Revised WTC Freedom Tower design unveiled

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 20, 2003

Revised WTC Freedom Tower design unveiled

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

New design for WTC Freedom Tower

A new design for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center (WTC) site was unveiled Friday morning, featuring a spire rising 1,776 feet (541.3 meters) and combining elements of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

The new plan, which comes after months of hard negotiations between designers Daniel Libeskind and David Childs, chief architect of WTC site leaseholder Larry Silverstein, retains many elements of Libeskind's original plan but appears to smooth out many of its most angular elements.

Childs told a press conference Friday that the tower must be "simple and pure in its form, a memorable form that will reclaim the resilience and the spirit of our democracy."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the tower would "dramatically reclaim a part of the New York City skyline that was lost on Sept. 11."

"This is a wonderful day, not just for New York, but for America," said Bloomberg, who appeared with the architects and NewYork State Governor George Pataki to unveil the new design.

The plan calls for a cable suspension structure that creates an open area above the building's 70 floors of office space, and houses broadcast antennae and windmills to generate energy. The windmills could provide 20 percent of the building's energy.

Childs likened the suspension elements of the new design to the Brooklyn Bridge, with the bottom of the building "torqued or twisted."

The new design retains an important part of Libeskind's original concept, a 276-foot spire intended to evoke the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

Despite persistent reports of conflict between the two designers, Childs told the audience they had "a spectacular time working together. ... Creative minds have different thoughts about how you do things. I wouldn't want to work with somebody who would just say yes."

According to Silverstein, construction of the Freedom Tower is expected to complete by 2008. After that he hoped the each successive year will witness the completion of another new building until the final tower is completed by 2013.

Questions?Comments? Click here

New main building at WTC site to be completed by 2008

China opposes foreign interference on HK affairs: Official ( 54 Messages)

China seeks int'l support in counter-terrorism ( 12 Messages)

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein arrested ( 101 Messages)

Nanjing Massacre remembered ( 54 Messages)

Abandoned Chinese babies find love from foreign parents ( 3 Messages)