911memorials.org

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the five finalists for the Flight 93 Memorial have been selected. The nine-member jury took 3 days to sort through 1,011 entries. The official announcement is to be Friday. Judges said it was easy the first day for eliminations but things got more difficult when they had to winnow the field down as it went down to 30. Sarah Wainio, 18, whose sister, Elizabeth, died in the crash, was quote as saying, “There was one that made my heart skip a beat because of the impact it would have on other people.” The finalists will each get a $25,000 honorarium to fully develop their ideas. One of those finalists will be chosen in August as the winner of the competition

Clay Risen in the New York Times Review of “Sixteen Acres” notes:

Nobel mercilessly needles the participants in the January 2002 show at the Max Protetch Gallery, who presented a cornucopia of avant-garde architectural wit but also a ‘’fatal distance from public need,’’ unbuildable designs that responded to problems ‘’too conjectural, too personal, too obscure, too sensational . . . to be of much use when utility comes calling.’’

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A column by Steve Cuozzo in the New York Post takes Gov. Pataki to task for still pursuing the West Street tunnel by Ground Zero. He compares the havoc that would created during construction of the tunnel (budgeted at a billion dollars) to Boston’s Big Dig which ran five years late and came in $10 billion more than its $2.6 Billion estimate. Such a tunnel would also create havoc at its entrances on both sides. He notes there’s no economic incentive as Battery Park Towers are already full and World Financial Center’s commerical space is rapidly filling up. He also notes just fixing up West Street would cost $175 Million

An article by David W. Dunlap in The New York Times questions whether technological problems will stop construction of the Freedom Tower as conceived by Daniel Libeskind. Among the problems:
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The Toronto Star has an interview with Daniel Libeskind (in connection with the opening in 2005 of the Royal Ontario Museum. Among the revelations: Libeskind is a child prodigy acordianist. In the interview Libeskind moved from Berlin to New York in 2003 (after he was awarded the WTC site architect designation). Among the more interesting quotes:
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David Dillon in the Dallas News review praises the 16 acres book.

It notes;

A recurrent theme of Sixteen Acres is what Mr. Nobel calls “architecture’s fatal distance from public need.”

“What’s required is an architecture full of ideas and competence, not theory first and building second.”

This architectural implosion was abetted by developer Larry Silverstein’s insistence that every square foot of office space lost on Sept. 11, 2001, be rebuilt, even without a market, and by New York Gov. George Pataki’s obsessive push to have the big issues resolved by August 2004, when the Republican National Convention came to town. So design ideas that needed, and deserved, years to mature got fast-tracked and dumb-downed; as a formula for failure, it was just about perfect.

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The New York Times reports that Gov. Pataki has set up a PAC in Virginia to avoid stricter campaign finance New York laws. The biggest contributors to the PAC ($25,000 each) are developers at Ground Zero. The article quoted Monica Gabrielle, whose husband, Richard, was killed when the south tower collapsed, and who has been critical of Mr. Pataki’s stewardship of the site. “Ground zero is not the place to be lining pockets. “The 21st Century Freedom PAC was created six years ago. The donors are Daniel R. Tishman and John L. Tishman, who each gave $25,000 last month and are executives with Tishman Realty and Construction, which is building 7 World Trade Center; John C. Whitehead, whom Mr. Pataki tapped to be chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; and Lloyd Goldman, a partner in developing 7 World Trade Center.

The New York Times reports that that LMDC has extended the deadline for the design of the new Performing Arts Center from February to late summer or early fall. The stated reason is complications with underground mechanical facilities shared with the Freedom Tower. The museum is moving faster and expected to be released in March.The site for the performing arts center is about 40,000 square feet, roughly half the area covered by the Metropolitan Opera House or four-fifths the area of Avery Fisher Hall.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that 950 proposals for the Memorial at Shanksville are on view Georgian Place Outlet Stores in Somerset. Most of the designs incorporated the number 40 within some part of their memorial. They showed 40 monoliths, flag poles, ponds, grassy paths, feather-shaped sculptures, spotlights or other conceptual compositions.
Submissions came from all 50 states and 26 countries. More than 2,300 entries were registered for the competition, though some potential applicants contacted by the Tribune-Review said they were unable to return a design because the registration packet came too late.
A jury of family members, design professionals and a National Park Service official will judge the designs Jan. 24-26. Between three and five finalists will be chosen for the second stage of the competition on Jan. 27 and announced on Feb. 4.
By Sept. 25, the Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission must present to Congress and the Secretary of the Interior the recommended design, management plan and boundaries for the national memorial.

My Commentary
All of this of course is dramatically different than the way the WTC Memorial Competition was conducted. Notably, the designs were kept secret (and designers sworn to secrecy) before the finalists were announced. And of course the National Park Service — rather than a panel of artists — is conducting the contest. Whether or not I agree with the final outcome, the process was common sense and what should have been done at Ground Zero.

Links
Official National Park Service Flight 93 Site (will include photos of designs)
Sommerset’s Flight 93 Page

Much to my amazement The New York Times gave a rave review to Philip Nobel’s “Sixteen Acres : Architecture and the Outrageous Struggle for the Future of Ground Zero.” For those of us who feel we have been relegated to the fringe because we think the handling of Ground Zero is spectacularly foolish, this book is a breath of fresh air (although we may not agree with every word). So it was nice to see it being recognized by the mainstream.

Among the highlights: Read the rest of this entry »

The Daily News reports a 30-story luxury highrise is to be built three blocks north of Ground Zero at West, Chambers and Warren streets next to PS 234. It is being developed by Scott Resnick. Area residents in Tribeca had resisted the construction for 20 years because they said it would overwhelm the lowrise neighborhood. Original plans called for a 40-story building. Costas Kondylis is designing. The tower will be called 200 Chambers.

The New York Times in a profile of Roland Betts notes he his Bush’s personal “eyes and ears” of the development. Betts, owner of Chelsea Pier, and Bush struck up a friendship at Yale and Betts had pushed for the Republican Convention to be in New York.

The New York Time and Newsday reported this week that Silverstein will probably seek 90 percent of the Liberty Bonds set aside for the city after 911. The advantage of Liberty Bonds to borrowers is that lenders accept lower interest rates because the proceeds are exempt from federal, state and city taxes. Silverstein just got approval for $75 Million in Liberty Bonds. He is expected to ask for $3.5 Billion in Bonds for the other towers — that would amount to 90 percent of the bonds.

AP reports that 200 WTC family gathered at Ground Zero urging 1) victims are still at Fresh Kills 2) they want a representative on the board 3) Object to names listed alphabetically 4) footprints to remain exposed 5) the new Freedom Tower to meet Citycodes. The article quoted Jack Schroeder.

Morgan Stanley, which was the biggest WTC tenant with 27 floors, has leased 6 floors at the tip of Manhattan.
The new office will be the company’s second-largest in New York, after its midtown Manhattan headquarters.