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The new designs for the other buildings at the World Trade Center have been released, and forgetting all the other arguments, the computer renderings show a glittering, rather dazzling skyline. And the buildings will be TALL. The NY Times' David Dunlap reports on the new designs and give some analysis of how the buildings would work within the city:
The developer of the new World Trade Center unveiled the designs this morning for three skyscrapers at ground zero, which in their gargantuan scale would reshape the New York skyline.Dunlap also notes that the buildings, at first glance, might seem "like an instance of urban randomness" rather than a planned - and unified - development. He predicts that the designs will change, and that's probably the safest bet, safer than developer Larry Silverstein's promises that building will be done in six years.The designs offered the most comprehensive picture to date of what the finished complex might -- just might -- look like six years from now. Above, the Freedom Tower is to the left of Towers 2, 3 and 4.
Each building has a different architect — Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, both of London, and Fumihiko Maki of Tokyo — and the result is entirely unlike the monolithic uniformity of the original trade center.
... Lord Foster’s Tower 2, with a rooftop of four enormous diamonds steeply inclined toward the memorial below, would be as high as the Empire State Building. Tower 3 by Lord Rogers, framed boldly by an exoskeletal framework of diagonal beams, would reach a pinnacle of 1,255 feet at its corner antennas. Even the smallest and subtlest building among them, Mr. Maki’s Tower 4, would be taller than the Citigroup Center in midtown.
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They look great, and hopefully the will, maybe, just maybe be built!
don't hold your breath. the first protest group is probably meeting as we speak.
and built "greenly"
This seems more likely.
I, for one, welcome our new steel and glass monolithic overlords.
Certainly an improvement, but still coldly designed for appeal to short fingered vulgarians. Calatrava is the only one that seems to be with the program here.
I don't think they are necessarily cold in design. Imagine how the light glass will glitter in the sun. I'm so glad they gave each tower to a different architect. New York is beautiful because different styles live in proximity to each other. It's like a handful of scattered jewels. Their diversity makes the whole all the more beautiful. I for one, will keep my fingers crossed that it will be built and they don't give in to whining critics. I hate to say it, but please don't let the families open their yaps on this one.
The Japanese design is completely devoid of character. I thought that we were getting away from the big square glass box design.
The second image makes me think that the designers have been watching Bladerunner too many times. Ironic, since Ridley Scott's visual inspiration for the movie was a helicopter trip he took to the heliport on top of the PanAm (Metlife) building before they shut that down.
This looks great..!
I just can't believe NYC has to wait until 2012 ..!
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Anyone else see the diamond-studded Tower 2 as a nod to Microsoft? Think they'll pitch in for construction costs?
To be fair, Larry Silverstein *already* rebuilt and completed one of the towers already: Tower 7. The other ones were slowed down by the red tape of the state and the insurance companies. It's not his fault for the delay.
They all have different architects, yet all look vaguely the same.
** sigh **
What. Ever.
Also, if you take a look at the skyline shot, they rise above a rather drab looking masonary (sp?) based downtown style. I think the effect of them rising out of the surrounding buildings will be great. And you can really get a perspective at the height when you compare it all to 7 WTC.
now if we just get a sprinkling of other glass towers through the city, we'll have a really cool contracsting effect island-wide.
Oh, stop complaining. It's not that bad and could have been so much worse. Just be glad they're keeping Gehry far, far away from this.
I do like the design. My only concern would be that it almost presents a fortress wall on Church St, completely sealing off the memorial from downtown. Which might not be a bad thing.
For some reason I can't yet articultae, it makes me think of Chicago. Maybe the multiple antenna and cris-cross design. Oh, and the diamonds.
Fair point, Brightliner.
I believe Daniel Liebskin's master plan, which was weak in conceoption, has been further diluted by the mature skyscraper architects. The designs of the tower are devoid of any unity besides having the same structural engineer (WSP Cantor Seinuk) and renderer (dbox); the reason why the renderings make the towers look similar in texture and feel. The designs individually have their own little quirks, Tower 2 is dipping its roof line toward the WTC footprints, and Tower 4's upper part of the facade inclines toward the towers to the north and is meant as a unifying gesture. Totally garbage ideas when it comes to unifying a site with no collaboration or dialogue at all. I am quite certain that all those architects were in the same room for the first time today when they unveiled the designs.
Even if their was unity and conversation among the seperate buildings, they are completly devoid of human scale and I do not speak of human scale in height and density. I speak of the streetscape level and the ideas of the buildings swirling. How are the people on the street level, who are walking on the streets because the sidewalks are so small, able to look up and understand the concext of the urban design. This is the case of pure academic architecture being completely oblivious to the context of humans and the habitats that they create for them. Futhermore, the streetscapes of the almost every skyscraper lacks the architectural consideration that the top half of the building earns. Architects design these buildings for aerial view photoes and cross the borough views. What good is this design, when the users are not across the river, but their proxmitiy is several blocks.
I can say this is always the architects fault, their are government officials involved with this issue. Take for example the security issues that have bogged the development of the Freedom Tower and its crappy design by David Childs. The first design was sent back to the drawing board due to security issues, and the second design appeared to resolve these issues. The issue was resolved by, essentiall keeping the original facade design and covering it with shatter proof glass and finding creating a bomb shleter at the ground level. That is the greatest architectural design of all, making the users feel like that are in a war zone. NYC is not at war and if anything we should not create architecture to be bomb proof, we should have systems in place that do not allow planes to fly into our buyildings, sounds like a simple plan. With these in place, yes we should have shatter proof glass, so that the buildings don't explode, when a bomb explodes from within the building, but we should never be afriad of a place flying into a strcuture of ours, we should be protected by the air force, military, police, etc.
I don't care what the buildings look like. Build whatever you want. But for the love of God PLEASE STOP CALLING IT THE FREEDOM TOWER!
Tower 2 is know AS THE FREEDOM TOWER!!
I agree.
Not only is it annoying and terribly cheesy, but calling it the Freedom Tower is like painting a large Bull’s-eye on the facade.
"Just be glad they're keeping Gehry far, far away from this."
You are aware that Gehry has been chosen to design the performing arts center next to the Freedom Tower right?
also gehry is designing the beekman tower three blocks east of the WTC site, was at one point proposed to be 70 stories ... he will do all he can to make his mark on the skyline. seems that only ratner is hiring him tho ...
Boring glass and steel crap.
Actually, the "Freedom Tower" is the only one with any character at all, and even it is lacking; the rest just go to further illustrate the complete lack of creativity contemporary architects have, or perhaps developers, either way there is no progression here from the garbage "modern" skyscrapers of the post-war boom.
You know, I don't give a damn what gets built there. And any structure with the name "Freedom [Anything]" is just going to get ignored.
/Lifelong American. Hardcore realist.
Okay, so they build it. Is anyone every actually going to set one foot in this building? There is no way in heck that I would ever go inside much less work in the building.
Great! Just viewed ground zero with my son and grandson and my feeling was, build it bigger and better. To leave the spot empty or non-productive lets the rag-heads win.
Enough already! The Empire State building went up in 1 year. We've been looking at artist's renditionings for 5 years. It's impossible to please everybody. Just build them for crying out loud!
Skypilot, you are a GENIUS
Hmm. "Freedome tower" looks like a Trans Am building with a little extra on the sides, the others are just copies of the Chicago skyline... they've gathered a bunch of designers and no body could come up with an original design? whats up wiht that?
I think that the diamond one and the freedom tower should be switched so that from the atlantic it looks like NY is flipping of the terrorists.
it looks like a pastiche of iconic Chicago buildings.
I was surprised at the new building of World Trade Center are very beautiful on the picture. I love it. I already love dream first time, I saw the picture for the art with the World Trade Center. It is very beautiful! WOW!! It is real sharp with the lights. I likes that it. All in my best. Good Luck for World Trade Center. I heard the new building Trade Apartments are very beautiful in Sacramento, CA. Great Wonderful. Thank you!!! Have a great day. I will never forget about World Trade Center for whose lives after they died inside on the World Trade Center in 9/11. SAD!!! Jeffrey
I think that all four of the building should be taller than projected. (something like 70 too 90 stories tall.
This is some nice twin tower I like them better then I old ones but they will be missed.
Oh, my god very beutiful! thats the most (or maybe most) buildoings I ever seen
The night picture is more "magical" than the day one provided. But at least maybe they'll finally build something? The new designs seem, as a group, somewhat unharmonious or dissonant. Gone is the ascending symmetrical balance of the (sorely missed!) originals. What will they look like from a distance, one wonders. Glass tends to look dark; unlike the cyclopian white purity of the originals. Ah well; I liked Trump's design anyway. But I hope this works. I remember the acrimony about the originals when they were being built, but we came to love them. New York is the capital of the world, the Alexandria of the new millennium. Let's hope these will do it justice!
The most beautiful buildings we had in this country were the Twin Towers. It's insulting these new carrot sticks standing like someone has just bitton the top off of them, next to the quivering phallic symbol of defeat, the Fearful
Tower (ha, hah!). The Twin Towers were elegant, beautifu, inviting, and people-friendly. This thing is afraid to stand by itself. It is a national disgrace. What "Freedom" are we talking about, the freedom of those who took awar these two gentle giants and "living symbols of peace" as Minoru Yamasaki called them. A must NOT see on your places to visit in NY. I worked in the South Tower and ate at Windows on the World. This things turns my stomach to a point where I couldn't keep an M&M down.
we have to remeber that almost every one of the great NYC building where acully hated at first. like the chrysler building and the twin towers. we sould just build this! it looks good and it will give the skyline the edge that might bring its rateing back to being the best in the world! very good.
Why is it that this design is not so unlike the Smurfit-Stone building in Chicago. I am just a lowley interior designer from Louisville,KY and I can see that. You guys deserve more inovation that that. Either make it just a memorial( the two spotlights speak volumes and I think they should remane no matter what) or build something 10,000 times better. What has happened, has happened and nothing can reverse it. Let's not give those terrorests what they want. Let's create an environment that says... "Up Yours!"