'' are among the newest round of proposals for rebuilding ground zero.
...
The nine new proposals -- the second round of plans to redevelop the site where 2,800 people died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack -- take a variety of approaches to the 16-acre site in lower Manhattan.
Four of the plans proposed creating the tallest building in the world, topping Malaysia's 1,483-foot Petronas Twin Towers. One recommended a 2,100-foot skyscraper, while another called for a 1,776-foot tower topped with a spire.

For the complete AP article, click here.
As you guys probably remember, I've been advocating a new WTC, as tall or taller than the old twin towers, so I am gratified that several of the proposals are for doing just that. The original proposals were IMHO, lame and I'm glad that there seems to have been a great deal more imagination used the second time around.
Ted

 

[Jack Briggs]

For a complete slideshow presentation and information about the nine new proposals, you might want to visit the official site:
http://www.renewnyc.com
These are a hell of lot more interesting and "New York" than those milquetoast proposals from earlier this year.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I don't know, I think all of them are pretty bad. That number sign design must be a joke, you want that for the skyline? Only the first and 6th at CNN.com look like they actually took the city's asthetics into consideration. The rest are gaudy sci-fi wannabes IMO.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

love the number sign one.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Only the first and 6th at CNN.com look like they actually took the city's asthetics into consideration. The rest are gaudy sci-fi wannabes IMO.

Well 1 & 6 on CNN are exactly the ones I DON'T like. And frankly I think that New York's aesthetics are gaudy Sci-Fi.
Of course I'm not talking about the tree & brownstone lined blocks (which are nowhere near the WTC) -- but I'm sure the Art Deco of the Chrysler building and the sloping sides of at least one of the midtown skyscrapers were just as as "gaudy Sci-Fi" when they were built.
We need something that stands out -- not blends in... New York has always been about bigger, taller, more outrageous. It is a city that is exciting to visit -- not an inoffensive aesthetically pleasing for everyone town.
To give you an idea of where I am coming from, my favorite contemporary architect is I. M. Pei. His Bank of China tower in Hong Kong is exactly the kind of bold design the WTC deserves.
Here are a couple of links for those of you who haven't seen the Bank of China. Here is another view.
Considering they built Pei's famous pyramid entrance for the Louvre in Paris, I don't think one needs to worry about brilliant architecture like his clashing with its surroundings.
Ted

 

[Reni D]

Are they serious with the one that looks like a Tic Tack Toe board. That thing looks ridiculous against the NYC Skyline

 

[LarryDavenport]

They all look pretty bad, and some evoke memories of collapsed buildings. But I live in Seattle so I really don't care.

 

[Karl_O]

The proposals are bold, but I am quite uncomfortable with all of them. They all look gaudy to my tastes.

 

[Rob Lutter]

What's wrong with rebuilding and improving the original design? (really, is there anything wrong with making it look like the original WTCs?)

 

[Scott L]

I like em all except the # sign. How long did it take a professional design team to configure that??

I agree with Ted's philosophy with the new plans. I want something that will stand out from the NY skyline, and not just because of height. This will help to show the city is special, one of a kind.

 

[Charles J P]

Some of them dont even look architecturaly feasable. The rest mostly look like 5th grade art projects. :frowning:

 

[Grant B]

There is a saying we had in engineering school; electrical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets.
There is some truth in that saying that should be considered.

 

[Jack Briggs]

It should be noted the world's leading architectural firms (and consortiums of firms) and some of the most esteemed architects of our time had a hand in these proposals. Or put another way: If the WTC twin towers had never existed and you saw them among these proposals, would you like them any more than the others? I read a lot of praise for these proposals by architectural critics in this morning's Los Angeles Times.

Whatever the Port Authority ends up selecting should be larger than life and grand in scale, like New York City itself.

 

[RobertR]

Whatever the Port Authority ends up selecting should be larger than line and grand in scale, like New York City itself.

I agree. I think the design should be a fierce rebuke to the evil ones who did this thing. It should say "we're building something even more soaring, even mor inspirational".

 

[Charles J P]

Whatever the Port Authority ends up selecting should be larger than line and grand in scale, like New York City itself.

agreed.

 

[JoshF]

I think the new designs are a vast improvement over what we saw in round 1. Keep in mind the final designs will look pretty much nothing like what you see here - there is another round, a choice of teams, and then a consolidation of feedback into a final design that will be announced 9/1/03.

We have a ways to go.

Also keep in mind that people hated the original WTC design when it was first announced.

 

[Joel Mack]

They're all horrific.
If this is what the "world's leading architectural firms (and consortiums of firms) and some of the most esteemed architects of our time" have come up with, then the world of architecture is in serious trouble...
Most of them look like they're either falling down already, or would if a stiff breeze came up. U-G-L-Y.
They should re-build the original design catty-corner from the original (preserving the footprints from the first WTC) and tall enough to re-claim the world's tallest building title. IMO.

 

[Jagan Seshadri]

Octothorpalicious...

I was wondering, what right-minded insurance firm would underwrite the construction of a new building (or buildings) equally high or higher than the previous WTC main towers?

I like the defiant sentiment of building new buildings that tall, but that's akin to painting a bulls eye on oneself, and insurers will likely balk at such a reconstruction.

-JNS

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

My thoughts exactly, Jagan.

 

[Charles J P]

Somebody will underwrite it providing that there is significant publicity involved.