Our proposal is to reconnect the city by creating a dense grid
of vertical structures that support multiple strata of public
and cultural spaces. Our vision is one that moves beyond the historical
drive to build high only in order to maximize the limited resource
of land, it is one that builds to multiply that very resource
for the greater public. Our proposal covers 16 acres, and in turn,
returns those 16 acres twice, by providing within its various
horizontal strata, 16 acres of sky gardens and an additional 16
acres of cultural space.
We believe that the future of the global city must provide substantive
solutions for increasingly densified space; space for public,
space for culture and the vitality of commerce that will support
those resources and needs. In our proposal, the legible icons
are the striations of space, rather than commercial structures.
The main idea is that the architecture supports public and cultural
space, the specific shapes are works in progress. All buildings
are shaped for the greatest public good, each dynamically enhances
views, connections, light, and seeks to lessen the impact of wind
and sound.
Our proposal reaches beyond the historical exchange of equal
commerce for equal land. It doubles the return in our quest for
quality of environment. And in turn gives Lower Manhattan a larger
expanse of square footage dedicated to cultural activity than
the sum of all the city's existing cultural spaces. It does this
with the greatest efficiency, economically and environmentally.
It provides for more than adequate retail and commercial space
and does so by creating betterment for the public good. It also
provides sites for an international memorial competition. Together
the green spaces at the various public strata act as natural systems
promoting the exchange of carbon for oxygen. The program as a
whole, by virtue of its water feature, is self-reliant, recycling
the precious resources of water as well as functioning as heat
exchanger diminishing energy costs throughout the project as well
as moving beyond "sustainability" and will be a power
contributor to the city. This is a paradigm for the future, and
has never really been done on this scale before.
At the very top is the final public stratum, a horizontal plateau
elevated above the skyline providing a "Trans-horizon"
for the resurrected global city. It is a real space that extends
itself horizontally rather than vertically and symbolically reaches
beyond the confines of the city to all the surrounding horizons.
At this vertical plateau the buildings act together both as a
public space for contemplation and observation, and as an interactive
transmitter and receiver for communication, information and media
exchange. They respond to our most recent technological and economic
imperatives to produce continuity and networks culturally, environmentally
and economically, all at both global and local levels.
As such, we present our proposal as a design for new horizons
built on elevating the public good above the ruins of tragedy.
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