The new tower will be designed by David Childs. Daniel Libeskind, who proposed the original tower and presented the original design, and who was collaborating on the most recent version of the Freedom Tower, doesn't appear to have much influence over the new plans.
This is potentially a good thing - Libeskind's plan wasn't workable and Childs has tremendous experience building skyscrapers in New York City. Problem is, his designs aren't particularly imaginative, so the reworking of the tower will be interesting.
Here's a suggestion - call in Norman Foster and have him rework the office space into a twin towers concept. It would enable construction of all the various multiple use spaces, plus provide the needed and anticipated office space to make the project work. Oh, and it would harken back to the original twin towers.
UPDATE 12:00PM EDT 4/5/2005:
Has Steve Cuozzo been reading my blogs for the last few weeks?
But here's the guess that I'll put my money on:
It was a way for all parties to dump a design that simply could not be built.
The original Freedom Tower was what Philip Nobel's book "Sixteen Acres" called a "mongrel" project — principally designed by Childs and structural engineer Guy Nordenson, but forced to include Libeskind's off-center antenna spire.
The decisive "architect" was Pataki, who had the final cut. Childs wanted a 2,000-foot structure; the governor chopped that to 1,500 feet, and then stuck Libeskind's spire atop it to reach 1,776 feet.
That created consequences only recently understood. The flimsy birdcage structure couldn't support the weight of the off-center spire. And, we're told, the birdcage, significantly shortened by Pataki, no longer provided sufficient space between the windmills to ensure their structural integrity.
The NYPD, in other words, saved all hands from having to acknowledge what no one dared say: that George E. Pataki's grand skyline-reclamation was always an impossible dream.
2 comments:
I was taking the N back from Astoria to the Village this morning at about 6am this morning when I saw this Post headline--my jaw literally dropped in sheer disbelief.
Now, I come from WV, home of Sen. Robert Byrd's many political boondoggles...but this is flat-out ridiculous.
If *anything* gets built on that site, I'll frankly be amazed.
Thanks for shedding light on this story.
There's already a temporary PATH station at the site, and that has federal funding attached to rebuilding a permanent station. Use it or lose it.
Same with rebuilding some of the other spaces downtown.
Some times it looks like it would take someone with Robert Moses' power and motivation to get something built in NYC, especially at a place like the WTC. One has to wonder whether Rudy would have let things degenerate the way they have or would he have stepped in and pushed this project along.
None of the current crop of politicos has what it takes. And that's a shame.
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