Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests WTC Memorial Plans

Have you guys seen this site yet? linkified I think its quite a radical design, but there are some really good design/rememberance/defiance ideas.

I say they should build another set of twin towers.

I agree with Pete D. I think 2 towers very similar in design, "however not as extreme" to the original towers should definately be in the plans.

i think scheme 5 is the most effective, despite loosing the fallen tower outlines. but the monument is too small. what's nice about it is how formal the surrounding buildings are. they face the square and seem to bow down to the monument in reverence. this makes the arrangement of those four smaller office towers seem like a monument to the site in themselves. the extra tower sitting off to the side just seems like an excuse to fit a couple hundred thousand extra feet of GLA on the land with out seeming superfluous. well, it seems superfluous to me.

i think the designers could have done amuch better job varying the heights of the buildings in each scheme and connecting them visally or stylistically in a similar way to Scheme 5. if built in 20 years, people will go by any one of those schemes and not even think of them as the location of a memorial. they'll just blend in with the skyline. which is a shame.

there needs to be some sequence of events, some unravelling of the site as you approach is which evokes those same feelings of mystery or even confusion that most of us felt on Spet 11. none of these plans accomplishes that.

we'll see if they can do better before the deadline in December.
Take Two....

I'm not partial to any of those designs. They look like ordinary buildings to me. I do wish they would just replace them but I know it won't happen. A small memorial will suffice w/o leaving the foot print visible. Here is my vote for a design.

Shaggy- I really like that design! I think it's the best representation yet. I don't really understand preserving the footprint. Why pay homage to the buildings instead of the people?

I also think they should build them similar to what was there before. To me the best memorial is to rebuild it better than what it was before. Talks of shopping centers on the site instead is sickening.

I like this idea the best.

i agree that we should pay homage to the people first, but the buildings are also very important to remember. they symolized a very agressive, successful and powerful time for this country. they also became a signature for the entire skyline of New York City. although i don't necessarily think "recreating" the builing is the right approach, i do think that we need to create that same feeling, through architecture, on the site. the feeling of power, overcoming obstacles, success, prosperity. structures which evoke these feelings will be just as effective as the "middle finger building" in showing terrorists that they will never be better than us.

OK, that poll wasn't what I was expecting... so I'll say here I like #6