One World Trade Center, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, world architecture news, architecture jobs

08/02/12 Seymour Auerbach, F.A/I.A., Cjevy Chase

Way back when various schemes were being considered, I drew (and made a model) a scheme which extended all of the abutting streets to the Memorial Site.
The extended streets were to be pedestrian ways with retail and other functions on their sides, The spaces between the extended streets were filled with buildings which were ONLY 34 STORIES HIGH. THE TRANSIT STATION WAS TO BE LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE SITE (WHERE TRANSIT STATIONS SHOULD BE !

I HAD MADE TWO APPOINTMENTS WITH THE PERSON (NAME NOW FORGOTTEN), BOTH OF WHICH HE DID NOT ATTEND.

It made much more sense than the scheme for high rise monumental Towers. dedicated more to the Hot Shot Architects who designed them than to the actual memorial itself. The ends of the 34 story building stepped down towards the Memorial and the facades of these buildings were faced with mirror glass which reflected the Memorial – enhancing the ABSENCE OF THE DESTROYED BUILDINGS !

My entire scheme, with the floor space equal to the amount destroyed, plus museums and such located on the first two stories could have been been finished by now!

What a terribly insulting and self-serving manner to have been foisted on this entire project. (p,s, there may have been schemes better than mine that were also denied introduction,)

Shame on those responsible for what has happened – all these years later !!

Why I was denied an audience for my scheme has troubled me ever since. It was just plain beurocracy at work !

Click for more ...

04/02/12 Bernie Goetz, New York

Spending several million to add temporary loading docks to WTC1 is trivial compared to roughly $10 billion that was/is being wasted at the site. The entire plan is impractical. Amazingly the decision was made to restore the old streets to the site even though the small resulting blocks were not conducive for large buildings. Is restoring the old streets a plan? Several years after the building started it was realized that small streets criss-crossing the site would be detrimental to security, so all the streets crossing the site were eliminated except for Greenwich Street. When completed Greenwich will be barricaded for security. And thats just the beginning. The site plan is ridiculous and the project is a fiasco.

Click for more ...

21/02/12 Peter Hancock, Maseru

My desIgn proposal for the world trade center featured four service/escape modules ,one at each corner of the building. This was derived from. an even
earlier design, which comprised four office towers, linked by bridges at every tenth floor. The first design was exhibited at the Municipal Arts society's gallery,
on Madison Avenue, in 1992 .

T he design lesson of 9/11 was simple: ensure that there are adequate multiple
independent means of escape.

Click for more ...

Possible design flaw could add millions to the cost of One World Trade Center

The agency building the new World Trade Center says that a design flaw could add millions of dollars to the cost of the complex’s signature tower. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Tuesday that a loading dock serving One World Trade Center won’t be finished in time for tenants to move into the 104-storey tower. So it’s building five temporary loading docks above the ground.

A temporary station that was built for the Port Authority Trans Hudson subway is blocking access to the underground area. The station can’t be dismantled to make way for underground freight areas until the crews finish the permanent stations. Commenting on the state of affairs, Patrick Foye, executive director for the Port Authority told reporters Tuesday that, 'several years ago there was a design miss.” Should it have been caught? The answer is probably'.

The temporary loading bays will add millions to the cost of the tower, which is now 90 storeys high. The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that the cost of the David Childs-designed One World Trade Center has soared to $3.8bn, $700m more than last estimate announced in 2008. Foye would not confirm the $3.8bn figure but said that the rising costs will be examined in a review of the agency that is being prepared for the governors of New York and New Jersey.

Sharon McHugh
US Correspondent

Possible design flaw could add millions to the cost of One World Trade Center

Key Facts

More projects by this architect

Jobs available with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

Latest Jobs in New York