The Gutter

Rejoice! Freedom Tower 3.1 Revealed! 
Wednesday, June 28, 2006

28cnd-freedom.4.450.jpgWell, we're all in a full-on flivver over here at Gutter HQ. Some would like to declare today's David Childs-wrought changes as evidence of the dawn of Freedom Tower 4.0, heralded here just two weeks ago, but a consensus is emerging that to swap glass for metal on the base does not a new iteration make. So join us in hailing Freedom Tower 3.1. And, again, David Dunlap, who sneaked the following realpolitik observation past the Times' style desk:

If all goes according to plan — almost nothing has at ground zero — completion of the $2 billion, 2.6 million-square-foot Freedom Tower is expected in 2011.

Speaking of, has Childs slapped his lips on Danny's Blarney Stone?

Mr. Childs now proposes to cover the base in panels of laminated glass with a saw-tooth face made of prisms in a vertical array. "You know this from high-school physics class," Mr. Childs said. "The sun hits the prism and breaks into color."

Shades of the Wedge of Night? We had our doubts—until Port Authority honcho Ken Ringler put them to rest:

"I think David's artistic skills should alleviate many of those fears."

Also revealed, after the jump: a plaza with many steps, some hot lobby shots, and—gasp!—the final ultra-jiggy site plan for Ground Zero?????

newwtcplaza.jpg

newwtclobby.jpg

newwtclobby2.jpg

newwtcplan.jpg

· Architects Unveil New Design for Freedom Tower [NYT]
· WTC Chaos Update: Another Round of Freedom [Curbed]
· Next at Ground Zero: Freedom Tower 4.0! [The Gutter]


Posted in The Pit

Reader Comments (11 extant)

1.

look at all tht white…is that heaven? hmmm…if white=heaven, then David=GOD??

By Phillip Johnson at June 28, 2006 1:54 PM

2.

Hmmm...I like how he is describing his own building as a prism now...were those not the same words used to describe the initial Libeskind design? Wait...what am I saying...David invented the word prism, right?

By silent observer at June 28, 2006 4:59 PM

3.

looks like SOM found the sketch-up escalator components. wowzers!

By kap at June 30, 2006 4:13 PM

4.

white = bleach...... I've heard of a Holocaust museum in the new structure ..what does an attack on American soil killing Americans have to do with the Holocaust?

By Me at July 3, 2006 6:53 PM

5.

With every new "unveiling" of the tower, it gets worse and worse. This is quite possibly the most offensive design for a building I've ever seen. It's an eyesore and a horrible mistake for the skyline of the city, and falls far short of doing justice to the lives lost that day. The best thing to do at this point would be to scrap the entire original plan and hire Santiago Calatrava (the architect for the new transit hub) to design the whole thing.

http://www.calatrava.com/

By CJ at August 24, 2006 3:43 AM

6.

It's like a building from the future! Something you would see in "I-Robot" or something. I want to work there. I am going to work there! Heaven here I come!

By Julia at August 25, 2006 12:29 PM

7.

I personally liked the Twin Towers II plan better myself, it was the same as the old ones but bigger, I think that would say "if you mess with America, We'll come back bigger and better!" but this plan is good too, but there still should be 2 towers to remind us of the past, this is something we cant forget, and as a Firefighter, I will never forget

By Kevin Braun at September 4, 2006 5:24 PM

8.

Good idea mate, great article as well.I have a question, Just wondering ... If the tories take over in the next general election, do you think our education system will get more efficient ?Thanks

By Private tutor at September 10, 2006 10:45 AM

9.

I think the United States needs to move on and start the building of this new building. I mean it has been Five years.

By Heidi at September 11, 2006 2:50 PM

10.

Oh for heaven's sake, this design is absolutely ridiculous. People who didn't like the Libeskind proposal have kept the very worst aspects and left it at that. All the clever echoing of the Statue of Liberty and the bridge etc - all gone. All the imaginative details that drew the buildings together via a sweeping arc are now absent. Now just a bunch of lifeless rectangles, all of them, and they don't even seem to be part of the same design. Typical millenium-style glass buildings, what more can I say? Perhaps just that at the very end, these remind me of every office building I've seen built in the last seven or eight years, and maybe all this "freedom" nonsense means is business.

By Giles at September 12, 2006 5:10 PM

11.

I think this is the dumbest plan. If the Statue of Liberty was hit would we put a memorial for it? NO! We would rebuild a stronger and maybe a more distinctive look not sumthin lyk this. UNITED WE STAND

By Anthony at November 14, 2006 6:11 PM



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