The entire site is a monument to the tragedy of 9/11 consisting
of an interconnected series of five buildings that creates a cathedral-like
enclosure across the entire 16 acre site. A vast public plaza
and park is formed around the connected footprints by a protective
ring of towers. A living memorial will develop over time becoming
both a monument to the past and a vision for the future.
Preserving the footprints of the World Trade Center, the memorial
visitor descends seventy-five feet below ground along a spiral
walkway to then look up through the footprints to the sky. Rather
than looking down, the memorial directs visitors to look upward
in remembrance. A Sky Memorial atop the first tower will allow
visitors to complete the memorial pilgrimage by looking down over
the hallowed ground where so many heroes lost their lives.
In the sacred space of the memorial, immense arches tower over
the plaza and expansive public spaces are laid out to optimize
the flow of people and create an inviting sense of openness. This
integrated strategy of development serves commuters, nearby residents
and tourists alike and reflects the rich urban fabric that has
evolved in Lower Manhattan over the past 30 years. United Towers
encompasses over 10.5 million square feet in a single contiguous
building to be built in phases, the highest tower measuring 1620
feet, approximately 112 floors.
The interconnection of the five towers provides for unique commercial
and public space. For example, at 800 feet in the air, approximately
the 60th floor, a multi-level "City in the Sky" connects
the towers with gardens, educational centers, shopping, cafes,
a sports center, a broadcast center and a conference center. The
possibility of very large connected floors invites not only new
public functions at unprecedented heights but also large contiguous
floor plates that can attract businesses back from the suburbs
into Lower Manhattan. Throughout the complex, vertical sky gardens
are arranged every five floors thereby enhancing the working environment
and allowing a maximum amount of sunlight, saving energy and improving
the views from within.
This single building built in five phases will not only be the
tallest building in the world, it will also be one of the safest.
Each of the sloping towers contains multiple independent stairways,
connected every 30 floors by areas of refuge. From any point in
every building there are many ways for people to exit, having
the option of going down, and of moving horizontally into an adjacent
building.
The site surface is returned to grade where pedestrians can walk
across the site freely in all directions. Greenwich Street connects
Tribeca with Lower Manhattan through the site. From Liberty, Cortlandt,
Dey and Fulton Streets 60 story archways frame views connecting
the city to the river. The proposed underground train station
is designed to promote the flow of pedestrians, avoid bottlenecks
and provide a wide range of intuitive connections to the streets,
the plaza and the memorial. A major five-story civic space dedicated
to the multi-modal connections of MTA, PATH and Air trains is
located at the same subterranean level as the base of the memorial
competition site, allowing a connected experience of monumental
public infrastructure and the memorial.
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