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Well, I love Gaudi, but this is...NOT GOOD.

And definitely not New York.

Why is it so hard to come up with a design with the right "look" for the city?

I want to lock 1000 architects in one room and make them listen to "Rhapsody in Blue" at full volume until one of them GETS it.

"I want to lock 1000 architects in one room and make them listen to "Rhapsody in Blue" at full volume until one of them GETS it."

Hehehe! I LIKE it! I like it a lot!

Why is it so hard to come up with a design with the right "look" for the city?

Well, the Twin Towers were the wrong look for the city, too. Stuck out like sore thumbs. But after more than 20 years, their absence leaves a hole in the skyline. The rigid lines and shiny steel of the Twin Towers belonged in Midtown above 42nd St.

If I was an architect, I'd stop trying to be so darn creative and do an old time Art Deco skyscraper. Would fit in fine with the Woolworth building and the rest of downtown.

I think the Gaudi design is not appropriate for today's contemporary style. The towers should be in today's style , just like Raymond Chai's proposal of GATEWAY LANTERN concept. You can view WWW.CHAI.TV for many of the beautiful design sketches, and you can compare it with Gaudi's. See what you think of it. b>CHAI VISION
CHAI vision of the World Trade Centre Lower Manhattan was inspired from his original oil painting of a floating "giant lantern" in the sky. This idea was further developed into a 200 to 300+ storey height, 1120 metres or 3673 feet twin towers (or can be reduced to any height but not lower than existing height) with distinctive contemporary towers which will dominate and embrace the landscape of the Lower Manhattan city skyline.

It will be recognised in the world as the tallest, minimalist sculpture and monumental landmark, the Gateway Lantern , with a spiritual nature and ceremonial light that represent a living symbol of humanity from man-kind dedicated to world peace.

It represents the city of light, light of hope, light of future growth and a memorial sacred light that enlighten togetherness, love, harmony, strength, power, success and stability. The Lantern represents a powerful symbol of spiritual light that dispels all the evil spirit on earth.

GATEWAY LANTERN
The goldern white lantern, interlocking between the jointed towers, is a fully enclosed and climatically controlled open air space with millions of starry lights floating in the air. It is recognised as the tallest Lantern Towers in the world.

The elevated Lantern becomes an extension of an open outdoor living and working space in the sky. It provides a compelling experience in virtual cyber outdoor living / working space integrated with landscaped trees and bridges, balconies and break-up meeting areas within the office towers.

The Lantern Towers become the first combined towers in the world that major tenants will be able to lease the whole floor level "across" the towers which are linked with an enclosed outdoor working space to encourage outdoor staff interactions within different departments.

The "floating air-space" will generate a new concept of "outdoor lifestyle" work environment incorporated with the principle of an energy efficient siting and planning of an interior architecture within the towers. This concept provides a new meaning of office lifestyle environment with exploration of an "electronic cyber air space" to experience the "heaven dream-alike" interior architecture of the new millenium.

The Lantern Towers will also be incorporated with cabled bracing structure capable of strengthening and resistance against the high wind loading between the towers. This concept of "outdoor lifestyle" Lantern Towers will allow all occupants to capture and enjoy enormous all-round window views to the city of Manhattan.

CONCEPT PLAN
The concept of the ground level twin towers is a 25 to 50+ storey height transparent "open gateway" towers that celebrate and reinforce the entry of the Lower Manhattan city from the main Hudson River waterfront harbour.

The new concept masterplan designed by CHAI.TV has been re-configured in master planing, building scale, form and height after studying the six concept plans developed by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation(LMDC).

The concept of the World Memorial Square is derived from the traditional organic growth of city street patterns with coeherent flow of sequential urban space "interlocking and inter-connecting" of street and square indicated in the master plan. The concept can be incorporated with the principle goals and objectives set down by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC).

WORLD MEMORIAL SQUARE
The World Memorial Square is the world's biggest living memorial place on earth. The dynamic, contemporary urban square is defined by the mixture of irregularly controlled stepped (set-back) low rise (3 to 5 storey) and medium rise (6 to12 storey) buildings as a backdrop. The end of the square is terminated with a major focal point of the twin towers which represents a gateway entry to Lower Manhattan city.

The gateway provides a strong visual connection to other open space which leads to the Transit Centre. Heavy and soft landscape with water, trees and greeneries will bring back with nature and generate a new life to the city growth.

The heart, diversity and vibrancy nature of the World Memorial Square consists of spiritual, memorial place and cultural ceremonial place, mixture of medium and high rise commercial towers, street level retail precints and underground shopping centre, residential towers and townhouses, cultural centres such as opera house and theatre halls and recreation facilities. All these mix use development will bring back a city living place with a sense of community lifestyle living, a place for national gatherings, celebrations and aspirations.

WORLD MEMORIAL FOOTPRINTS
The World Memorial Footprints become a burial ground and a historical site. The site will be retained and preserved with the footprints of the destroyed Twin Towers which is installed with an enclosed indoor transparent glass wall.

The memorial footprints consist of nearly 2800 memorial blade stonewalls with an enclosed 12-storey height contemporary memorial space, reminiscence of a cathedral church with high ceiling space and volume. Each memorial blade stonewall will be engraved with the name and identity of each victim in order to honor those who died.

The floating, gaint transparent crystal-coloured glass roof will define the original shape of the tower's footprints which can be clearly seen from a distance on the street level. The translucent crystal glass roofs can be light-up at night with a crystal diamond effect. It also includes the "memorial tower laser light" lit up to the original height and shape of the destroyed twin towers

The pond and water landscape around the footprints are incorporated with the falling water from the top of the gaint blade walls along the grand promenade of the tower footprints to give a youthful energy. The red colour is choosen in the series of the supporting blade columns. It is in the Chinese belief that red colour will keep away and destroy bad spirits and evil.

WORLD MEMORIAL RING
The World Memorial Ring consists of an abstract metal sculpture of "alive" assemblages. The 14 metre (46 feet) height monumental sculpture is constructed with fragments of the burnt and twisted steel materials emerged from the destroyed Twin Towers.

The living memorial sculpture symbolises human spirits which gives a new life and meaning, a living symbol of survival, new hope and world peace. It is the place to pay respects to the lost souls of the innocent victims of the WTC.

Why is it so hard to come up with a design with the right "look" for the city?

They just need something that looks right in the same city with the Empire State Building.