Bookworm

Touring the new home of the New York Times. - By Witold Rybczynski - Slate Magazine

Link: Touring the new home of the New York Times. - By Witold Rybczynski - Slate Magazine.

Latest Version of the Freedom Tower

"Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg recently unveiled the latest design of the proposed Freedom Tower, planned for the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. This is the third version. The first was part of Daniel Libeskind's winning entry in the 2002 competition; the second, unveiled in 2003, was the result of an uneasy collaboration between Libeskind and David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who is the architect hired by Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder of the site. The current design, which is entirely the work of Childs, is far from perfect but it is the best of the three."  [Link: Design by Committee By Witold Rybczynski in Slate.]

Changes to Freedom Tower Design

". . . Gov. George E. Pataki, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the lead developer at ground zero said yesterday that the soaring office building known as the Freedom Tower would be significantly redesigned to satisfy security concerns. People involved in the rebuilding processs say that the tower, unveiled 18 months ago as the product of a contentious collaboration between two world-famous architects, is likely to lose its signature twisting form, along with its distinctive spire - a conscious reflection and reply to the Statue of Liberty's upraised arm in New York harbor. . . Pataki. . . made clear that the tower, if different, would retain some essential qualities laid out in the master plan for the site: that the building be iconic, that it remain in its current location, that it be the tallest building on the site and that its spire reach a height of 1,776 feet to satisfy that patriotic number.  The tower is expected to be set farther back from West Street than the minimum of 25 feet now proposed. It has been suggested that untwisting the tower would reduce the size of the building's base, leaving more room for a security buffer. "I have no doubt that David Childs will come up with yet another magnificent design that will once again inspire the nation and serve as a fitting tribute to freedom," Mr. Pataki said, referring to the architect who designed the current model for the Freedom Tower and will lead the new effort."  [NY Times]