September 7, 2007
Revised Vision of the World Trade Center Site
Five days before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, developer Larry Silverstein released yet another round of renderings of the three Greenwich St. towers that will rise along the eastern edge of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. The final designs were unveiled yesterday at 7 World Trade Center. The buildings are scheduled to begin construction in January.
The three towers’ new designs, described in a press release as “refined and more detailed architectural plans,” take into account the newly-created pedestrian thoroughfares along Cortlandt and Dey streets, the WTC Memorial, the WTC Transportation Hub and the Fulton Street Transit Center.
Tower Two (conceptual drawing above), Norman Foster’s 79-story crystalline building with four light-filled "blocks," is scheduled for completion in 2013. Tower Three, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, is 71 stories and uses a structural load-sharing system of diamond-shaped bracing which, the architects claim, articulates the building’s east-west configuration - we admit that we're not sure what that means. Tower Four, designed by Fumihiko Maki (top photograph, observing a model), is 64 stories and is known as the “minimalist” tower that achieves an “abstract sculptural presence, quiet with dignity,” according to the release. The latter two buildings will be completed in 2012.
In related news, the Port Authority said it will not clip the wings of Santiago Calatrava’s transit hub at the WTC site. The pair of wings, located on the roof, will open and close to ensure light hits the main floor. Costs for the $2.2 billion transit hub have risen $500 million and $1 billion over the first estimate, according to the NY Post.
From top: Photograph of Fumihiko Maki by Joe Woolhead; conceptual drawing of Tower 2 by Foster and Partners; and bottom rendering by dbox. All images are courtesy of Silverstein Properties
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You'll find more vision at a school for the blind.
Maybe somebody just did a good job with the photoshop, but looking at that last picture, for the first time I can say I kind of like it.
At least it's better than what we have now.
looking like Larry's got a woody for this project
The cityscape in that conceptual illustration is either by Ben Katchor (www.katchor.com) or someone biting his style. Either way, the drawing looks terrific.
top picture looks like crap. bottom one looks better in comparison to crap.
are those the real buildings that are there now or is that an artist's conception?
Whats the point of building these monstrosities?
Nice model. I wonder what that cost to impress no one except the Silver brothers. Who's the old fart in the picture?
They dont even remotely match the surrounding area. Looks like a scar Mederma couldnt blend in.
Looks like shit.
Building designs
Allah - 1
Jesus - 0
I had a guy named Jesus that played on my baseball team. He was Dominican and a good player so I can't quite figure out why he lost. Is this blog rigged?
What's this day of rest s**t? What's this bulls**t? I don't f***in' care! It don't matter to Jesus. But you're not foolin' me, man. You might fool the f***s in the league office, but you don't fool Jesus. This bush league psyche-out stuff. Laughable, man - ha ha! I would have f***ed you in the a@@ Saturday. I f*** you in the a@@ next Wednesday instead. Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!
Jesus Quintana