Designers propose bold future for WTC site - Front Page

Art in America, Feb, 2003 by David Ebony

On Dec. 18, the public got its first look at second-round proposals for the World Trade Center site. In an event hosted by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) at the Winter Garden, just steps from ground zero, models and designs were unveiled by the seven architectural firms and teams that were finalists in a design competition last fall [see "Artworld," Nov. `02]. Compared with the negative reaction to the LMDC's initial proposals presented last July, public and press response to the new plans was generally positive. Each team was required to address general land-use issues related to the site; to leave intact the footprints of the Twin Towers as sacred ground memorializing the victims of Sept. 11; to accommodate a large amount of commercial space for offices, shops and cultural venues; and to provide substantial public areas. Overall, the schemes appeared to fall into two basic categories: those featuring bold, landmark structures that would be as large as or larger than the original Twin Towers (I,353 feet high), and those envisioning more modestly scaled buildings with an emphasis on safety and security. In the first category are plans by Studio Daniel Libeskind, Foster & Partners, Think (led by Rafael Vinoly and Frederic Schwartz) and United Architects (led by Greg Lynn). Falling into the second group are proposals by Peterson/Littenberg, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and the team of Richard Meier, Charles Gwathmey, Peter Eisenman and Steven Holl.

Libeskind's design features a soaring angular structure, 1,776 feet high, that would be a vast, vertical garden overlooking the footprints. Surrounding office towers would be situated in such a way as to allow the unobstructed passage of sunlight through the complex at the exact times that the attacks on the Twin Towers occurred. Foster's plan calls for a spectacular pair of "kissing towers," two separate structures joined at three points, which would be the tallest in the wodd. Based on an arrangement of triangles for added support, the design was conceived with the help of sculptor Anish Kapoor. One of the three proposals presented by Think features two tall, open-air towers rising above the footprints. The latticework design echoes the size and shape of the original towers. However, the structure, named the World Cultural Center, would house performance, exhibition and educational spaces instead of offices. A museum spanning the towers would correspond to the locations where the planes struck the World Trade Center buildings on Sept 11.

With escape routes and durability in mind, Pleier's team imagined a vast, interconnecting structure, in a grid-like design, again overlooking the footprints. In his presentation, Meier referred to the 1,111-foot-tall building as both a vertical and horizontal skyscraper, featuring at regular intervals a number of floors that would be suspended over city streets. The most understated design, submitted by Peterson/Littenberg, adopts a retro style and somewhat recalls the Rockefeller Center complex. The scheme calls for a cluster of low-lying office buildings surrounding the footprints, which would be punctuated by two narrow towers rising to 1,400 feet.

As we go to press, the LMDC has scheduled public meetings on the designs at Pace University in Lower Manhattan for Jan. 13 and 14, and will make a decision regarding the proposals on Jan. 31. Meanwhile, the models, photos and designs by each team remain on view at the Winter Garden, from 7 A.M. to 11 P.M. daily, through Feb. 2.