Twin Towers 2

Twin Towers 2 is currently an unproposed design project in the form of an architectural model regarding the rebuilding of the World Trade Center by structural engineer and architectural model-maker Kenneth Gardner and deceased architect Herbert Belton for rebuilding New York City's World Trade Center site destroyed in the September 11 attacks. 1 World Trade Center is currently under construction at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.
Site plan proposal
Twin Towers 2
Each tower would have a redesigned facade that mimics the same upward flow of columns that the original twin towers had; however the windows would be much larger at 40 inches wide rather than the 18 inch windows on the original twin towers. Each tower would be 462 meters (1515 ft) tall at roof level, nearly 50 meters (160 ft) taller than the originals. The lobbies would be 6 stories tall and have an onyx-clad elevator core and a recreated balcony. The towers would have a "triple tube design", the first tube being the outer wall/skin, the second tube being the core wall itself, and the third tube being the inner core of the building. This allows for column free floor space and a much stronger structure. The first 60 floors would be office space. The 67th floor sky lobby would open onto a skypark at the bottom of a huge atrium inside the core of the building. Around the atrium would be executive offices, residences and possibly shops and stores. The atrium in the South Tower would be topped with a large skylight. The North tower atrium would be topped by a refurbished Windows on the World restaurant and on the roof of both towers would be observation decks and possible Top of the World indoor observation deck. The North Tower would feature dual spiral staircases within the ornamental mast that reach 1700 feet into the sky. The South Tower observation deck would be recreated. The Towers would have fire relief floors, high capacity escape elevators and five much wider staircases.
Twin Towers 2 lower buildings
Building 3 would contain of trading floor space and an Opera House and Cultural Exchange Center at the top. This building would be attached to WTC 2 (the South Tower), similarly to how the second and third buildings of the original World Trade Center were connected. WTC 3,4,5 would contain over of ground level retail space (not including the underground mall). There is also the possibility of a sixth building, but it may likely be replaced with a small memorial park, including several granite walls with the names of the victims inscribed on them. If built, WTC 6 would be a hotel with a 12 story atrium and balconies with river views. All four of the lower buildings would have the exact same height, amount of floors, and exterior design.<ref name="Ken Gardner" />
Twin Towers 2 Memorial
The memorial may be considered two separate memorials, and they would take up the space on the exact footprints of the original towers, offset 300 feet from the new towers. Surrounding the perimeter of the two footprints would be replicated facades, mimicking the facades of the original towers, with the same narrowly-spaced columns. Being replicas of the base of the facades, it would feature the more widely-spaced columns that rose six stories before spreading out into smaller columns, with more narrow windows. The facade of the North Tower memorial would be a replica of the original, and would evenly line the whole perimeter. Being a replica, it would have an obvious look of being brand new, and would be very shiny and silvery. The southeast corner of it would be cut away to allow visitors and tourists to walk in and out of the footprint.
The South Tower memorial, on the other hand, would feature actual fragments of the original towers' facades, recovered from the World Trade Center site following the attacks, and transported to Fresh Kills on Staten Island, along with all other debris. The largest sections of facade, along with other significant artifacts recovered from the rubble, were preserved for future use in a memorial such as this, while most of the rest was melted to make the steel of the USS New York. The preserved larger pieces would be used to replicate the look of the facades, and would be fitted, adjusted, and strengthened to be sturdier on its own than it was after the collapse. The facade would rise to its highest in the southeast corner of the footprint, gradually sloping down along the perimeter, with a majority of the footprint's perimeter completely open. Fitted into the corner column of the facade would be dozens of bells, which would represent the lives lost with each ring. In addition, hundreds (even thouands) of small, clear crystals would be fitted into almost all of the windows of the facade, so that when the sun shined through them, it would cast a beautiful rainbow glow over the memorial.
The juxtaposition of silvery, new, evenly-lined facade for the North memorial and charred, dented, unevenly-lined original facade for the South memorial is intentional, as it would create a very dramatic effect. Both footprints would have a circle of flags within the facades, each flag representing a nation that lost a citizen in the September 11th Attacks. In the center of the North memorial's circle of flags would be an eagle statue. In the South memorial's circle would be the original Koenig Sphere, which sat in the middle of the original WTC Plaza, and had been recovered from the site following the collapses. Like with the facades, it had been preserved, awaiting future use as an artifact. Like with the original plaza, the Sphere would rest in the middle of a fountain.
 
< Prev   Next >