Final Design Chosen for WTC site

AP | 2/27/03 | Sara Kugler

[Aquinasfan]

This story was on the AOL opening page and I couldn't find a link. Hopefully someone else can post pictures.

If this were another site, I'd be happy about the design. I'm sick of rectangular buildings. But the angled buildings look like shards of broken glass, which does not seem appropriate.

[ch.man]

Libeskind, who is based in Berlin

The thought of a german architect winning the design contest is quite interesting... especially theses days!

[BlessedBeGod]

World's Tallest Spire Chosen for WTC Site

[GOP_Proud]

Blech!

[jpthomas]

Rest easy. He's not German. I saw a short blurb on him on TV recently. He's a Polish immigrant to the US who survived the holocaust and came this country as a young boy. I'm not sure why he works out of Berlin (perhaps because of the construction opportunities there after the fall of the Wall).

[BlessedBeGod]

Blech!

Blech! is right. I want my towers back.

[ch.man]

I should have said "architect team". See here. This has made a lot of news in Germany.

[eno_]

I like it. It actually has architecture to it. The WTC was impressive and became familiar, but it was also really really banal architecture.

[snopercod]

But the angled buildings look like shards of broken glass, which does not seem appropriate.

If it were me, I would have replaced the towers with bigger, taller, safer ones of the same design. That would be in keeping with the American Spirit.

But you've got to admit that these jagged towers and twisted buildings really do look like a bomb went off in the center of them. No one will ever be able to look at them without remembering what happened there.

They look like rubble frozen in time. I wonder if Liebeskind is a Dadaist...

[Aquinasfan]

Thanks for providing the photo. The spire is very funky, but that's OK with me. The base is especially strange (unless it's someone's copy-holder which got into the photo by accident). Will people be able to ride to the top?

[Momaw Nadon]

[OldFriend]

Lots of incorrect facts in this article. The spire is to be 1776 ft. tall to honor America's independence. The LMDC was founded long before Sept. 11th. There are other errors too, but those two were most obvious.

[OldFriend]

Have to agree, that while the WTC was recognizable, it was really uninspiring. Always looked like an open box of staples on end.

This will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood, even tho I doubt that 1776 tower will be built at this time due to the cost.

[libertylover]

I like the look of these towers except for what looks like giant scaffolding (for TV towers?) on the left of the photo.

And BTW, the old towers were an architectual zero.

[Dirk McQuickly]

Shards of glass. Whatever happened to elegance? Perhaps something a little more symphonic would have been appropos.

Of course, the concept of having the spire reach so high makes sense, since no one will insure any office floors above 75 stories in lower Manhattan these days...

It looked better that the unnecessarily haunting, crumpled lattice twin towers it was up against. But for all the great architectural minds in the world, it looked like they were trying WAY too hard to be unique instead of making a more graceful statement.

Just my .02

[firewalk]

.

[teeman8r]

the new design is reminiscent of superman's fortress of solitude... strength and foreboding domicile for secluded contemplation... the tower is a bit much....

jmt teeman

[G Larry]

1) Bet that roadway into the complex on the left gets modified.
2) Didn't like the idea of a German firm winning, but that competeing 'erector set' design sucked.

[jriemer]

It looks like something from the "Buck Rodgers" TV show in the 70s.

[Thane_Banquo]

That's disgusting.