Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #670334  by Gilbert B Norman
 
It appears, Mr. Volpini, that The Times architecture columnist holds that these latest renderings represent a retrenchment from the original concept.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/arts/ ... trava.html

I've long known and respected you as a student of architecture; willing to share your thoughts with the Forum?

I'm sure the Silverstein interests are chuckling away - "now we got room to put up another building when the time is right", and the Memorial? "put up a plaque somewhere".

Possibly you have followed the discussion over at the Amtrak Forum regarding consideration to having the Adirondack serve an unattractive commuter rail station in place of the present station. Here we are addressing one train a day; at WTC, considering the confluence of three Subway lines as well as the PATH, there likely will be more passengers passing through WTC than even Penn Station.
 #673635  by trackguy
 
The model of the WTC PATH Transit Hub is currently on display through August 31, 2009 at the

Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
684 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065
Tel: 212-628-0420

Gallery Hours:
Monday - Thursday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Admission:
$10 for the general public and $5 for students and senior citizens

http://www.spanishinstitute.org/spanish ... #calatrava
 #673649  by RedLantern
 
Am I the only one that thinks we should just rebuild the twin towers exactly as they looked on September 10th 2001 to show our undamaged spirit? This new thing looks like a flying porcupine.
 #674362  by korbermeister
 
RedLantern wrote:Am I the only one that thinks we should just rebuild the twin towers exactly as they looked on September 10th 2001 to show our undamaged spirit? This new thing looks like a flying porcupine.
Yes! :-D Noone liked the original twin towers either up until they were knocked down. After 9/11 people realized what they really had but it was too late. Some people will hate this, some will love it but like the Empire State, Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, it will be instantly recognizable, turned into tourist trinkets, and become an 'only-in-new-york' icon.
 #674422  by fredct
 
I happen to feel I would have rather seen that too, but:

a) its far far too late, billions have already been spent on this program that will take years more, and going back to the drawing board is just silly.

b) its totally off-topic for a rail forum
 #675982  by Gilbert B Norman
 
The Times has editorialized today on the gridlock:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/opinion/28thur3.html

It would appear that the Silverstein interests would just as soon level the Calatrava WTC terminal in favor of a Penn Station. The Memorial? hey a plaque somewhere will do just fine:

Brief passage:

  • Mr. Silverstein and top officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, are barely talking to one another. He wants to reopen a 2006 building agreement with the authority, citing delays by the authority and the weakness in the economy........The authority should instead be focusing on what it has already committed to: building the substructure for the 16-acre site, the Calatrava PATH terminal and the tallest tower. The authority’s designers have also come up with an interim proposal to build multistory bases for some of Mr. Silverstein’s towers. Those could house retail shops until the market needs more skyscrapers.
 #677448  by RWERN
 
While the interior of this terminal seems gorgeous, the exterior seems a bit ostentatious and not exactly in a good way. The ribbed idea is cool but those protruding spines seem a bit much.
 #677642  by oknazevad
 
RWERN wrote:While the interior of this terminal seems gorgeous, the exterior seems a bit ostentatious and not exactly in a good way. The ribbed idea is cool but those protruding spines seem a bit much.
Agreed. It looks more like a 1980s punk's Mohawk than any sort of bird. Ostentatious and monumental, but it lacks something. Maybe it's a sense of somberness, or some sort of steady timelessness, I can't quite articulate my views, but I just don't get a sense of appropriateness from the design. I also question the need for something that large for a system like PATH. The temporary station was a good fit, IMO.