site plan comparisons wtc

8/2/2019 Site Plan Comparisons Wtc

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Site Plan Comparisons

Fig. 1. The original 16-acre World Trade Center site prior to 9/11. The magnificent 110-

story twin super skyscrapers (dark blue) sometimes cause outrageous high ground windconditions. Of the four smaller buildings (yellow), only the hotel is considered unusually

attractive. The iconic Koenig Sphere and fountain (light blue circle) are near the center ofa somewhat impractical, dull, and unfriendly plaza. Original plans called for a more

attractive and expensive plaza, and rebuilding the site could be an opportunity to correct

the plaza faults. Delivery vehicles entered at the south side of the site.


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Fig. 2. The original Gardner concept: The two (white) original footprint memorials and the two(blue) similarly arranged new super skyscrapers (WTC 1 and WTC 2) complement each other.

Other site plans are possible and the site dimensions can be increased slightly. The above shifted

site plan is meaningful, forms an attractive pattern, and restores the skyline. The new twin towers

are located 300 feet 'east' and 40 feet 'south' of the original footprints. (Just shifting the towers 300

eet horizontally would result in a less attractive "blocky" pattern.) The new towers are above trainlines (bad) and the towers and memorials are possibly inappropriately close. Footprint memorials

would be based on victims' families' recommendations. Ancillary buildings are not shown. Wind

and sun conditions should be considered; there will be high gusts. Entrances to the PATH and

subways would be located at position C or D. The Koenig Sphere and fountain might be restored.

Suggestions are welcome for possible construction at positions A, B, C, and D.


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Fig. 3. Above is the site plan of the model shown on this web site. Original footprint memorials and the Memorial

Plaza are based on victims' families' recommendations. WTC-1 and WTC-2 are new 115-story twin towers.Modeled on the successful Time-Warner Center, these towers are presently planned to have commercial space on

the lower floors, hotel space on the middle floors, and residential and public space on the the upper floors. WTC-3,

WTC-4, and WTC-5 are 12-story buildings. Streets might be underground. WTC-2 and WTC-3 are attached. WTC-

5 might be replaced with a park. Church Street width might be reduced. The proposed outdoor footprint memorialsand proposed Memorial Plaza are shown below.


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Fig. 4. These are two different outdoor memorial designs proposed for the site plan above (west view). Most prefer

the left design. The granite wall sections with the names of the deceased are not shown in this photo. An alternate

roposed indoor memorial design is shown elsewhere on this web site. The optional Memorial Plaza or Park behindthe curved wall was designed by a family member architect, and could be added to the Libeskind plan at a later

date.


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Fig. 5. A logical and practical symmetrical version of the site plan with the super block, Twin Towers, Tobin Plaza,Koenig Sphere, and fountain restored. The memorials and new towers have the same relationship to each other.

This is probably the best basic site plan, and it corrects the faults of the original plaza. An upgraded Tobin Plaza(or park) buffers the site elements, provides good flow and views thru the site, is people friendly, historically

meaningful, reduces morbidity at the site, and helps meet the high standards expected at a national memorial.

Buildings are not above train lines, and restoring the super block without above ground streets adds quality space

and negates the need for embassy building standards. Original footprint memorials and the Memorial Plaza would

be based on victims' families' recommendations. WTC 1 and WTC 2 (the new twin towers) could be connected by

skybridges. Wind and sun conditions should be considered. Site winds will be different from the original site

(hopefully better) and should be analyzed with wind tunnel testing. Probably Greenwich Street could continue

underground through the site. Possibly the best basic design for position A is the proposed Memorial Plaza shown

in fig. 4 above. The Freedom Tower foundation and materials could be used for a shorter conventional building atosition B. Visitors centers and Path and subway entrances could be anywhere on the site, particularly position C.

Some security and administration offices could be located at position D since delivery vehicles would enter thesouth side of the site. Suggestions are welcome for possible construction at positions A, B, C, and D. WTC 1 could

be shifted 20 feet east. Modifications to the No. 1 subway crossing the site would not cause service interruption.

Brace yourself for the official LMDC plan below.


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Fig. 6. The LMDC site plan - a plan without meaning. All streets (except Greenwich) crossing the site will have

negligible impact on traffic patterns, but are unsuited for security and will consume valuable space. GreenwichStreet would be benificial but it will be inconveniently blocked for security; instead it should be underground.

Infrastructure is an impractical intertwined mess. The memorials are designed mostly underground, and eventually

might have to be closed or abandoned. The memorial architects want no artifacts above ground; the Koenig Sphere

and fountain are gone, but the Koenig Sphere can be seen underground for a fee. The fortress-like Freedom Toweris above a train line and will be out of place and inappropriately near the memorial. The Freedom Tower would be

the tallest building in New York and a landmark structure, but private industry would never build this special

building at this poorly chosen commercial location. The Calatrava "Transportation Hub" is an expensive useless

giant modern art sculpture that costs as much as one Twin Tower would. Since Trump's comments the Freedom

Tower has been completely redesigned with better Coney Island techniques, but it is still at a bad location and willeither be sold for a large loss or will be a taxpayer subsidized white elephant. Where is "Libeskind's genius" to be

ound?

"Throw it all away." Donald Trump

"In April 2002, the rebuilding authorities politicians and their appointees made the most critical designdecisions and sealed them in a blueprint: Take away the site's uniqueness by subdividing it with a series of roads

and predetermining the area of the site to be devoted to a memorial for the victims of 9/11. This blueprint dooms all


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quality architectural efforts, as we have seen." Eli Attia (architect of the Millenium Hilton, across from Ground

Zero)

The memorials, Freedom Tower, street plan, Calatrava sculpture, and Vehicle Security Center are gross mistakes

of urban planning that will be taught as an example for future generations to avoid.

site plan comparisons wtc

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