[Colin Glassey] The New World Trade Center
The new World Trade Center designs were unveiled today and several of them are wonderful. The main web site for the projects has been really slow today (it is here at www.renewnyc.org) but CNN and the NYTimes (and I would imagine the other New York newspapers) have selected images from the various presentations. I like Foster and Partners kissing towers the best. United Architects design of several towers that fuse together seems technically impossible to me but I like the design. I also like the cut-glass design from Studio Libeskind.
However, the Foster and Partners design seems to capture something special. I see it as two towers that have moved next to each other to offer support to one another. Yes, they are big (huge actually) but they aren't standing alone like the old towers. The original towers stood independent, isolated from each other and the world around. The Foster towers are bent in places, they almost look like they need each other to stand. Visually they are interesting to look at while they strongly hint at the original towers. All in all a supurb design and I hope it is built. Note: Foster and Partners is an English design firm. Go England :-)
I admit that my feeling is that really tall buildings are not safe enough for people given todays technology. However I think an exception should be made for this building. Why? I see this as a symbol, as an act of defiance and a demonstration that we Americans and especially New Yorkers will not be cowed by terrorists. And the United States, the birth place of the sky scraper, should be home to the tallest building in the world.
Interestingly, after 180,000 votes on CNN's quick poll, the Foster design is the leader with 26% of the vote. The THINK design is in second place with 18% of the vote. I find the THINK design to be wierd and too much of a mermorial with its two huge skeleton towers that are not designed to be used.
4:34:52 PM 
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