Proposal for Phase Two — Completion of the World Trade Center If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. That is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. — Henry David Thoreau This presentation will bring into focus the reasons why putting the Twin Towers back where they belong is a very credible option and will discuss the tremendous advantages that would bring. This is a constructive critique of the current WTC — not criticism. We appreciate the devotion that went into the site we see today, but if what we see was limited by the trauma and fierce politics of those early years and really could be greater, we doubt that anyone would want to stand in the way. If there is a plan to vastly improve this iconic site it should be examined — and that is what we will do here. It is a very delicate and complex subject that we will do our utmost to address with respect for the many differing points of view. What was inflicted on our country, our people, and citizens from around the world was so devastating, and the final World Trade Center will be so defining, that the future of the site deserves to be looked at with fresh eyes and goodwill. This is a concept, not a plan. The details that we include are simply our preferences and the images are just approximations. The whole purpose is to encourage an examination and discussion of what is actually possible. We believe that new Twin Towers should be the first megatall towers in our hemisphere and feature the tallest rooftop decks in the world. We think that adding golden architectural tracing to the facade would convey the message that the people can be alchemists with not only the future of the World Trade Center but with the future of our world. We would like to see the new towers fill the original footprints, which could be done without crowding the site. We don’t pretend to know what the structural requirements would be to build that high or how it would best be accomplished — but we are sure it can be done employing the spirit that built the originals. The key to this entire proposal is that it would enhance every one of the elements of the site that is there today. And far from being a drain on a struggling city, it would be the greatest visitor draw imaginable. But we are not suggesting replicas of the original towers — for many reasons. For one thing, they would not have the same imposing presence in the 21st century skyline that they once did. Only by going higher will the new towers capture the essence of the originals. The outline of the Proposal for Phase Two follows. The basic premise of each topic will be described as succinctly as possible and linked to pages where details are examined. The Twin Towers Alliance has been dedicated since 2006 to the belief that the World Trade Center will never be all it can be and should be until the Twin Towers reclaim their place in the skyline. Nothing since then has changed that belief. It was the organic desire of millions of people in the perilous aftermath of 9/11 and in the years that followed. It linked hearts and minds across the political spectrum and around the world. We believe it still would. If we are correct, the credibility of this idea will catch the imagination of people everywhere. We are simply giving it a platform. It is an idea — nothing more and nothing less. It remains to be seen whether its time has finally come. For decades, the terms World Trade Center and Twin Towers were interchangeable. They could be again. |