A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
1–10 of 50 posts
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#2I feel whatever was built on that site was bound to be heavily criticized -- the original World Trade Center buildings certainly were, and they weren't subject to the emotional responsibility of 9/11. But for all the criticism of the new WTC, this documentary gave me a much greater appreciation of the new structure:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1586155/
Give it a watch when the Discovery channel re-airs it. They tend to show it each year around 9/11.
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#3This is a long rambling article without any clear point, except that the author doesn't personally care for the tower as much as he might have (if he designed it?). I was deeply skeptical of the "Freedom Tower" (everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name) design before it was built, but as the thing has been built, it's actually grown on me. The inclined side panels look almost like two towers when the light hits them, reminiscent of the old towers, which I still miss as part of the skyline. It's not my favorite building in the New York skyline – that would be the Chrysler Building – but it's not bad.
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#4This is a long rambling article without any clear point, except that the author doesn't personally care for the tower as much as he might have (if he designed it?). I was deeply skeptical of the "Freedom Tower" (everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name) design before it was built, but as the thing has been built, it's actually grown on me. The inclined side panels look almost like two towers…
"everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name"
Funny - Everyone I know in NYC refers to it as the World Trade Center.
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#5[deleted]
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#6This is a long rambling article without any clear point, except that the author doesn't personally care for the tower as much as he might have (if he designed it?). I was deeply skeptical of the "Freedom Tower" (everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name) design before it was built, but as the thing has been built, it's actually grown on me. The inclined side panels look almost like two towers…
It's not so bad as part of the skyline, but it is horrible from street level. I'm not sure there is much you can do when building a blast resistant base, but man it feels like a bunker. No stores. No windows. Few entrances. It makes that entire block dead.
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#7This is a long rambling article without any clear point, except that the author doesn't personally care for the tower as much as he might have (if he designed it?). I was deeply skeptical of the "Freedom Tower" (everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name) design before it was built, but as the thing has been built, it's actually grown on me. The inclined side panels look almost like two towers…
"everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name" Funny - Everyone I know in NYC refers to it as the World Trade Center.
I guess that works but the term seems overly broad – WTC 3-7 are also part of the "World Trade Center". So what do you call that building specifically? WTC 1, I guess?
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#8This is a long rambling article without any clear point, except that the author doesn't personally care for the tower as much as he might have (if he designed it?). I was deeply skeptical of the "Freedom Tower" (everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name) design before it was built, but as the thing has been built, it's actually grown on me. The inclined side panels look almost like two towers…
"everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name" Funny - Everyone I know in NYC refers to it as the World Trade Center.
I was just about to say this. In the last few years the only people I've heard call it the Freedom Tower are people who are NOT from NYC.
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#9This is a long rambling article without any clear point, except that the author doesn't personally care for the tower as much as he might have (if he designed it?). I was deeply skeptical of the "Freedom Tower" (everyone I know in NYC still refers to it by this ridiculous name) design before it was built, but as the thing has been built, it's actually grown on me. The inclined side panels look almost like two towers…
It's not so bad as part of the skyline, but it is horrible from street level. I'm not sure there is much you can do when building a blast resistant base, but man it feels like a bunker. No stores. No windows. Few entrances. It makes that entire block dead.
That's a good point. I've spent almost no time near the building base. Maybe that was what Kimmelman was getting at? His writing is so roundabout that it's not really clear what exactly he's complaining about.
Re: A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities
#10It's unfortunate. They had a real opportunity and instead created a lifeless soulless building that stands in deep contrast to the subtle memorial next door or Calatrava's soaring transit hub. Too many sacrifices had to be made for this tower. The fortifications at the bottom (20 floors of concrete with a glass covering) are hideous and the removal of the decorative aspects to the spire make it look like a giant syringe.
Not to mention we really didn't need the downtown office space. The Financial District is already half the price of Midtown and firms who want a downtown presence are now looking to more exciting neighborhoods for young workers like Chelsea and the East Village.