World Trade Center...reborn? VERY cool design proposal (1 Viewer)

[Matt Krapf]

I saw this yesterday, and spent over an hour going through it. It's not just a one-off concept sketch.
There are evidently about a dozen competeing firms and plans for a new WTC. This is a good first one to go public.
http://www.wtc2002.com/start.lasso
There's also a spot to vote "yes or no".
I liked it. Wouldn't say it should absolutely be the way to go, but I like the way it's been thought out. I hope other proposals come public soon.

 

[Dennis Reno]

Looks wild, quite futuristic! I love the fact that it would be the tallest building in the world. Kind of a "you can hurt us, but you will never defeat us" message.

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Not terribly subtle, is it? It has a certain anti-aircraft-fortress-steel-reinforced look that's a little over the top.
They're obviously having a little fun with people. I can't decide which aspect was creepier--the Twin Peaks music playing in the background, or the bizarre "security" plan:

Our Cyber City will have a State of the Art External Security System which at this stage evolves around "Sound Waves" which has the capacity at a specific frequency to repel flying objects up to a five mile circumference. We will seek support from the political system to bring about an edict that a "Five Mile No Fly Zone" area is put into effect around the island of Manhattan.

Repel flying objects, huh?

 

[Aaron Copeland]

I like it. Very ambitious.

Aaron

 

[Jay H]

Interesting. All those CGI buildings though remind me of SimCity!
Jay

 

[Ben Motley]

lol, I love the reinforced look! I don't like the teepee on top though, and I have a knee-jerk reaction to the cylinders. I would want for the squares to return. :frowning:

...two, seven story hydroponically landscaped galleries unify the massive aerial structures at the 45th and 75th levels.

Cool!
I like it.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

Count me in.

 

[Aaron Copeland]

Repel flying objects, huh?

LOL...I didn't bother reading the safety material, just mostly looked at the pictures.

Aaron

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Will they be able to fill it? Last I heard they weren't sure they should rebuild due to the fact they would have trouble getting tennants. They feared people might be afraid to move into another possible terrorist target.

 

[Michael*K]

Weak. Looks like the architect borrowed liberally from the design of Renaissance Center in Detroit. Let's see some originality for such a highly visible project.
I also find it humorous that for such a highly visible project, the site designer only lists press clippings from the Bahamas and Miami. Not a sniff of interest from the city where it would be built.

 

[MikeM]

I really like the design, but that Twin Peaks music is just plain creepy.

 

[Danny R]

Looks like the architect borrowed liberally from the design of Renaissance Center in Detroit.

I don't see that myself. The Detroit building looks totally unoriginal if you ask me. The central tower looks exactly like the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta. Other than the fact that both have 5 buildings, I don't see any simularities.

I like the new design. I hope they go through with it.

 

[Justin Lane]

Very interesting design. Probably more fantasy then reality, but you never know.
If anyone is interested in a good read about the original WTC and the history involved in getting them built, I recommend Divded We Stand by Eric Darden.
Here's a link to it at Amazon where it can be had for about 10 bucks. Divded We Stand @ Amazon
The book does not include information regarding 9-11, but is filled with some great facts regarding the area around the WTC and how it used to be before they were built.
J

 

[Aurel Savin]

I like it ... seems well thought out.

But I don't like the cyclindrical shape of the towers. Manhattan is all square. This building has a very Asian type of architectural feel to it.

But the idea is pretty awesome ... just hope people will move in.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Will they be able to fill it? Last I heard they weren't sure they should rebuild due to the fact they would have trouble getting tenants. They feared people might be afraid to move into another possible terrorist target.

They were afraid the original WTC wouldn't be filled either -- and it most certainly was. In the decade before its demise it was an absolute cash cow for the Port Authority. Fearing that tenants can't be found is VERY short term thinking. This building will not be built to last 5 years. Even in the short term, an offer of low, low rents on 5/10 year leases will bring tons of tenants, and facilitate start-up businesses that couldn't afford to start/expand otherwise. The only people truly against it are other landlords who wish to keep NYC rents artificially high.

So far as it being a terrorist target, face it all of New York (and D.C.) is a terrorist target. We haven't abandoned the Empire State Building yet. Last I checked people aren't fleeing the city -- if they were I could afford to buy a nice place...

The "it's been hit once, it's too dangerous to rebuild mentality" would have left most of Europe and Japan in ruins after WWII.

We should rebuild and make it even higher and more fabulous than before.

So far as I can tell though, this plan is pure fantasy. They have already hired an architectural firm to do the design, and it ain't these guys.

Ted

 

[Ross Williams]

Looks okay. Maybe a little too "futuristic" for New York, it clashes with the classic feel of the rest of the city. I doubt it will pass. But I do like some of the ideas, like the biosphere with a tree planted for every person that died.

 

[Michael*K]

The Detroit building looks totally unoriginal if you ask me.The central tower looks exactly like the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta.

Well perhaps you didn't know Danny that Renaissance Center and Peachtree Plaza were designed by the same architect. Regardless, the comment wasn't meant to heap praise on the Detroit building. The point was that a prominent project like the WTC replacement shouldn't borrow heavily from someone else's work. Turner's design is unoriginal and uninteresting. Maybe his copycat style would be better served in a city like Las Vegas. I have faith that the powers-that-be in NYC would never let such a lame project get off the ground.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Well, I liked it. Even liked the music.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Absolutely f**king hideous. Even uglier than the original ones. I personally hope they don't rebuild.

 

[Shawn C]

That sorta reminds me of the Petronas Towers but with extra towers.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/...as_towers.html