Architects Sorry People Think Twin Towers With 9/11-ish "Cloud" Resembles WTC On 9/11

Renderings for a South Korean residential development raised eyebrows last week because the two connected towers, named "The Cloud," resemble the World Trade Center's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. The Dutch architecture firm, MRVDV, issued a statement, "MVRDV regrets deeply any connotations The Cloud projects evokes regarding 9/11," and then added on its Facebook page, "A real media storm has started and we receive threatening emails and calls of angry people calling us Al Qaeda lovers or worse."

NY1 spoke to some New Yorkers, who said things like, "I thought it was a picture of what happened. I didn't realize it was a picture of what a building would look like," and "It looks disturbing. Because it looks like the building is coming apart." Another felt, "To me it doesn't look like the towers collapsing because the towers collapsed from the top down, I don't buy it, I think some people have an over-active imagination.

Here's MRVDV's statement:

MVRDV regrets deeply any connotations The Cloud projects evokes regarding 9/11.

The Cloud was designed based on parameters such as sunlight, outside spaces, living quality for inhabitants and the city. It is one of many projects in which MVRDV experiments with a raised city level to reinvent the often solitary typology of the skyscraper. It was not our intention to create an image resembling the attacks nor did we see the resemblance during the design process. We sincerely apologize to anyone whose feelings we have hurt, it was not our intention.

The design inspiration of The Cloud is visualised in the first image on our website, a cloud covering the centre of the Sky scraper.

Still, if you design two tall, boxy skyscrapers that will be next to each other, wouldn't you think of the original World Trade Center? And the Daily News reports, "A Dutch newspaper quoted the firm’s spokesman as saying the designers had thought about the obvious parallels." It's unclear if the firm will alter the designs.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 11, 2011 2:10 PM

Comments [rss]

chamber25

I don't think it was intentional but yah it does remind me of the world trade center collapse. I think the cloud alone is not it, its that coupled with the design and positioning of the two towers that look almost identical to the WTC towers.

I don't know if they are going to change now, but their could be a negative stigma to design already.

The cloud area would be pretty cool though wished my condo had it.

Ryan

stupid people need to get over 9/1 and stop attacking anyone who does something they think even remotely resembles it

Atari2600Forever

How can these guys be smart enough to design a skyscraper and yet dumb enough to design one that looks like that?

RJ Samson

I see two giant American G.I. penises perpetrating sex crimes on the babyholes of a couple of trafficked Filipinas. (Countries got the darndest problems)

Josh Ben-Rajab III

If you don't like it, DON'T live in it. Pretty simple solution!

As far as its resemblance to the WTC 9/11 attacks, people outside of America weren't affected in the same way by 9/11, so it's easy to see how a (hugely over-exaggerated) connection was missed.

Sharon876

Americans should not even complain about the design because first of all 9/11 was an inside job carried out by the elements of the White House, CIA, FBI, and Israel. Koreans should still build this design because it is their country and not anybody else's country.

Americans should be a shame of themselves. Remember building 7? What about building 7? It was not hit by a plane so why did it collapse? The answer is simple controlled demolition.

Istvan Buda

At least terrorist won't attack it , they would think it is already under attack ?!

sauerkrautcity

Ridiculous. A Dutch firm shouldn't be apologizing because the building being designed for South Korea reminds some NYers about an American terrorist attack from over 10 years ago.

pendejito

NYC get over 911 already. Life goes on.

Alex Trust

everything can look like anything

moronthatlater

My reaction ... wow, those look like the Twin Towers on 9/11 ... I wonder if the Cubs are better of without Albert Pujols. Maybe I'll have a BLT for lunch today. Can't believe the year is almost over. I'm sleepy.

hc792

I actually find the building offensively hideous.

kevd

The world trade center wishes it looked 1/2 as cool as these (this?) building.

PrettyAmiable

It kind of looks like the lego-land version of 9/11.

It's the initial mock-up that throws everyone though.

PhotoHarris

I've lived in NYC all my life and at no time were the twin towers ever connected as these two towers are. The people who complain have too much imagination and time on their hands. If it's not that, then they're just plain stupid.

I would feel very uncomfortable living in the connecting section of these buildings, especially the parts that jut out with nothing under them, but that's just me. I'm sure there are people who would love to live like that.

Meanwhile, I think the whole controversy proves what I've been saying for many long years, people are stupid and in this case, demented, too. Get a life!!

Miles Bader

What idiocy... no, it doesn't "resemble 9-11," and no, it's not "disturbing," unless you're so completely obsessed by 9-11 that everything reminds you of it. It's sad that there are such screwed up people—life must be hell for them—but it's their issue, not one to which the entire planet must be beholden forever.

But for whatever idiotic reason (the "24-hour newscycle" mentioned above is probably a part of the problem) the term "9-11" seems to be a magic phrase which completely obviates the need for a rational argument; people act like anything 9-11 "survivors" and "families" say, no matter how absurd, is some sort of bizarre gospel, and must be taken seriously without question.

This is actually a rather neat concept, and looks like a cool place to live—and yet now I'll bet there's a very real chance it will get killed or gutted because of a bunch of self-obsessed whiners on the internet... good work guys, you really scored one for (pointless and yet destructive) whining.

Christine Szczepanski

I hope that your child or loved one is killed in the next terrorist attack.

Miles Bader

That's the way you roll, eh...?

luke_1

This is idiotic. I hope that they don't alter their plans.

Red Ryder

Why does an architectural firm owe anything to anyone except the people paying them? I'm awaiting the ironic death threats to MVRDV. Just because you exist, doesn't mean strangers owe you a fucking thing, ever.