WTC Memorial, On Track; the Rest, Not So Much

Jen Chung

Published May 6, 2005

Modified Mar 7, 2008

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Jen Chung

Published May 6, 2005

Modified Mar 7, 2008

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NY1 reports that the WTC Memorial, Reflecting Absence, has been tested by a fountain consultant. The consultant constructed a "full-scale mock-up of some fountain configurations" to look for "potential problems with freezing and winter conditions"; the design has two pools in the footprints of the old World Trade Center Towers, with waterfalls around them. Outgoing Lower Manhattan Development Corportation President Kevin Rampe says that memorial groundbreaking is still "on track" for 2006, even in spite of the Ground Zero issues. You can learn more about Reflecting Absence at the LMDC.

The various parties involved with developing the World Trade Center - NY State, NYC, the LMDC, Larry Silverstein, victims' families, other politicians, you name it - are getting ready to roll up their sleeves and hash things out (again!) about what get built. At the end of a Daily News article, there's a list of 20 questions-and-answers about what's happening at Ground Zero: "6. Who's to blame for all this? No one is casting stones - at least not publicly. But the NYPD has said it has been raising security concerns for 16 months. It wasn't until an April 8 NYPD letter that the issue took on a new urgency."

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is taking the time to tell the NY Post that Governor Pataki or whomever is leading the WTC rebuilding should simply rebuild the old Twin Towers, but maybe just make them a story higher.

"They should duplicate the World Trade Center and not build something that looks like an empty skeleton...The design for the Freedom Tower is an egghead design, designed by an egghead, which has no practical application and which, frankly, didn't look very good. I've gotten great reviews on my buildings. I'm somebody who believes strongly in great architecture and this [the Freedom Tower] was a design that is just not a good design."

Trump is referring to Daniel Libeskind, whose spokesman told the Post, "I suppose Trump wants to add an extra floor to make room for his name. That's probably not the kind of iconic symbol anyone had in mind for this site." Thanks, Trump, for not being very helpful. But is it sick to want to have a reality show of the WTC rebuilding? At least that way, we could see what was going on?

Tagged

architecture

daily news

Daniel Libeskind

design

donald trump

freedom tower

governor

Governor Pataki

ground zero

Kevin Rampe

larry silverstein

lower manhattan

manhattan

news

News: NYC

ny post

ny state

ny1

nyc

nypd

reflecting absence