a clear, logical, geometrical ending
March 8, 2014 1:10 PM Subscribe
After 12 years of anticipation, the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere is ready for its close-up. How 10,000 workers lifted 104 floors, gave new life to an international symbol and created one spectacular view.
It's a shame it's so bland bordering on ugly.
posted by 2bucksplus at 2:26 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by 2bucksplus at 2:26 PM on March 8, 2014
It's hideous, but, to be fair, so were the originals.
posted by sonic meat machine at 2:36 PM on March 8, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by sonic meat machine at 2:36 PM on March 8, 2014 [6 favorites]
"the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere" *
* hard to take that 1776 antenna seriously.
posted by lathrop at 2:36 PM on March 8, 2014 [14 favorites]
* hard to take that 1776 antenna seriously.
posted by lathrop at 2:36 PM on March 8, 2014 [14 favorites]
It looks just like I'd expect a remake of WTC 1&2 to look.
posted by LogicalDash at 2:41 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by LogicalDash at 2:41 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
The resolution of that panorama is pretty impressive -- not only did I find my neighborhood waaaaaaaaay down in South Brooklyn, I actually found my individual building.
Of course now I just want to go on and find every other place I've lived in the city for the past 15 years.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 2:43 PM on March 8, 2014 [4 favorites]
Of course now I just want to go on and find every other place I've lived in the city for the past 15 years.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 2:43 PM on March 8, 2014 [4 favorites]
The gigapan's not working very well for me. Clicking the zoom button causes my screen to apparently have some sort of acid flashback, and once it's done freaking out, it hasn't zoomed at all.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:55 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by Sys Rq at 2:55 PM on March 8, 2014
Yikes. Why Is So Much Ice Falling Off One World Trade Center?
posted by R. Mutt at 3:02 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by R. Mutt at 3:02 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
Glad to see it finished, I'm looking forward to seeing it on my next trip to New York.
The antenna reminds me of Magneto's main inducing machine from the first X-Men movie though.
posted by arcticseal at 3:08 PM on March 8, 2014 [2 favorites]
The antenna reminds me of Magneto's main inducing machine from the first X-Men movie though.
posted by arcticseal at 3:08 PM on March 8, 2014 [2 favorites]
Like a giant, shiny middle finger bursting forth from lower Manhattan.
posted by spilon at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by spilon at 3:09 PM on March 8, 2014 [5 favorites]
I was loving the gigapan until I looked straight down. Yikes!
posted by drowsy at 3:13 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by drowsy at 3:13 PM on March 8, 2014
Damn you autocorrect! I meant "mutation inducing machine".
posted by arcticseal at 3:30 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by arcticseal at 3:30 PM on March 8, 2014
Everyone hated the twin towers when they were finished.
posted by ReeMonster at 3:58 PM on March 8, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by ReeMonster at 3:58 PM on March 8, 2014 [3 favorites]
The design of WTC one has an interesting history...
After the tragedy, Governor Pataki established the Lower Manhattan Development Corp to accept submissions and an international design competition was held for an awe-inspiring replacement. Architect Daniel Libeskin won the competition amid many of the worlds great design firms.
Libeskin's design incorporated the 1776 spire, 5 buildings that would pinpoint light on the original tower locations only on 9/11, and a plaza that would expose the bedrock to symbolize the foundation of America and New York. David Childs who had a 99 year lease on the property, wanted to hire his own architect, and Libeskin was held on as a master plan designer. SOM was hired and the design drastically changed. The delicate angles and nod to the statue of liberty were revised to an armored vehicle in the sky... a giant "Fuck you, just try it again" design.
So the delicate portion of the design was left to the memorial competition with an eventual winner. Michael Arad.
So goes corporate architecture.
posted by Benway at 3:59 PM on March 8, 2014 [3 favorites]
After the tragedy, Governor Pataki established the Lower Manhattan Development Corp to accept submissions and an international design competition was held for an awe-inspiring replacement. Architect Daniel Libeskin won the competition amid many of the worlds great design firms.
Libeskin's design incorporated the 1776 spire, 5 buildings that would pinpoint light on the original tower locations only on 9/11, and a plaza that would expose the bedrock to symbolize the foundation of America and New York. David Childs who had a 99 year lease on the property, wanted to hire his own architect, and Libeskin was held on as a master plan designer. SOM was hired and the design drastically changed. The delicate angles and nod to the statue of liberty were revised to an armored vehicle in the sky... a giant "Fuck you, just try it again" design.
So the delicate portion of the design was left to the memorial competition with an eventual winner. Michael Arad.
So goes corporate architecture.
posted by Benway at 3:59 PM on March 8, 2014 [3 favorites]
Make sure to take the time to watch Shaul Swartz's 13 min piece called Rise that is embedded in the story. It's amazing.
posted by photoslob at 4:04 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by photoslob at 4:04 PM on March 8, 2014
All the Twin Towers really had going for then is that a giant ape once lept from one to the other, and that a man once tightrope walked between them. Aside from their gigantism, they were unremarkable buildings, correctly described by Lewis Mumford as "just glass-and-metal filing cabinet." Architectural societies considered the buildings unsightly, former residents of Radio Row (which the buildings took the place of) protested, New Yorkers were offended that it blocked both their view of and access to the river, and it had some terrific design flaws, including the accidental creation of a wind-tunnel between the towers that was sometimes nearly impossible to traverse.
I think if the towers had come down through a typical demolition in order to be replaced, without loss of life or as a terrorist attack, there are a lot of people who would have applauded.
That being said, you grow to love some things, even if they are imperfect. The Twin Towers, whatever their imperfections, where an iconic part of the New York skyline, and it still feels weird to not have them there.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:50 PM on March 8, 2014 [8 favorites]
I think if the towers had come down through a typical demolition in order to be replaced, without loss of life or as a terrorist attack, there are a lot of people who would have applauded.
That being said, you grow to love some things, even if they are imperfect. The Twin Towers, whatever their imperfections, where an iconic part of the New York skyline, and it still feels weird to not have them there.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:50 PM on March 8, 2014 [8 favorites]
As a life-long left-coaster I just can never get over how freaking flat the East coast is. I have to remind myself that for much of its history and for many (most?) people this is what the USA is. It's a bit mind-bending. And before you ask, no I haven't spent any time in the mid-west either!
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 5:07 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 5:07 PM on March 8, 2014
As a life-long left-coaster I just can never get over how freaking flat the East coast is.
A good chunk of the east coast is in the foothills (or higher) of the Appalachians. Of course, they're not as young as the Rockies, so they're more worn down, but I don't think you could call Pittsburgh or Asheville "flat."
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:15 PM on March 8, 2014
A good chunk of the east coast is in the foothills (or higher) of the Appalachians. Of course, they're not as young as the Rockies, so they're more worn down, but I don't think you could call Pittsburgh or Asheville "flat."
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:15 PM on March 8, 2014
Only the tallest because the pointy bits on the Sears Tower have transmitters attached to them.
Shenanigans, I call them. Sears Tower was beaten, by Tapei 101. Not before. If it's not a floor, it either counts or it doesn't. By both measures, Sears Tower is taller. Only if you count the stick on top of WTC, and not on top of Sears Tower, does WTC win.
How very New York it is.
posted by eriko at 5:36 PM on March 8, 2014 [5 favorites]
Shenanigans, I call them. Sears Tower was beaten, by Tapei 101. Not before. If it's not a floor, it either counts or it doesn't. By both measures, Sears Tower is taller. Only if you count the stick on top of WTC, and not on top of Sears Tower, does WTC win.
How very New York it is.
posted by eriko at 5:36 PM on March 8, 2014 [5 favorites]
Hey, NYC and Chicago are having a measuring contest. Who could have predicted.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by middleclasstool at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2014 [6 favorites]
One can zoom in on the beacon and see octogonal shafting and various parts inside triangular windows .
posted by hortense at 6:53 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by hortense at 6:53 PM on March 8, 2014
Rather than poke around the streets of New York, I immediately swung the view south to see if you coukd see my hometown. I think it is out there in the haze, so I'm satisfied. You could see the Twin Towers from my Aunt's back porch, and I believe you'll be able to see One World Trade too.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:03 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 7:03 PM on March 8, 2014
As a life-long left-coaster I just can never get over how freaking flat the East coast is.
Never visit the Mississippi Delta. It makes New York look like San Francisco by comparison.
The highest point in the entire state of Louisiana is only about 500 feet above sea level, and that's near the Arkansas border. The highest point in the New Orleans metro area, which is hundreds of square miles, is a peak called Monkey Hill inside the Audubon Zoo which rises to 26 feet. It's manmade, formed when the workers dumped the dirt excavated as Audubon park's lagoons were dug.
posted by localroger at 7:05 PM on March 8, 2014
Never visit the Mississippi Delta. It makes New York look like San Francisco by comparison.
The highest point in the entire state of Louisiana is only about 500 feet above sea level, and that's near the Arkansas border. The highest point in the New Orleans metro area, which is hundreds of square miles, is a peak called Monkey Hill inside the Audubon Zoo which rises to 26 feet. It's manmade, formed when the workers dumped the dirt excavated as Audubon park's lagoons were dug.
posted by localroger at 7:05 PM on March 8, 2014
ReeMonster: "Everyone hated the twin towers when they were finished."
And they were right to.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:17 PM on March 8, 2014 [2 favorites]
And they were right to.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:17 PM on March 8, 2014 [2 favorites]
The gigapan's not working very well for me.
That's a bummer. I was impressed (indeed, amazed) that it works perfectly on my lousy old iPhone 3GS.
posted by ShutterBun at 8:12 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's a bummer. I was impressed (indeed, amazed) that it works perfectly on my lousy old iPhone 3GS.
posted by ShutterBun at 8:12 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
Never visit the Mississippi Delta. It makes New York look like San Francisco by comparison.
As a dedicated bicycle commuter in New Orleans, Daytona Beach, Providence and Fall River... maaan. Florida is actually hillier than Louisiana, and that's saying a lot about New Orleans.
Meanwile, this info-graphic is wrong. There's at least one street each in PVD and Fall River steeper than Canton. I would tell you what they are, except New England cities don't fucking put up street signs unless they're trying to brag about something.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:04 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
As a dedicated bicycle commuter in New Orleans, Daytona Beach, Providence and Fall River... maaan. Florida is actually hillier than Louisiana, and that's saying a lot about New Orleans.
Meanwile, this info-graphic is wrong. There's at least one street each in PVD and Fall River steeper than Canton. I would tell you what they are, except New England cities don't fucking put up street signs unless they're trying to brag about something.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:04 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
Somewhere in the city, a base jumper is salivating.
posted by homunculus at 9:59 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 9:59 PM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
That gigapan is awesome. I can see my kitchen window in Carroll Gardens!
I agree that from most angles the building itself is kind of bland, but there is one view of it that I think is actually pretty impressive and awesome; driving south down the West side highway.
posted by saladin at 6:03 AM on March 9, 2014
I agree that from most angles the building itself is kind of bland, but there is one view of it that I think is actually pretty impressive and awesome; driving south down the West side highway.
posted by saladin at 6:03 AM on March 9, 2014
OK, I have spotted a curiosity and am interested to see whether teh Blue can come to a consensus..
It APPEARS to be hundreds and hundreds of fully laden trash bags littering the roof of the building located at 345 South End Ave!
posted by bird internet at 6:33 AM on March 9, 2014
It APPEARS to be hundreds and hundreds of fully laden trash bags littering the roof of the building located at 345 South End Ave!
posted by bird internet at 6:33 AM on March 9, 2014
That's impressive! Wish I can visit New York one day...
Btw why are the cables just left there? I mean these must be some temporary stuff
posted by bdz at 7:48 AM on March 9, 2014
Btw why are the cables just left there? I mean these must be some temporary stuff
posted by bdz at 7:48 AM on March 9, 2014
Seriously though.. If anyone has any ideas about what's up with the bags covering the roof I'd love to hear them...
I checked Google Earth.. The roof is bag-free in that image.
I mean, insane super? Owner trying to save on their city trash bill? The bags are scattered not randomly but EVENLY across the whole roof, so there is intention there..
I'm racking my brains.
posted by bird internet at 8:04 AM on March 9, 2014
I checked Google Earth.. The roof is bag-free in that image.
I mean, insane super? Owner trying to save on their city trash bill? The bags are scattered not randomly but EVENLY across the whole roof, so there is intention there..
I'm racking my brains.
posted by bird internet at 8:04 AM on March 9, 2014
Could they be birds?
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2014
posted by ceribus peribus at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2014
Could it be an emergency stockpile of sandbags? It is right on the water.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:36 AM on March 9, 2014
posted by Sys Rq at 9:36 AM on March 9, 2014
I spent three years at a desk that looked out at the rising tower. It's not the most interesting building ever built, but if you can get a view of it from an adjacent building, say 30 or 40 floors up, the reflections of the weather in the off-angle sides is pretty incredible. I have a wonderful pic of the building with a nasty storm cloud behind it and reflecting on the sides, but with a beautiful blue, fluffy-white-clouded sky reflected on one of the corners.
posted by double bubble at 9:56 AM on March 9, 2014
posted by double bubble at 9:56 AM on March 9, 2014
As a life-long left-coaster I just can never get over how freaking flat the East coast is.
I grew up in the Los Angeles basin. I moved to Boston, my sister moved to Seattle. When we re-visit the folks I'm all "Look at those beautiful, snow capped, 4000 footers!" and my sister says "What, those little things?".
posted by benito.strauss at 10:30 AM on March 9, 2014
I grew up in the Los Angeles basin. I moved to Boston, my sister moved to Seattle. When we re-visit the folks I'm all "Look at those beautiful, snow capped, 4000 footers!" and my sister says "What, those little things?".
posted by benito.strauss at 10:30 AM on March 9, 2014
The "trash bags" are definitely birds, most likely (based on their size, color, and the territory) a flock of Snow Geese. If you save the picture and look at it in a viewer that allows further magnification, you can clearly make out (especially in the shadows) necks being lifted and bodies being carried in familiar birdy ways, including some obvious instances of preening.
posted by localroger at 12:25 PM on March 9, 2014
posted by localroger at 12:25 PM on March 9, 2014
Libeskind's plan was better but I have to respect him for actually working within the parameters set by his clients rather than, say, quitting in a huff as some top-tier architects would.
posted by grouse at 5:52 PM on March 9, 2014
posted by grouse at 5:52 PM on March 9, 2014
Hey, NYC and Chicago are having a measuring contest. Who could have predicted.
And Chicago is losing and grumbling about it.
BECAUSE SECOND CITY!
posted by eriko at 4:52 AM on March 10, 2014
And Chicago is losing and grumbling about it.
BECAUSE SECOND CITY!
posted by eriko at 4:52 AM on March 10, 2014
Christie's Private Army: The Port Authority Police Department is responsible for the traffic problems in Ft. Lee, and also the defense of the Freedom Tower
posted by homunculus at 1:04 PM on March 11, 2014
posted by homunculus at 1:04 PM on March 11, 2014
Sears Tower was beaten, by Tapei 101. If it's not a floor, it either counts or it doesn't. By both measures, Sears Tower is taller.
Unfortunately I have a patriotic obligation to point this out.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:32 AM on March 14, 2014
Unfortunately I have a patriotic obligation to point this out.
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:32 AM on March 14, 2014
Badass 16-Year-Old Parkourist Justin Casquejo Climbs One World Trade Center
posted by homunculus at 3:57 PM on March 20, 2014
posted by homunculus at 3:57 PM on March 20, 2014
Watch A Couple Of Guys B.A.S.E. Jump Off NYC's Freedom Tower
posted by homunculus at 11:08 PM on March 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 11:08 PM on March 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building
posted by homunculus at 7:32 PM on March 25, 2014
posted by homunculus at 7:32 PM on March 25, 2014
Reuters: CNN journalists arrested trying to sneak into World Trade Center
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:46 PM on March 26, 2014
posted by ceribus peribus at 10:46 PM on March 26, 2014
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posted by Jon_Evil at 1:45 PM on March 8, 2014