childs straightens libeskind

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The crystalline blocks lead the eye up, ascending towards the slender off centered spire reaching up to the height of 1776ft, suggesting the form of the Statue of Liberty. This vision is no more. After the fanfare of the design competition, the project degenerated into jumble of politicking ending with a stubby symmetrical glass tower. The only resemblance to the original design is the height of the building but reduced to only shallow symblolism. The latest tower design, unveiled on Wednesday,was totally reconceived after the NYPD and NYFD brought up concerns with safety. A bland hypodermic needle that stands out from the equally bland cityscape only through sheer size. The totally new design took only 7 weeks to create, revealed in time for the 107th IOC session in Singapore where the city for the 2012 Olympics will be decided, and of which NY is a candidate.The safety concerns have also prompted the architect to construct the base in solid concrete, cladded in titanium. The users will have to enter the tower through one of two entrances into this big bunker

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This is a textbook case of how the realities in the profession are. We are taught in school that the architect is the all powerful entity who ochestrates everything. Not only do we have to deal with practical issues like structures and functions, there is also a need to play politics with a bunch of people who have their own specific agenda but have only the slightest thing to do with the project itself. It has been rumoured that David Childs orchestrated the whole redesign-for-bomb-safety issue to rid the project of the influence of Libeskind. Whether it is true or not, it is a demonstration of that Childs and Silverstein have the project firmly in their hands.While this is an extreme case of external factors affecting a project, we are warned of how the real world works.

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