I'm not an architect or a designer but I was reading about the new WTC design today and learned that the first 20 stories will be concrete, with no windows. In order to mask this offense to the people of New York, they'll be putting fake glass panels over it.
To me it sounds like the tower will be a symbol to the world of American fear and paranoia, not our strength or our hope, and not our ingenuity.
Americans from times past would have invented a way to make the base of the building strong, yet still open. Today, our billionaire developers aren't interested in doing the R&D to make that happen.
This is not a building worthy of the America that elected Barack Obama or the president who hunted down and killed Osama Bin Laden. And it's not a building worthy of the brave people of NYC.
It's a sad statement about America's disrespect for the tragedy of 911 that wealthy investors are being permitted to defile the site with such a profit-focused project, devoid of public value or aesthetic delight for the people of New York, much less America.
Everyone will be visiting this building when they come to New York. It will be a monument, not just a business tower.
But a monument to what?
20 stories of windowless concrete with a fake glass facade to disguise it?
That sounds like 20 stories of fear, with a thin layer of pizazz to cover up for it.
Shame. Shame on the developers. Shame on Bloomberg.
I don't necessarily blame the architects - Skidmore Owings & Merrill. I'll bet dollars to donuts they would have preferred a more open design.
I blame the money grubbing billionaires behind the project. You can write to Larry Silverstein (the owner of the lease and developer) and Douglas and Jody Durst (real estate developers) to express your disappointment and opinions on what they're doing at the addresses below:
http://www.silversteinproperties.com/...
http://www.durst.org/...
You can contact Mayor Bloomberg to register your views on this at:
http://www.nyc.gov/...