WTC remembered - or is it ?

[Richard Haut]

The following has just appeared on the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3861999.stm

It talks about the conflicts between Liebeskind and the "other" architects (I thought it was SOM), Silverstein and the Port Authority, etc., and that Liebeskind's Freedom Tower now looks like becoming an office block with a mast on top.

Apparently the bickering about respect/remembering and squeezing every last cent out of the land carries on. SOM and Liebeskind would be more than capable of reaching a respectful balance between commercial realism and the site's obligations to the USA - if they were allowed to.

The following contains the article of 4th. January 2002 written by Bill Manning, editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering:

http://fe.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=OnlineArticles&SubSection=Display&PUBLICATION_ID=25&ARTICLE_ID=131225

The BBC's piece ends by saying that many in New York want the twin towers rebuilt as they were - and why not ? New Yorkers, like their heroic firefighters and police, will have to make do with private grief and, if the reports that I have read are true, if they want to remember with respect, then they will have to wait for a bus - in the bus-station to be built on Ground Zero itself.

What next ? Will Silverstein take a lease on Arlington Cemetery ?

[Richard Haut]

My impression was that many Americans came out of the shock of 9.11 in the way that people who know what earthquakes are but have never experienced one might be if they unexpectedly suffered one of the biggest earthquakes ever known.

They were unclear about what was safe and what was not, who could be trusted and who could not.

New York is probably the best city in the world for picking itself up and getting on with things.

I don't believe that what you say is callous - it is realistic.

People like and admire New York - its reputation is unique.

Does New York need to redefine its relationship with the world ? After something as traumatic as 9.11, it is inevitable - however part of that redefinition should also be a re-establishment of the respect and affection that people around the world have for New York.

I agree that the WTC site has a unique significance as an urban space - the advantage may prove to be that the reputation of New York (and indeed of Manhattan) may carry it above the behaviour of what, for want of a better term, I can only call America's 9.11 opportunists - a comparatively small group who have sought to take improper advantage of a tragedy. They are third rate - New York isn't.

In addition, it is the timescale that will help.

Would I travel half way around the world to see a Liebeskind building ? Errrrrrr .............. But to see what is built at Ground Zero I just might.