Giuliani vs World Trade Center v2.0

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Giuliani slams Trade Centre designs

From correspondents in New York

December 24, 2003

 

FORMER New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani lashed out today at plans to redevelop the devastated World Trade Centre site, saying a fitting memorial to those who died was being sacrificed to office space.

 

"What I would like to see is for the memorial to dominate," said Giuliani, who won the informal title of "America's mayor" for leading New York through the trauma of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

 

"The most important thing about the design has to be the significance of the place," Giuliani told CNN.

 

"It's the place where the worst attack in American history took place ... it's a place that people will want to be interested in 150 years from now, the way they are Gettysburg or the Vietnam memorial."

 

Given his strong connection in the public eye to the September 11 period, Giuliani has had an influential voice in the rebuilding of Ground Zero - and his position on the master plan of architect Daniel Libeskind has always been distinctly negative.

 

Libeskind's original vision has been heavily modified and, in the eyes of some, has given too much ground to the trade centre leaseholder Larry Silverstein, who has insisted on replacing the valuable office space lost when the twin towers fell.

 

"There's such an imperative to replace the office space," Giuliani said.

 

"Well, the office space isn't going to count 50 years from now. Doing the memorial right will count. We have to think about how future generations are going think about us, not just about how we feel today."

 

Giuliani is seen as a champion of the demands of the families of September 11 victims. He was instrumental in ensuring that the footprints of the twin towers - regarded by the families as sacred ground - were preserved for a future memorial.

 

An international design competition for the memorial drew more than 5000 entries, from which eight were chosen last month by a special jury. A final winner is expected to be announced early next year.

 

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0...55E1702,00.html

 

Hey, somebody finally got it. Sticking a communications tower on a building doesn't exactly express somber memorial.

[2GOLD 0]

You mean some greedy Americans think more about making money than a memorial?? NO WAY!

 

I hate to say this, but I'm not one bit shocked that it took all of two years for the importance of that spot to fade away in the eyes of business.

 

Fine, put up the office space. And enjoy the pissed off ghosts that thing is filled with.

 

I swear that any business that helps with the construction of an office building will no longer ever have the right to complain about their public image.

[Dr. Tom 0]

I've long thought they should build several smaller towers in a circle, with a nice memorial park at the center of them. That way, the dead are remembered, and the office space -- which is necessary, let's face it, though I'd hate to see the lease prices in that new design -- can be restored.

[Skywarp! 0]

The worst part about the dumb space-age designs people created is that they do not fit the Lower Manhattan skyline. Let's remember that it's New York, and not Batman's Gotham City or a Space Station or the Emerald City. The "form" of the memorial/office space is taking over its function.

[Perfxion 0]

People, as sad as 9-11 is. We do need to move on. WTC was a major BUSINESS center. This country runs off BUSINESS not memories, as heartless as it sounds. Since I seen ground zero, since we all saw what happend we know we can't forget about it. But the need to build new and move on. The former mayor shouldn't complain about them building anything there. If anything being complained it should be that the building looks fucking ugly. Why can't they just build 7 freaking skyscrapers about 70 stories a piece with a park like Dr Tom stated. But they do need to keep the current set up of ground zero there to keep people remembering.

[Anakin Flair 0]

First, I thought they already picked the final design, and from the looks of it, it can be both a fitting memorial and replace the lost office space. There's no law against that.