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1776 FEET OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE TO
GRACE NEW YORK SKYLINE
By Tristan Baker
Soon New York City will have the biggest piece of artwork in the world.
When Daniel Libeskind’s creative proposal for the World Trade Center site is completed, the city will also have the world’s tallest building.
“Libeskind’s scheme is beautiful and dynamic because of its total composition,” said Cathleen McGuigan in a recent Newsweek article.
The proposal for the World Trade Center site will be 1776 feet tall at its highest point. The lowest point will be 30 feet below the city streets, where the walls of the original World Trade Center still stand.
Libeskind’s design was in response to a public outcry for an artistic approach to the new World Trade Center design. New Yorkers wanted something more than just an office building to express the emotions left behind from Sept. 11.
The design is rife with symbolism. According to a recent CNN article, the 1776 foot height, which corresponds to the year of American independence, represents “the durability of democracy.” The highest parts of the tower would house extensive gardens. These gardens will symbolize a “confirmation of life.”
Libeskind also used the sun for artistic impact. He designed the site so every Sept. 11 between 8:46 a.m. and 10:28 a.m., the buildings will cast no shadows. 8:46 a.m. is the time that the first plane struck the World Trade Center. 10:28 a.m. marks the time the second tower fell.
The walls that hold back the Hudson River, part of the original World Trade Center, will remain as a monument to those who died on Sept. 11.
Critics of Libeskind’s design often point to these walls. According to Newsweek, some critics, “deemed its focus on the ground where so many died ‘tasteless’ and ‘ghoulish.’”
Libeskind explained his use of the walls in a recent interview with CNN, “Not everything was destroyed. At bedrock level, New York stands as vital as ever before.”When built, Libeskind’s tower will become the tallest building in the world, ousting Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers from the top slot.