I agree with everything, even the story taller thing, except not the gold filligree and pink Italian marble with luxurious casinos.

That is just tacky imo.

Build them back!!

http://www.triroc.com/wtc/

This may be the design he was referring to. (before the update). Quite bequtiful, I believe. The "Freedom Tower" looks pretty, but isn't right for The world trade center. In AnyWay, Shape, of Form.

I need to nitpick. The Trump estate in Florida is not Maya Largo, it's "Mar a Lago" ("sea to lake" in Spanish) .

I like the T idea. The gold filigree and pink marble and casinos are like a dream. But I can't support the project unless the buildings are capped with stylized granite renditions of the Trump Hair Helmet®.

Thanks for the Mar a Lago correction.

So Ace, was that parody? Did Donald actually say that about his estate or were you making fun of him.

I can never tell around here....;-)

He said all the stuff in the quoted article.

The Update part is all bullshit.

The "update" has to be a joke, right? "It's all about the quality."

America had a chance to respond with a big "fuck-you" in the weeks following 9/11, but other than Afghanistan, we didn't.

The Stock Market sank, it became ALL ABOUT the 9/11 Victims and giving enough millions to them to "achieve closure" for the tragic deaths. The Pit, then known as "Ground Zero" or "Sacred Soil" wasn't even under serious discussion for rebuilding as Victim Families, empowered, were supposed to be the final word on rebuilding or not, Homeland Security, what foreign policy we pursued...The main thing we had to do, many said, was find the "evil mastermind" bin Laden. When we did, wonks said we would be safe again...but in the meantime....America needed to keep the tax cuts, borrow to heavily bolster security with cops on OT watching tunnels and reservoirs....because we "had to be perfect everytime, the terrorists could win by being lucky only once...fortunately the FBI and 1st Responder heroes, and Congress, would keep us safe..."

If we had said early that we were going to rebuild, that the sight would not mainly be a Death Memorial, companies would have lined up to become tenants to show civic duty and harvest good will. Maybe some Victims Families would have squawked they needed to be the ones blessing off any construction and they were opposed....but we could have said rebuilding NYC took precedence over their feelings and they should take their millions and move on....Then the WTC caould have been rebuilt as surely as the Pentagon was.

But we didn't.

Now it's too late. The Libeskand Plan didn't have a single tenant signed on. Trump's vision of Bigger and Better Towers (and Targets) also comes without a single tenant signed on. The 4-year anniversary will come without an approved reconstruction Plan.

5-6 years from 9/11, it will still be Pataki's Pit or The Victim Family's Pit. With no buildings or tenants bringing revenue in. In contrast, bombed out WWII cities, including Hiroshima, but notably excepting Berlin where politics ruled - were largely rebuilt in the 5-6 years following WWII.

It will eventually be used for something other than gawking or the Victim Family's Mournathon....but don't hold your breath. NYC is not the only city with problems. China's takeover of industries is gutting and levelling other cities and towns more effectively than Arabs in jets..

I really have only one response to Cedarford:
"Lighten up, Francis."

Hard to lighten up, Devore. Trump is just blowing his usual smoke. The time to harness the American Spirit to rebuild the WTC was squandered.

It will be a Pit for a long time to come.

See lauraw, I'm still with you. Its killing me but I'm still with you.

The star of NBC’s reality show “The Apprentice” said that instead of the Freedom Tower, he would like to see the Twin Towers rebuilt — one story taller.

Fuckin' aye.

Sadly, I find myself agreeing with much of what Cedarford said. I think that a lot of the delay and general f'ing about is really part of Pataki's (spit) plan to dispossess Larry Silverstien. All they ahve to do is stall until Larry loses heart and too much cash, and then he'll cancel his lease and the land will revert to the Port Authority. A lot of folks call PAtaki a RINO, but really he's worse than that - he's more like a Chicago Democrat.

To me, there has never been a viable alternative to rebuilding the WTC as it was, with necessary engineering upgrades. It would be the most appropriate demonstration of the American spirit.

I was also reminded of the 1905 nationwide campaign to save USS Constitution through donations. Perhaps a revealing test.

Problem with rebuilding the towers is that getting tenants for the top 30 or so floors would be really, really, difficult.

That's why the 'freedom tower' mess originally had the top whatever floors as greenhouse/museum space.

Make the new top floor NORAD.

The top of the Freedom Tower was supposed to be some sort of wind-turbine energy generating thingy.
The top would be a great place for a memorial/observation deck/ resturant type installation.
I wanted the towers rebuilt maybe not exactly like the originals, but definately bigger.
Some will argue that there are no tenants. But like the movie says "if you build it they will come". That's some of the most expensive real-estate in the world, and its laying fallow. Something will be built there, and unless there's a miracle, given our current ruling elites, it'll probably be shit.

Too bad Yamasaki is dead.

Heh, Make The Top Floor NORAD would make a good title for an essay.

Problem is, there just isn't any demand for that much downtown real estate. Throw in the security problem and it's going to be really tough to find tenants at anything like a market price.

And if we rebuild those towers and can't find tenants, how does that tell the terrorists to fuck off? Doesn't it really say, "Sure, we can rebuild it but we're too scared to actually work there?"

We should expand the very successful Financial Center development into the vacant area and leave it at that. That much space we can fill, and since this will be far more successful that WTC ever was, no one can claim we are chickenshit when we're just doing good business.

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I'd like to point out that Trump hasn't actually proposed a new plan, but actually gotten behind an already existing plan by Ken Gardener and Herbert Belton.

Trump's decided to get behind this plan, which proposes to build a new and improved WTC complex, which would rebuild twin towers taller than the ones destroyed on 9/11.

http://www.triroc.com/wtc/ has more on the Gardener and Belton plan.

The higher I ascend in a high rise in Manhattan the more I recall all the people dieing in 9/11. We should definitely rebuild higher because that's the American way..bigger and better. As mentioned previously, I dont see too many leasing space on the top 30 or so floors.

Trump is Right on. Liebnazi's design goes against NYC's identity of making use of every inch of real estate.
The concept of creating a skeleton for security purposed doesnt make much sense since a plan can collapse a building when hitting the 1st floor too.

I never liked the Liebskind plan in its entirety. Some of the most brilliant elements were ommitted in the Childs revision such as the circular elevated walkway and the light sculpture formed by the facet-like sides of various towers on the anniversary of the attacks. I never understood how the vertical garden in the spire would accommodate people. It's silhouette on the skyline did not impress me. I thought it an honest and very good attempt. I understand people being wary of working or visiting up so high but it does not have to have tenants in the upper quarter at first. Build it and American pride will fill it up soon enough with many companies that will be proud to rent there. This is what I hope but what really matters is demand for office space and the real fear of potential tenants to work up that high. But they should get over it and get bigger cajones. We are at war and Americans like taking risks. If our troops can risk what they are risking every day, white-collar types can risk working up that high in such a significant building. After all the terrorist can get a soft target like an undistinguished 50 story skyscraper anywhere in the U.S. as hatefully as they did the twin towers.

Also, it is a pity West Street will not be placed below grade with a park or esplanade up top.

I hope all parties involved will reconsider and build something more spectacular and befitting the spirit of New York City and those who protect it. The current plan deserves the scorn it is getting from Mr. Trump among others because I believe such a mediocre design came about because top leaders wanted it done quick. Tthey could still include it within their political legacy if they get it going fast. They are also salivating at the tax revenue the development will bring. That's the way politicians are, nothing new but this project has a greater significance than just the interests of locals.

Shortly after the towers fell I said they should be rebuilt but taller. I don't care for one story. Let it be rebuilt with two towers, one 120 stories and the other 90. They can be dazzling examples of great American architecture. They can be super strong , soaring skyscrapers that complement the pre-war towers of Lower Manhattan but plainly say 21st Century and echo the State's motto, "Excelsior". Better to wait and get it right so go back to the drawing board and deliver a big f u to the terrorists who knocked them down.

Sit back and let The Donald do it right.
He's 100% correct --- If we build the Freedom Tower, it will be a monument to the terrorists.

Daniel Libeskind designer of The Freedom Tower, the biggest pile of crap ever seen,
YOUR FIRED

We need better tradition America spirit arts and visions. Freedom Tower looks very ugly, and world will think we america childish. Arab builds beautiful its own traditions. I like Trump vision better. Childish lacks fashion and creative and images like futurist freak towers. Older is better and built more creative. Look at Freedom Tower is very gross.

Buildings shaped like the box cutters used by the September 11 hijackers were chosen in March 2003 to replace the World Trade Center. I wondered how far construction would proceed before people realized the sharp-edged structures depicted blades held to the throat of Lower Manhattan.

In December 2003, a revised design was revealed. The tallest building now has a blunt edge and, with the antenna, looks more like an ice pick. In a concession to terrorism, the upper stories would be filled by windmills instead of office dwellers who would be trapped if another plane crashed into the tower.

The WTC structures will surround the sunken pit of the original towers. Symbolically, this preserved excavation offers an open grave for future victims of terrorism.

The design and its modification are the works of architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs. Libeskind’s central European accent and gothic black clothes invoke the image of Dieter, the host of “Sprockets” on Saturday Night Live. Libeskind pandered to the American ego, offering us the world’s largest building at a height, 1,776 feet, which marks our nation’s birth.

The committee that selected the design lost a chance to chose something more transcendental to commemorate September 11, 2001. The only uplifting shape I associate with the year 2001 is the black monolith from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The slab proportions are based on a universal math concept, the square of the first three digits: 1 x 1 = 1, 2 x 2 = 4, 3 x 3 = 9. Imagine this: a black building 100 by 400 feet at the base and 900 feet high.

Coincidentally, there already is a building in New York City with a similar shape: the United Nations Secretariat building, which is in serious disrepair and will cost more than a billion dollars to update. We should have moved the UN to the WTC site, a gesture that would have said the war on terror was not just about the US and making money; it was a war to preserve international order.

Somehow, im guessing that the only conversation that happens is between the audience and the poster, and only in that direction in the comments. For example, i would have never known about your entry had it not been trackbacked to mine. And you only know about this comment because you will get an email about it. But if you respond in the comments, theres a low probability that i will read it due to the fact that my RSS feed doesnt tell me about updated comments.

i would not return to the page with the topic you read before,butiwill probably return to the topic i posted a comment to. More comments means more visits and it keeps the blog dynamic. After all blogs are not for authors only

i would not return to the page with the topic you read before,butiwill probably return to the topic i posted a comment to. More comments means more visits and it keeps the blog dynamic. After all blogs are not for authors only

i would not return to the page with the topic you read before,butiwill probably return to the topic i posted a comment to. More comments means more visits and it keeps the blog dynamic. After all blogs are not for authors only

I havent gotten much done lately. Ive basically been doing nothing. Its not important. Ive just been sitting around not getting anything done. Pretty much nothing seems worth doing. Eh.

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