WTC rebuilding..

Personnally, I'm on the fence about whether to build another colossal business building or just a simple memorial. It's almost akin to saying "let's raise the 'Arizona' from the bottom of Pearl Harbor and turn it into a shopping center!". I do hope something is built that honors those who died, but if it has to be something commercial than it should be tasteful.

i don't think they should be building anything.

just leave it as a park.

they have to build something! first of all, land is too precious in new york and they need the office space desperately. the city simply cannot afford to not build on the site. it's already lost far too much revenue and it needs to bring back business to the city. second, if nothing was built, it would be as though the city were giving in to the whim of the terrorists--they wanted to destroy the financial centre of america and without rebuilding they would succeed. by rebuilding, the city can heal and show that it will not be destroyed by such a violent act. as for the designs, i'm not really impressed. they're a bit too modernist for my liking, and don't fit in with the 'gotham' look of new york. the designers need to keep in mind that many of the people who survived the attacks will be returning to work on the site, and many of them will be hesitant to work in very tall buildings again. another thing that must be kept in mind: the attacks demonstrated the logistical nightmare of getting tens of thousands of people out of two skyscrapers in a crisis in such a short period of time. perhaps a group of smaller buildings would be a better idea (some designs have taken this into consideration already, like the second picture shows), with a memorial park in the middle (which is planned anyway). i lost two friends in the world trade center and i know they would want business to continue and grow in the financial district, and by rebuilding, this is the best way to honour their memory.

I like all of them. Though the Meier one doesn't fit in with its surroundings. The Think one rather resembles a ghost of the original buildings, I'd favour that or the Foster one.

the second one "looks" the best, although one design i liked didn't make the finals

agent makes many valid points...the real estate is extremely valuable, and from all that i am seeing from my vantage point in state gov't the governor will have a lot of say on how it all turns out.

i think this current race to build taller and taller skyscrapers is not such a good idea. they're just too hard to evacuate in case of fire or other disasters--like september 11. when there's a crisis, you can't use lifts and are completely dependent on the stairs, and if you're 100 stories up you're screwed (not to mention if you're in a wheelchair)!

plus, the swaying of skyscrapers always makes me a bit nervous! i know they're not going to fall over, but i still don't like the feeling. everytime i went to the top of the WTC, for example, i didn't have a problem looking down, but when the wind blew...

They should put aircraft carrier-style gattling guns on the top floors. That'll stop any bastards from getting anything near them

Originally posted by AgentWood i think this current race to build taller and taller skyscrapers is not such a good idea. they're just too hard to evacuate in case of fire or other disasters--like september 11. when there's a crisis, you can't use lifts and are completely dependent on the stairs, and if you're 100 stories up you're screwed (not to mention if you're in a wheelchair)!plus, the swaying of skyscrapers always makes me a bit nervous! i know they're not going to fall over, but i still don't like the feeling. everytime i went to the top of the WTC, for example, i didn't have a problem looking down, but when the wind blew...

i feel like a small-town hick but when i went to new york the height of the bulidings were too much. at points i started feeling claustrophobic and a bit worried, i had to look waaay up to see the sky. and i wasn't used to that. it was bothersome but i got used to it after a couple days--and considering i live in a city of just under 1 mill which has a height restriction on its skyscrapers.

as an afterthought: new york has such an amazing music scene!

bah. were=was

I like the Richard Meier one.

Originally posted by Grell > Originally posted by AgentWood> i think this current race to build taller and taller skyscrapers is not such a good idea. they're just too hard to evacuate in case of fire or other disasters--like september 11. when there's a crisis, you can't use lifts and are completely dependent on the stairs, and if you're 100 stories up you're screwed (not to mention if you're in a wheelchair)!> > plus, the swaying of skyscrapers always makes me a bit nervous! i know they're not going to fall over, but i still don't like the feeling. everytime i went to the top of the WTC, for example, i didn't have a problem looking down, but when the wind blew...

i feel like a small-town hick but when i went to new york the height of the bulidings were too much. at points i started feeling claustrophobic and a bit worried, i had to look waaay up to see the sky. and i wasn't used to that. it was bothersome but i got used to it after a couple days--and considering i live in a city of just under 1 mill which has a height restriction on its skyscrapers.

as an afterthought: new york has such an amazing music scene!

i used to live in manhattan, and when i went back last july i was in the financial district and the first thing i noticed was that there was too much sunlight. it was creepy not having these monstrous things casting shadows anymore. it wasn't right....

one thing people usually don't think about when they think of new york buildings, though, is the wind tunnel effect. but in harsh winters, believe you me, you certainly feel it! i lived on the second windiest street on the island (around the corner from the windiest) and it was like a tornado every time i walked outside, if the wind was blowing off the hudson. lord almighty.

Originally posted by AgentWood > Originally posted by Grell> > > > Originally posted by AgentWood> > i think this current race to build taller and taller skyscrapers is not such a good idea. they're just too hard to evacuate in case of fire or other disasters--like september 11. when there's a crisis, you can't use lifts and are completely dependent on the stairs, and if you're 100 stories up you're screwed (not to mention if you're in a wheelchair)!> > > > plus, the swaying of skyscrapers always makes me a bit nervous! i know they're not going to fall over, but i still don't like the feeling. everytime i went to the top of the WTC, for example, i didn't have a problem looking down, but when the wind blew... >

i feel like a small-town hick but when i went to new york the height of the bulidings were too much. at points i started feeling claustrophobic and a bit worried, i had to look waaay up to see the sky. and i wasn't used to that. it was bothersome but i got used to it after a couple days--and considering i live in a city of just under 1 mill which has a height restriction on its skyscrapers.

as an afterthought: new york has such an amazing music scene!

i used to live in manhattan, and when i went back last july i was in the financial district and the first thing i noticed was that there was too much sunlight. it was creepy not having these monstrous things casting shadows anymore. it wasn't right....

one thing people usually don't think about when they think of new york buildings, though, is the wind tunnel effect. but in harsh winters, believe you me, you certainly feel it! i lived on the second windiest street on the island (around the corner from the windiest) and it was like a tornado every time i walked outside, if the wind was blowing off the hudson. lord almighty.

one of the funniest moments of my trip to New York was when a guy beckoned me and some other passerbys "TO GATHER 'ROUND!" he then said "I've got a question for you all!" we decided to listen, he said "give me money!" a bit later we realized that was *not* a question, but a statement. :) ..but thats nitpicking, no?

I went to Oklahoma City this past weekend and stopped by the bombing of the Federal building memorial.

That is something to see, very emotional!

Has anyone ever been there?

Originally posted by AgentWood > Originally posted by Grell> > > > Originally posted by AgentWood> > i think this current race to build taller and taller skyscrapers is not such a good idea. they're just too hard to evacuate in case of fire or other disasters--like september 11. when there's a crisis, you can't use lifts and are completely dependent on the stairs, and if you're 100 stories up you're screwed (not to mention if you're in a wheelchair)!> > > > plus, the swaying of skyscrapers always makes me a bit nervous! i know they're not going to fall over, but i still don't like the feeling. everytime i went to the top of the WTC, for example, i didn't have a problem looking down, but when the wind blew... >

i feel like a small-town hick but when i went to new york the height of the bulidings were too much. at points i started feeling claustrophobic and a bit worried, i had to look waaay up to see the sky. and i wasn't used to that. it was bothersome but i got used to it after a couple days--and considering i live in a city of just under 1 mill which has a height restriction on its skyscrapers.

as an afterthought: new york has such an amazing music scene!

i used to live in manhattan, and when i went back last july i was in the financial district and the first thing i noticed was that there was too much sunlight. it was creepy not having these monstrous things casting shadows anymore. it wasn't right....

one thing people usually don't think about when they think of new york buildings, though, is the wind tunnel effect. but in harsh winters, believe you me, you certainly feel it! i lived on the second windiest street on the island (around the corner from the windiest) and it was like a tornado every time i walked outside, if the wind was blowing off the hudson. lord almighty.

Oh lord, honey, I know what you're talking about! I went with a "drama club" group during my senior year (that was the ONLY reason I joined the drama club) and it was late March, but it felt awful! And of course our first stop: The Statue of Liberty, right in the middle of the harbor. My god, there aren't words to describe how bad the wind was. We got used to it after a few hours (I even got a pic of the Twin Towers as we passed by in the bus. Eerie sideways shot) but damn, that was cold!

what ever they build its going to be a pain in the ass for me to get to work during the construction, people are getting ipset about th whole memorial issue, the latest has a massive grand central station type terminal directly under the proposed memorial i am sure they are going to try to build the worlds biggest building and eventually the memorial will be lost or sized down dramatically they do that kind of stuff all the time here, well i was hee when the 1st obne came down , but i am going to make sure i am not around if they have an even bigger target up, they only worry about safety for mayors and big shots, not us working people

I'm not a big fan of the new design. But then, the old one wasn't much to look at either, it was just big.

Safety is still a problem. The NY Times ran a story on the history of the towers a few months ago that included a reprint of a large ad that was originally run in the Times in 1968 by a group opposed to building them (construction was about to start at that point). The thrust of the ad was that huge towers like that are not safe because they are so big and tall, a plane could hit them and cause a disaster. The ad was illustrated by a large drawing of the towers showing a passenger jet about to hit one of them. You could almost line up the silhouettes of the tower and plane from that illustration to the photos of the eventual real attacks.

i cannot believe that they're going to attempt to build the world's tallest building (for at least 5 minutes, anyway) on the site. i can't imagine many people will feel psychologically prepared to work there, and as i've said before, we now know what the safety issues are as we've experienced them firsthand. bigger doesn't necessarily mean better!

Originally posted by Spotnick > Originally posted by AgentWood> i cannot believe that they're going to attempt to build the world's tallest building (for at least 5 minutes, anyway) on the site. i can't imagine many people will feel psychologically prepared to work there, and as i've said before, we now know what the safety issues are as we've experienced them firsthand. bigger doesn't necessarily mean better!

No, usually bigger means worser. I can't think of a more defining time.

I think that both designs are a joke. When i look at these two designs i do not see the pain that was inflicted to thousands of innocent people. All i see is architects that must have been on LSD. What are you yanks doing?..... These buildings/ towers need to represent PAIN..

Originally posted by CONVICT # FACD.50 I think that both designs are a joke. When i look at these two designs i do not see the pain that was inflicted to thousands of innocent people. All i see is architects that must have been on LSD. What are you yanks doing?..... These buildings/ towers need to represent PAIN..

well...no. they certainly don't need to represent pain! i think hope and regeneration would be more fitting! i, for one, have a hard enough time thinking of my friends who died on september 11 and what they possibly went through, and the last thingfamily, friends, survivors and new yorkers need is a painful reminder of that day! and i'm sure those we lost would agree with me. imagine if the architects who rebuilt dresden and hiroshima had been so morose! how psychologically destructive would that have been for the survivors and the generations that followed?

Originally posted by AgentWood > Originally posted by CONVICT # FACD.50 > I think that both designs are a joke. When i look at these two designs i do not see the pain that was inflicted to thousands of innocent people. All i see is architects that must have been on LSD. What are you yanks doing?..... These buildings/ towers need to represent PAIN..

well...no. they certainly don't need to represent pain! i think hope and regeneration would be more fitting! i, for one, have a hard enough time thinking of my friends who died on september 11 and what they possibly went through, and the last thingfamily, friends, survivors and new yorkers need is a painful reminder of that day! and i'm sure those we lost would agree with me. imagine if the architects who rebuilt dresden and hiroshima had been so morose! how psychologically destructive would that have been for the survivors and the generations that followed?[

When my great great grandchildren come to visit New York in say another 30 years,i would like them to see and feel the pain that was caused to so many innocent people. By seeing one of those two towers standing there they will have no true understanding of what happened on 911. Whats wrong with the TRUTH?....