[BuildTO]

From the NY Post, online

DONALD SET TO UNVEIL 'WORLD TRUMP CENTER'

By FREDRIC U. DICKER


May 17, 2005 -- ALBANY — Donald Trump, escalating his war against the "empty skeleton" Freedom Tower, will offer his own design for a rebuilt 111-story "World Trade Center" at Ground Zero at a press conference tomorrow.
"We have a beautiful model that has been built, a very big model," Trump told The Post yesterday.

"We took the original World Trade Center design, brought it into the modern age, made it more beautiful than ever before, made it one story taller, made it higher lined, and took out the architectural weaknesses that were there.

"We also strengthened the building internally so that what happened on 9/11 could never happen again," Trump added.

Trump, who made international news earlier this month when he told The Post that Gov. Pataki should scrap the Freedom Tower plan in favor of rebuilding the WTC towers one story taller, said he expected the public to rally behind his proposal.

"I hope the reaction from the public will cause the political establishment to do what everyone wants to be done, rebuild the World Trade Center, taller and stronger," he said.

Trump said his new WTC will be more aesthetically interesting than the old one.

"Some people thought it was too monolithic. We've put on a higher lined curtain wall, which will make the exterior much more vivid and beautiful," Trump said.

Pataki said last week that he plans to unveil the new Freedom Tower design next month, after it has been modified to meet NYPD security concerns.

Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein, who is having Freedom Tower architect David Childs revamp his original design, could not be reached for comment.

In an interview with The Post earlier this month, Trump ripped Ground Zero master planner Daniel Libeskind.

"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," Trump said at the time.

"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," he added.

Trump, meanwhile, said he had become all the more convinced of the need to rebuild the WTC during a recent flight to New York.

"I was flying over the Statue of Liberty, and I said to myself, 'You know, if that ever came down, they wouldn't replace it with something that didn't look like the Statue of Liberty.'

"To replace the World Trade Center with a skeleton of all things is the worst thing in the world, it's replacing it with an inferior product."

Trump said he had a "huge" reaction to his initial proposal to dump the Freedom Tower, receiving over 1,000 letters in support of rebuilding the WTC.

He said he expected an even greater public response when he unveils the new model.

 

[Jarrek]

Donald Trump is a Blockhead.

 

[adma]

In this case, Harry Stinson just might be preferrable.

 

[the publisher]

Go Trump!

 

[ahsun]

"Longer and Stronger" :hat

 

[jayomatic]

"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," he added.

hmm. this from the guy who still uses the colour gold in his buildings. Ive never seen a buildings as tacky as his.

But i'm curious to see what he's come up with.

 

[the publisher]

Higher, faster, bigger!

 

[BuildTO]

Trump Sounds Off on World Trade Center

By VERENA DOBNIK
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 18, 2005; 6:11 PM

NEW YORK -- To Donald Trump, the proposals for the replacement for the World Trade Center look like a junkyard. His solution? Rebuild the twin towers, more or less.

Standing in the lobby of his Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the developer turned TV star on Wednesday presented a model of his own envisioned towers, reflecting the original shape of the skyscrapers that fell Sept. 11, 2001.

The towers he advocates would be 111 stories tall - one floor taller than the lost towers.

Plans for the site, to be dominated by a 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, have been stalled lately because of security concerns, though Gov. George Pataki assured New Yorkers last week that the project was not losing momentum.

"Failure to rebuild is not an option," the Republican governor said in a speech in downtown Manhattan.

But Trump had little use for the futuristic, angular Freedom Tower model.

The plan "looks like a junkyard, a series of broken-down angles that don't match each other. And we have to live with this for hundreds of years?" he said. "It is the worst pile of crap architecture I've ever seen in my life."

However, Trump said he was leaving it up to developer Larry Silverstein, who owns the lease on the World Trade Center site, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land, to execute the design first introduced last year by engineer Ken Gardner.

"I only have the power of persuasion," Trump said. "It's a very simple power, but sometimes it can be very strong."

Speaking for Silverstein, Howard J. Rubenstein said Trump was a friend, but "Silverstein's only concern right now is designing a safe and spectacular Freedom Tower in keeping with the well-established master plan for the site."

Though it would be taller than the twin towers, the Freedom Tower would have much of its top one-third given over to airy latticework and a spire emitting light into the night. Only around 70 floors would be usable office space.

Trump described the existing design as "essentially a skeleton" at the top. "If we rebuild the World Trade Center in the form of a skeleton, the terrorists win."

Trump also left room for an alternative to his plan, if tenants can't be found for the new towers. "If for some reason, it can't be built, because there is a possibility that people do not want to be in any of the buildings on the site, then what we should do is ... build a great memorial park," he said.

 

[officedweller]

money.cnn.com/2005/05/18/news/newsmakers/trump_twintowers/index.htm?cnn=yes

Trump sets his sights on Ground Zero

The real estate mogul unveils his own plan to recreate the twin towers in lower Manhattan.
May 18, 2005: 4:20 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Donald Trump unveiled his plan to recreate the twin towers at Ground Zero at a press conference Wednesday, in an attempt to trump the Libeskind plan for a stand-alone Freedom Tower.

The real estate mogul said he aims to build two 111-story buildings, one foot taller than the 1360-foot buildings destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Trump plan would require scrapping the Libeskind plan for a 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, symbolizing the year of American independence, which continues to be hotly debated.

"In a nutshell, Freedom Tower should not be allowed to be built, it's not appropriate for downtown Manhattan, it's not appropriate for Manhattan, it's not appropriate for the United States and it's not appropriate for freedom," Trump said.

"The only thing good about the building, from an architectural standpoint, is the name Freedom Tower," he added.

Trump made clear that he intends to launch a promotional push to gather support for his idea of rebuilding the World Trade Center.

At today's press conference, he stood near a model of the proposed new twin towers. The model has been on display in the lobby of the developer's flagship Fifth Avenue property, Trump Tower.

Trump mentioned that he will draw attention to the proposal during this week's live airing of "The Apprentice." The model will "probably" be displayed during the broadcast, Trump said, "so the whole country can see it."

For the latest news on Trump's real estate, click here.

 

[SD2]

I never thought the Liebskind tower really fit in, but I don't think rebuilding the old towers would be the right approach either...that could bring up some painful memories.

 

[EnviroTO]

Rebuilding the same towers is wrong. History should not be polished over like that. Create a monument to the event but don't create something that looks like you are pretending it never happened.

 

[adma]

Yeah, I know it worked for the Campanile di San Marco in Venice, or Warsaw's Old Town, but...

Problem is, all this advocacy of "rebuild the Twins as they were" (more or less) is on the same cultural level as un-ironic conoisseurship of Hummel figurines or Keane paintings. It's truly the tasteless-populist bottom of the barrel. It's Lee Greenwood vomit-inducing.

Somehow, given the state of everything in American these days, it's shruggingly just as well if Trump actually does succeed in trumping Libeskind/Childs, unlikely as that prospect may be...

 

[yyzer]

Trump pushes own Ground Zero plan
Site planners reject mogul's criticism of World Trade Center site
From Phil Hirschkorn
CNN
Thursday, May 19, 2005 Posted: 8:57 AM EDT (1257 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Officials in charge of rebuilding the World Trade Center site Wednesday were quick to dismiss real estate developer Donald Trump's proposal to scrap their plan and instead build "reincarnated" Twin Towers similar to the originals.

"Donald Trump is entitled to his opinion, just like the millions of people who actually involved themselves in the public planning process which resulted in the master plan," said a spokesperson for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency overseeing rebuilding on the 16-acre site hit by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

That master plan, designed by Daniel Libeskind and David Childs, features a 1,776-foot "Freedom Tower" and a 4.5-acre area for a memorial to 9/11 victims.

But Trump told reporters at a news conference: "Throw it all away."

The agency spokesperson said, "It would be a mistake to ignore the democratic process that resulted in a consensus about planning for the site. We will continue to move forward with the master site plan."

Already, the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower has been laid on the site, though earlier this month New York Gov. George Pataki announced that the iconic tower would be tweaked to accommodate security concerns raised by the New York Police Department. A revised tower design is to be unveiled next month.

The Freedom Tower design was chosen in February 2003 after some of the world's best-known architects submitted proposals. Its height is symbolic of the year of American independence, and its 276-foot spire is meant to echo the arm of the Statue of Liberty.

The torqued glass-and-steel design includes a steel cable netting, more than 60 floors for offices, an indoor observation deck, a restaurant and wind-harvesting turbines to supply some of the building's power.

Trump made it clear he doesn't like it.

"It's a building that's essentially a skeleton," he said.

Trump said the plan "looks like a junkyard."

"You take a look at a the roofs of those buildings, they're all at different angles, different shapes," he said. "It is the worst pile of crap architecture I have ever seen in my life."

Trump's alternative would be replicas of the original 110-story towers, only a bit taller. The design and model by architect Ken Gardner, embraced by Trump, offered buildings that would be 1,474 feet -- more than a hundred feet taller than the original towers, once the world's tallest buildings.

"What we need is support to build a bigger and better version of two buildings and more that were taken down by people that were animals," Trump said. "If something happened to the Statue of Liberty, you wouldn't rebuild it as something other than the Statue of Liberty."

Trump's plan would also mean scrapping the memorial plaza that was also chosen after an international design competition.

In a written statement sent to CNN, Libeskind said, "The site plan is not just about commercial buildings. The memorial is its crucial centerpiece. It is there for a reason. The museums are there for a reason. The performing art center is there for a reason. The public open space is there for a reason. The transportation hub is there for a reason.

"Together they reflect the rich tapestry of our national spirit. They respond to the loss of 3,000 lives on this sacred ground but also reaffirm with optimism and determination of our democratic values and the true American dream.

"The master plan provides a context for these elements to coexist as a forceful, coherent and enduring whole -- both respectful of history and also defiantly alive."

Charles Wolf, whose wife, Katherine, was killed on 9/11 while working on the 97th floor of the center's North Tower, attended the news conference to inspect the model.

"This thing scared me at first. It scared me because you are confronting almost like a ghost," said Wolf, who has been active in the rebuilding debate. "Some people will not like this because it brings up too much pain. And some people will like it because it flushes pain."

Trump said he hoped that World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein, who is slated to construct the Freedom Tower, would get behind his plan.

But Silverstein indicated otherwise, saying his "only concern right now is designing a safe and spectacular Freedom Tower in keeping with the well-established master plan for the site."

Silverstein already has $4 billion in insurance proceeds and the backing of the state's political establishment, led by Pataki.

"I only have the power of persuasion," Trump said.

Trump is responsible for a number of tall apartment and office buildings around Manhattan -- all with his name emblazoned on them. They include his headquarters, 5th Avenue's Trump Tower, and the tallest residential building in North America, Trump World Tower, which rises 861 feet across the street from the United Nations.

"I think the challenge of Ground Zero goes beyond anyone's individual ego, and the problem of Donald Trump is he's never gone beyond his own individual ego," said Paul Goldberger, dean of Parsons School of Design and the architecture critic for The New Yorker.

"Everything he's produced is ultimately about Donald Trump, and we need a solution at Ground Zero that's going to be about New York, about America and about healing of the city -- and Trump I don't think is suited to that," Goldberger said.

Goldberger, who chronicled the rebuilding debate of the past three years in his book "Up From Zero," said Trump's proposal was technically achievable but ill-advised.

"It's possible to rebuild some version of the original Twin Towers. But why would anyone want to? They were not particularly beloved buildings. They were powerful symbols," Goldberger said.

However, Goldberger thinks the design for the Freedom Tower also is flawed, "because two talented architects who had different visions of what the skyscraper should be were forced by the governor to collaborate."

 

[BuildTO]

"It's possible to rebuild some version of the original Twin Towers. But why would anyone want to? They were not particularly beloved buildings."

Bingo.

 

[Junglab2002]

You can see the crap-tacular buildings here:

216.71.115.221/wtc/