LMDC President Louis R. Tomson, who recently announced his resignation, moderated the event--which included appearances by Libeskind, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, US Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, representatives from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a coalition of Sept. 11 victims' families and WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstone.
Silverstein, who recently criticized the final design concepts, even offered a nod of approval to the winning architectural team. "Our company eagerly looks forward to working closely with Studio Daniel Libeskind on developing the site plan," he says in a statement. "They have produced a site plan that is ambitious and creative, and which demonstrates the excellence that will be the hallmark of all the rebuilding." This statement is a far cry from the harsh words written by the WTC owner earlier this month in a nine-page letter to LMDC chairman John C. Whitehead.
It was noted by nearly all of the speakers at yesterday's event that Libeskind's plan, which calls for 1,776-ft spiraling tower, best satisfies the criteria laid out by the LMDC last year. In fact, Whitehead noted in his remarks that, "[Libeskind's] plan represents the most compelling vision for the future of Lower Manhattan; the most appropriate space for the memorial; the most imaginative configuration of retail and office space; and a street plan that is nothing short of ingenious."
Two of the most widely talked about elements of the proposal are the underground memorial space, which preserves a section of the WTC bathtub, and the symbolic "wedge of light" along Fulton Street where no shadow will fall each year during the times the towers were attacked on Sept. 11.
Libeskind's original idea called for the memorial to be located 70 ft below ground, exposing a portion of the WTC foundation. However, this has since been modified to sit only 30 ft below grade due to the structural engineering of the slurry walls which hold back the Hudson River.
In a statement, the LMDC notes, "the concept of leaving the slurry wall exposed to demonstrate its resilience is feasible only if some form of lateral structure is added to support the wall's stability and enhance its solidity."
In all, this plan designates 4.5 acres for the memorial, and about 10 million sf for office and 880,000 sf for retail space--all of which will be located in five separate towers. There will also be a major transportation hub, a 280,000-sf museum and 380,000 sf of cultural space. The 1,776-sf tower, the tallest in the world, will house gardens on its upper levels.
Mayor Bloomberg pointed out, "New York City will witness the construction of the world's tallest building for the 10th time in history."
With the selection process is over, Governor Pataki added," we are now tasked with making sure this plan you now see becomes a reality… I look forward to seeing the rebuilding process move forward promptly and successfully."
The next phase of the redevelopment is the initiation of a memorial-design contest. This will be a global competition launched in the spring.
Libeskind beat out seven other architectural teams for this top honor. His group was named a semifinalist earlier this month, along with the THINK team led by Shigeru Ban, Frederic Schwartz, Ken Smith and Rafael Vinoly.
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