VodkaPundit: Architectural Critic
December 19th, 2002 - 1:10 am
Why do most of the proposed replacements for the WTC look as though they’ve already been attacked by terrorists?
Why do most of the proposed replacements for the WTC look as though they’ve already been attacked by terrorists?
They secretly transform into a giant fly swatter.
All kidding aside, some of them are still pretty nasty, but I take comfort in the fact that the design teams are slooowly starting to get it.
While they’re still misshapen pieces of crap, they’re original, BIG pieces of misshapen crap.
I dunno, the crystal-building looking one is right out of Star Trek, and looks one hell of a lot better than the stuff they came up with in July. I find myself kind of liking a few of them.
What a shame there is such a time constraint on picking a proposal; slowly but surely the thought is penetrating that there ought to be grace, beauty, and some kind of elegance. The owners of the site, though, have a very pressing need to restore that location to productivity, so, they must go forward now.
Is it just me or do these designs seem more suited for a Parisien skyline than a New York one. These designers seem more interested in “making their mark” in history than arriving at an elegant concept. It’s sort of like the old saying “say what you want about me but just spell my name right”
Also….I could just imagine how hot it would get in and around the large crystal like structures in a typically steamy New York summer. I think that with the exception of one or two of the more boring concepts that the people of NYC would absolutly revolt at these designs. I doubt that a few of them are even structurally possible.
The skeleton-like framework by Think spookily looks like it’s got a plane stuck in between both towers.
Frankly, every one of the designs I saw this morning in the paper are awful. Tacky. Insulting to Manhattan. Those architects had better wise up and start thinking pre-Modern.
I’ve only formed a preliminary impression, but it seems to me that the Empire State, the Chrysler Building, the Seagram Building, Lever House, the Sears Tower, the John Hancock tower, the Woolworth building, etc., etc., could whip the tar out of any of those designs, hands down. And NONE of them look like they’d fit in Manhattan’s context.
For grace, beauty, and elegance, MommaBear and others who would like to see these qualities embodied in whatever buildings rise from the site, may I suggest Art Deco, or at least the basic features of the style, brought forward?
The American response to WWII was best expressed by a single word, “Nuts”.
The most American response to the WTC attack that I’ve seen is the “fingers towers”. The middle one should be the tallest on Earth.
They mostly look like something out of Beetlejuice. The wedding scene mostly.
I liked the design from last year with the giant middle finger with an AA gun on the roof.
Faster Please.
Has anybody ever considered just using the original plans for the WTC building and just putting the whole damn thing right back up again?
(With maybe an extra few million on stronger materials of course)
“I could just imagine how hot it would get in and around the large crystal like structures in a typically steamy New York summer. ”
Um, we do have air-conditioning in New York….