Twin Towers part II
Out of context: Reply #10
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And, without getting into an political reasons for rebuilding the site...I have to say that none of the new designs are well thought out, nor do they fit within the context of the city [especially the horrible Meier Eisenman Gwathmey Holl design].
One of the key functions of ANY large scale architecture project is to relate it to the context. Not one of these designs cares about the city scape around it, how the other structures relate or compare nor do they take into consideration interaction with people and city systems.
And, nothing pisses me off more than when architects [or any designer] get into this dick waving contest. What is the point in making it "bigger". This whole "mine is bigger than yours" concept is a bad perspective for the basis of a new building.
It seems that the participating architects have lost hold of their basic education and experiences.
I've chatted on the phone with a couple of my college professors [I studied architecture] recently about the designs and ideas behind a new site, and they don't even like what they see.
They are simply poor designs...
The question isn't whether we should or should not build, rather the question is should we build sensibly and realistically or should we try to see who has the bigger design ego?
The downtown NY area is a vital system to the city, leaving it empty could have long range affect on the city function [ANYONE who has read 'City of Bits' or any of W. Mitchell's theory would probably agree].
Cities are much like humans, in that all the intricate systems that make up the body must function both coherently and in good health.
Removing something like a vital commerce system could impact not only economics but moral of it's citizens.
Anyway, back to the designs...The only design I am even remotely interested in is THINK Team's "Great Room". A good idea, bringing the design back down to earth, adding a subtle ethos of 'family value' to it but desiging it as a large congregating area...THINK seems to be more interested in reasoning than just designing huge buildings...