What a bastard Child this tower has become. It is as if they had mashed up a page from the Ceasar Pelli book and one from Sullivan. I can just about hear David spouting off about how classical yet bold the “design†is: 1) it has a base, a body and a head and 2) it tapers and has facets like every tower in Beijing and the middle east does.
What a horrendous building. It looks like a perfume bottle that was put atop a box and skewered with a toothpick.
Sad day for Architecture. This pretty much cements the David Childs ‘legacy.â€
It is very sad that in this day and age the idea of architecture in the United States is reduced to simple building exercises. With current advances in new materials and technologies Mr. Liebeskind's scheme could be realized, and the concerns of the NYPD addressed. However, to execute a building that is at the same time a testament to its era and a tribute to the brave heros of September the Eleventh takes courage...
This new building design fails to do that in every way, and as stated above it is indeed "A very dark day for architecture" in the United States.
john jourden , thanks for the pictures showing the (evil) oution of the design. it is funny how close the newest design looks to the original design scheme that was deemed, uninspiring. i agree this new building blows.
Its gone from a representatio of freedom to an arrticulated representation paranoia. The twist is gone, it doesn't reembe the statue and i dont see a windmill farm anymore. What a piece of crap, looks like a huge hpedermic needle.
from the nytimes..."Mr. Libeskind also praised the new design. "The tower we have now is even better than the tower we had before," he said at the news conference. "It asserts what the site is all about. The tower relates to the memorial, and rises in a symbolic way."
who bought libeskind?
The fact that there are towers in Dubai -or in some other second-class chinese city- even more interesting or architecturally relevant than this post-modern egyptian obelisk says it all...
Very disappointing indeed.
David Childs and SOM should have looked at Renzo Pianos new NYTimes Building and the new Hurst Tower in New York, to see how they cuold refine and develop the scheme.
Childs has lost his fukin mind. Diller and scofidio should have did this shit from the begining. libeskinds design was week and selfish as always. D+S would have killed the design. They are so deep and theoretical it gives me a chub.
This new design is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction to the new building guidelines outlined by the city. To me it is the same response that the government has towards terrorist threats – nothing but reactive (exp.: making people take their shoes off before going through the metal detectors at airports). I hope that this doesn’t get built. “if you can’t do it good, then why botherâ€.
This new design is as bland and "inspiring" as its name--Freedom Tower? I'm sorry if this is insensitive, but I still don't understand what September 11th has to do with freedom at all? An office building and a military command center were attacked by terrorists who hate the influence America's corporate and military interests have had in their region--not our own freedom and personal liberties. Now, I am not at all saying that that makes what they did any less evil or the events of September 11 any less tragic, but I'm so sick of hearing politicians--and now architects, people who should be intellictual and sensible--talk about Sept. 11 as if fascists had invaded and the people working in the WTC had been some sort of martyrs who rose up and stopped them. Again, their deaths are very tragic and the terrorists' acts very horrendous, but to say that the WTC and now this new office tower represent freedom would be funny if it weren't so disturbing that so many Americans eat this shit up. We've got a design befitting the sorry state of affairs of our country now and one that is a true testament to the legacy of Sept. 11 as it exists now, which is simply an easily rapable and exploitable political tool.
I'd love to see a real memorial on the site dedicated to those who died, but without pretending that they died for the cause of freedom, and since it would be unrealistic to expect them not to build an office tower there, I'd love to see a brave, innovative design there, but please, spare me the freedom crap.
Mike, I agree. But even if "freedom" were an issue, I don't think it should, or can, be symbolized by a commercial office building. All this "freedom" stuff resulted from the rush of patriotism after the attack on US soil.
I say remove the toothpick and the token reference to 1776 feet as well as the now meaningless "Freedom Tower" name. These are just embarrasing pretentions on a global scale.
If we can't start over, let this building be what it is, a banal, least- common-denomiantor, commercial office container. It can't shoulder the burden symbolizing anything more.
Stroke to add to what you’ve said with a minor modification:
"David Childs and SOM can't shoulder the burden symbolizing anything more."
SOM is a corporate architecture firm specializing in corporate architecture. How could you expect anything more or less from them? Their designs are adequate and unobtrusive but they have never been the leaders of anything, rather following the path that true innovators have already walked.
Maybe there will still be an opportunity for it to be exposed to the public like the first Beyer Blinder Belle scheme was and then shut down from the ensuing public outcry?
All hail the new prison tower....oh, I mean freedom tower.
Childs, you have been given (well stolen actually) an opportunity to create something that generations from now, could convey the power and meaning of a point in history...instead, you have brought us yet another banal self gratifying, poorly designed skyscraper that is utterly meaningless to the New York skyline. Ego isn't always warranted, and I would suggest you crack open a design magazine occasionally and see what interesting people have done with skyscrapers.
Jul 7, 05 2:05 pm ·
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33 Comments
horrendous.....
Very, very disappointing. Everything that made Libeskind's design energizing, sustainable, or otherwise noteworthy is gone. What an embarrassment.
What a bastard Child this tower has become. It is as if they had mashed up a page from the Ceasar Pelli book and one from Sullivan. I can just about hear David spouting off about how classical yet bold the “design†is: 1) it has a base, a body and a head and 2) it tapers and has facets like every tower in Beijing and the middle east does.
What a horrendous building. It looks like a perfume bottle that was put atop a box and skewered with a toothpick.
Sad day for Architecture. This pretty much cements the David Childs ‘legacy.â€
pre-libeskind
libeskind's winning proposal
enter SOM and memorial
post-libeskind
Dear SOM--
You suck.
It is very sad that in this day and age the idea of architecture in the United States is reduced to simple building exercises. With current advances in new materials and technologies Mr. Liebeskind's scheme could be realized, and the concerns of the NYPD addressed. However, to execute a building that is at the same time a testament to its era and a tribute to the brave heros of September the Eleventh takes courage...
This new building design fails to do that in every way, and as stated above it is indeed "A very dark day for architecture" in the United States.
new high-rise building code to include 200'-0" of reinforced concrete bunker -
Photos of the press conference now at www.curbed.com What was Libeskind doing there?
Great - It's a corporate office tower. I can't believe anyone refered to the cell phone tower on top as a spire. This is a huge step backward for NY.
john jourden , thanks for the pictures showing the (evil) oution of the design. it is funny how close the newest design looks to the original design scheme that was deemed, uninspiring. i agree this new building blows.
Its gone from a representatio of freedom to an arrticulated representation paranoia. The twist is gone, it doesn't reembe the statue and i dont see a windmill farm anymore. What a piece of crap, looks like a huge hpedermic needle.
from the nytimes..."Mr. Libeskind also praised the new design. "The tower we have now is even better than the tower we had before," he said at the news conference. "It asserts what the site is all about. The tower relates to the memorial, and rises in a symbolic way."
who bought libeskind?
aside from the paranoia comment, there are no words to describe this mess. this country never fails to wallow in its own mediocrity.
I take the first one over this
Don't miss this one by Nicolai: A Tower of Impregnability, the Sort Politicians Love
The fact that there are towers in Dubai -or in some other second-class chinese city- even more interesting or architecturally relevant than this post-modern egyptian obelisk says it all...
Very disappointing indeed.
David Childs and SOM should have looked at Renzo Pianos new NYTimes Building and the new Hurst Tower in New York, to see how they cuold refine and develop the scheme.
My only hope is that Childs will be killed while doing an on site meeting and buried in that mass of concrete. What a blight.
S O M
Settling On Mediocrity
Supposing Only the Mundane
Squandering Opportunities Momentously
Anyone else?
Childs has lost his fukin mind. Diller and scofidio should have did this shit from the begining. libeskinds design was week and selfish as always. D+S would have killed the design. They are so deep and theoretical it gives me a chub.
This pretty much sums up the state of Architecture in the U.S. today: bastard child to Real Estate, Politics, and most of all, Fear.
Truly a sad day for not just architecture, but for the order of Civil Society.
Liebeskind's kissing Childs' arse, whose kissing Pataki's, whose kissing Shorenstein's, whose kissing Bin Laden's...
politics and architecture will never produce quality results...this is a big example of that.
This new design is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction to the new building guidelines outlined by the city. To me it is the same response that the government has towards terrorist threats – nothing but reactive (exp.: making people take their shoes off before going through the metal detectors at airports). I hope that this doesn’t get built. “if you can’t do it good, then why botherâ€.
F U S O M
we should all live in a nudist society so if someone has a bomb strapped to their chest, we can point them to the new ‘freedom’ tower.
This new design is as bland and "inspiring" as its name--Freedom Tower? I'm sorry if this is insensitive, but I still don't understand what September 11th has to do with freedom at all? An office building and a military command center were attacked by terrorists who hate the influence America's corporate and military interests have had in their region--not our own freedom and personal liberties. Now, I am not at all saying that that makes what they did any less evil or the events of September 11 any less tragic, but I'm so sick of hearing politicians--and now architects, people who should be intellictual and sensible--talk about Sept. 11 as if fascists had invaded and the people working in the WTC had been some sort of martyrs who rose up and stopped them. Again, their deaths are very tragic and the terrorists' acts very horrendous, but to say that the WTC and now this new office tower represent freedom would be funny if it weren't so disturbing that so many Americans eat this shit up. We've got a design befitting the sorry state of affairs of our country now and one that is a true testament to the legacy of Sept. 11 as it exists now, which is simply an easily rapable and exploitable political tool.
I'd love to see a real memorial on the site dedicated to those who died, but without pretending that they died for the cause of freedom, and since it would be unrealistic to expect them not to build an office tower there, I'd love to see a brave, innovative design there, but please, spare me the freedom crap.
Mike, I agree. But even if "freedom" were an issue, I don't think it should, or can, be symbolized by a commercial office building. All this "freedom" stuff resulted from the rush of patriotism after the attack on US soil.
I say remove the toothpick and the token reference to 1776 feet as well as the now meaningless "Freedom Tower" name. These are just embarrasing pretentions on a global scale.
If we can't start over, let this building be what it is, a banal, least- common-denomiantor, commercial office container. It can't shoulder the burden symbolizing anything more.
Stroke to add to what you’ve said with a minor modification:
"David Childs and SOM can't shoulder the burden symbolizing anything more."
SOM is a corporate architecture firm specializing in corporate architecture. How could you expect anything more or less from them? Their designs are adequate and unobtrusive but they have never been the leaders of anything, rather following the path that true innovators have already walked.
Maybe there will still be an opportunity for it to be exposed to the public like the first Beyer Blinder Belle scheme was and then shut down from the ensuing public outcry?
Liebeskind was a chump from the begining....but that is why he was picked. The developers dont care about design...they just want their rent back...
Thanks Child, you've really stepped up big on the world's biggest stage. You rip off everyone....Hoo Hoo, tell em Fred!
Maybe Will Smith or Brad Pitt could offer some advice to Childs...
All hail the new prison tower....oh, I mean freedom tower.
Childs, you have been given (well stolen actually) an opportunity to create something that generations from now, could convey the power and meaning of a point in history...instead, you have brought us yet another banal self gratifying, poorly designed skyscraper that is utterly meaningless to the New York skyline. Ego isn't always warranted, and I would suggest you crack open a design magazine occasionally and see what interesting people have done with skyscrapers.
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