January 16, 201312 yr another milestone -- the first 70...freakin...ton section of "spire" finally went up today: WTC Spire Base Installed; NY's Tallest Building Set To Be Tallest In Western Hemisphere (PHOTOS) NEW YORK -- Workers at the rising 1 World Trade Center on Tuesday installed the first piece of the spire that will make the 104-floor skyscraper the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. Dozens of construction workers were on hand as two giant cranes on the roof slowly lowered the massive, round piece of steel into its socket – the base of the 800-ton, 408-foot spire that will also serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. "Its function is incredibly important to the region," said Anthony Hayes, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16-acre trade center site. "We're bringing broadcast back down to lower Manhattan on top of the World Trade Center." With a beacon at its peak to ward off aircraft, the spire will provide public transmission services for television and radio broadcast channels that were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, along with the twin towers. The nearly 70-ton piece floated into Manhattan last month on a barge. It's the heaviest of 18 parts that will top the 1,776-foot skyscraper symbolizing America's freedom. Overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the high-rise is scheduled to open for business in 2014. Major tenants include the magazine publisher Conde Nast, the government's General Services Administration and Vantone Holdings China Center, which will provide business space for high-profile international companies. The new tower is at the northwest corner of the site, which is well on its way to reconstruction, with the 72-story 4 World Trade Center and other buildings also going up. The tower's crowning spire is a joint venture between the ADF Group Inc. engineering firm in Terrebonne, Quebec, and New York-based DCM Erectors Inc., the prime steel contractor for the tower. more + lots o pics: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/01/15/wtc-spire-base-installed-1-world-trade-center_n_2481086.html?utm_hp_ref=new-york
January 29, 201312 yr Heading up to NYC next week. We will have a small and very exclusive tour of the soon to be completed One WTC building. Luckily the interior elevators are working. Interior photography might still be banned. Are there any questions that you would like me to ask of the Representative/Durst Organization?
January 30, 201312 yr I'd be curious about any special security measures being taken for the building. But you might not want to ask about this since (1)they likely wouldn't want to divulge any private or sensitive information and (2)they might get suspicious of you and kick you off the tour! So maybe you could ask about the exterior cladding they will be using on the windowless base portion of the building. I seem to recall a PBS special about the 1WTC construction that talked about using a special glass cladding. But that they were abandoning that because of technical issues.
January 30, 201312 yr yes and no. everybody knows height and the last minute changing of the spire to an antenna were cost saving measures no matter what they say. i guess i would like to hear why they changed the base so much. why did they box it off instead of sticking to the original design? for your visit i would say be sure to get up close and personal with the glass cladding. i was able to get next to a few display panels early on and i gotta say they are top notch quality and really make the otherwise mundane bldg pop imo. edit: there is good wiki info on safety and security, here is what i found about the base: The fortified base of the tower has been a source of controversy. A number of critics (notably Deroy Murdock of the National Review) have suggested that it is alienating and dull, and reflects a sense of fear rather than freedom, leading them to dub the project "the Fear Tower".[62][63] Nicolai Ouroussoff, the architecture critic for the New York Times, calls the tower base decorations a "grotesque attempt to disguise its underlying paranoia".
January 30, 201312 yr OK good questions. Keep them coming. I know that the Durst Organization is very well thought of will probably give me their best answers. They also built BOA Tower, One Bryant Park which is an amazing building.
January 31, 201312 yr good news -- except pretty sure i heard the joyce dance theater in my neighborhood is what will move down there eventually. Planned WTC arts center gets boost From ASSOCIATED PRESS Last Updated: 12:06 PM, January 31, 2013 Posted: 12:06 PM, January 31, 2013 A performing arts center planned for the World Trade Center site has received a financial boost that improves chances of the languishing project to open in four years. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. on Thursday approved $1 million to hire staff and develop building plans. With the approval, the center could open as planned in 2017. The LMDC had withheld the seed money in September, citing concerns over the project's cost and fundraising ability. A board of directors was named to the center last year. The Frank Gehry-designed center would include a theater for contemporary dance. APA model from Gehry Partners, LLP for a performing arts center at the World Trade Center site. The LMDC already has committed $155 million for construction. The total cost is estimated at $450 million. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/planned_wtc_arts_center_gets_boost_FL2gKCgbAJ2q3LgUypTjpK
February 15, 201312 yr an update - the glass cladding continues to go up at a glacial pace. ditto for work on the base. however, the mast is now halfway up and on schedule. when completely installed, the mast itself will be the height of a 40story bldg! oh and yes after the momumental spire/antenna debates the people seem to have compromised by calling it a mast. ha. its craziness. edit: halfway up & no cranes or platforms anymore. (the rings will go on the base of the mast later):
August 24, 201311 yr I took a tour of 1 WTC back in Feb, need to post those pics this weekend. please do. did you get to go to the top? it's not fair! lol http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
August 24, 201311 yr I took a tour of 1 WTC back in Feb, need to post those pics this weekend. please do. did you get to go to the top? it's not fair! lol 86th Floor. Took a wooden elevator from 33 up to 86. Of course we got stuck for 10 minutes. This was 2 hours before that massive snow storm hit. Will transfer the photos from my phone later on. 1 WTC really sticks out at you on the glide path into LGA. Conde Nast and ?? China Services signed leases already, and port authority did as well.
August 26, 201311 yr ^^^ thanks so much. Also it's not just the new buildings going up on the actual WTC site. This is a pic of the neighboring Winter Garden in the World Financial Center (which is now renamed--forgot what it is), undergoing renovation. I kept hearing rumors that there were plans to remove the grand staircase (from which this was taken), but I believe it's been saved-- http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
October 27, 201311 yr Spectacular Santiago Calatrava-designed marble passageway linking World Financial Center to PATH train station and WTC has opened (Little wonder PATH fares have risen. Port Authority executives to public: Let 'em eat cake! lol) I especially enjoyed the vertigo-inducing escalator-- http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
October 27, 201311 yr Thanks for sharing the PATH station pics. I'm a fan of the "Calatrava aesthetic", so I'm pleased to see it finished - even in its value-designed final form. Particularly appreciated the picture of 1WTC viewed from the station (copied below). Looking good!
October 28, 201311 yr nice to begin to see a little calatrava in ny. particularly since we didnt get his cool, skinny residential pod tower downtown in the seaport or the gondola to governors island. outside, the new path station 'wings' are taking shape too, so much more calatrava to come!
October 28, 201311 yr I dig. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 28, 201311 yr A New York Times editorial from Banksy (currently on a month-long residency in NYC) that was denied publication:
October 28, 201311 yr Am I the only person who thinks that basically the entirety of that article just shows how incredibly uneducated he is on the matter? "It looks like something they would build in Canada." Ummm, there are some seriously awesome buildings going up all over Canada. Their level of urbanization is enviable. He completely fails to see the point of the new WTC. It's about the person, something the original WTC failed to do with its incredibly bland, monolithic modernism. The Twin Towers weren't great buildings, they were just massive. Tiny windows, massive uncomfortably open floor plates, low ceilings, cold spaces, etc. made them poor places to inhabit. And the site plan of the original WTC was awful. It closed itself off from the city and didn't understand its position in the urban environment, a consequence of the method of thinking and designing of the time. The new WTC is about bringing people in and creating a space which is not only awe inspiring, but quiet and allowing for inward reflection. And focusing purely on One WTC as if that's the only part of the entire complex also leads me to believe he is unfamiliar with the overall product. One WTC isn't this crazy building, but it doesn't need to be. The combination of styles of One, Two, Three, Four, and Five WTC will create a distinguished complex while the Museum, Memorial, and Transit Center will create the environment in which people will feel that same power of being within something huge, much lager than any one person. It's different than the original WTC, yes, but that doesn't mean the terrorists won. What a load of garbage.
October 28, 201311 yr Forgive my ignorance, but who is 'Banksy'? Edit: nevermind, I googled him. So a British graffiti artist doesn't like One WTC. I don't like blood sausage. So there, we're even.
October 28, 201311 yr I don't particularly like One WTC either, but what's the point in vague complaints about it now? It's not like they can stop and design something new and more interesting. If you're going to complain about something at least have the decency to point out specifically what you don't like about it so that the same "mistakes" aren't repeated. I'm not always a fan of Calatrava, but the station at the WTC site is amazing looking.
October 30, 201311 yr ^ right on time, i had to go down there last night so here is a look at progress on the calatrava station 'wings'
October 30, 201311 yr Forgive my ignorance, but who is 'Banksy'? Edit: nevermind, I googled him. So a British graffiti artist doesn't like One WTC. I don't like blood sausage. So there, we're even. yeah he's doing a self-described month long 'residency' in nyc and has had daily surprize 'happenings' all around town that make the news and are making some people a lot of money wherever he leaves his stencilwork graffiti. that screed was one of them. time for him to go home now i think.
November 13, 201311 yr well, it's official: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/12/world-trade-center-tower-willis-tower-largest-us-building/3504515/ cant say i agree, but hell 1776' baby we ain't gonna let the terrorists win. or something.
November 13, 201311 yr Wow...astonishing and wonderful to hear this...can't believe it's been over 12 years since 9/11 :'(
November 13, 201311 yr more big news, 4wtc officially opens today (although no one is moving in quite yet): http://nypost.com/2013/11/07/4wtc-will-be-first-ground-zero-building-to-open/ btw 1wtc will open next year.
November 26, 201311 yr well, it's official: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/12/world-trade-center-tower-willis-tower-largest-us-building/3504515/ cant say i agree, but hell 1776' baby we ain't gonna let the terrorists win. or something. Jon Stewart and The Daily Show's take on this: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-13-2013/tower-record JS showed some initial sympathy to Chicago for New York City taking back the "America's Tallest Building" title. But then someone from Chicago went and said "at least Chicago pizza is better". That set JS off on a comic tirade against how bad Chicago pizza is and how it isn't "real pizza" like New York pizza. Pretty funny stuff.
December 9, 201311 yr 4 WTC is on left--first bldg completed (or so they say). News stories a couple of weeks ago stated it was "open to the public." It's not (at least not to people who don't work there. I tried). I was even yelled at for crossing the street in front of it (to the 9/11 memorial side) to get a picture :-( http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
December 24, 201311 yr great news - groupm advertising signed on for 9 floors and over 500k sf, so the port authority financing can now be secured for wtc tower 3, which is currently a stump: http://nypost.com/2013/12/23/groupm-takes-large-3-wtc-space/ ^ unfortunately, it wasnt for tower 2, which is by far the best looking of all of the renders -- im really looking forward to that one being built some day.
March 18, 201411 yr great news - groupm advertising signed on for 9 floors and over 500k sf, so the port authority financing can now be secured for wtc tower 3, which is currently a stump: http://nypost.com/2013/12/23/groupm-takes-large-3-wtc-space/ ^ unfortunately, it wasnt for tower 2, which is by far the best looking of all of the renders -- im really looking forward to that one being built some day. more wtc3 news: http://nypost.com/2014/03/17/blocking-3-world-trade-center-deal-a-bad-idea/
May 17, 201411 yr the 9/11 museum is opening and more importantly at long last the fences are down so you can just walk right up to the reflecting pools in the footprints of the wtc towers: http://gothamist.com/2014/05/16/911_memorial_fences.php
May 18, 201411 yr predictable controversy at the museum, which the 9/11 families are allowed to visit free prior to it opening to the public: http://nypost.com/2014/05/18/outrage-over-911-museum-gift-shops-crass-souvenirs/
June 10, 201411 yr I can't believe I'm posting pictures of a food court (an act of desperation :|), but a big deal was made of this, a new facility in the World Financial Center (now called Brookfield Place, which I hate :x). It's located on the second level overlooking the Winter Garden (south side) and the marina and Hudson River (hence the name Hudson Eats :roll:) facing west; but despite what should be a really spectacular and picturesque setting actually looks pretty bland and corporate. http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
July 2, 201410 yr as mentioned above, if you visit note the wtc memorial site is now wide open to the public. here is a look around: museum
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