Thursday, June 28, 2007
from johnmetexas greek blog.
Post columnist slams 'hideous' ground-zero tower plan over rebuilt St. Nicholas
From New York Post:
jp morgan over st. nicholasWHAT A ZERO!
JPMORGAN PLANS HIDEOUS ‘BEER BELLY’ TOWER AT WTC
By STEVE CUOZZO
June 22, 2007 -- HERE’S the first look at JPMorgan Chase’s new headquarters across the street from Ground Zero - a 42-story skyscraper with a stack of floors protruding like a beer belly over a rebuilt church.
How did we end up with this lemon?
The midriff bulge accommodates giant trading floors. The odd design was necessary to save room on the ground for a new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox church, which will replace the original one destroyed on 9/11, and to minimize shadows on a new park.
The church will be built just north of JPMorgan on the same block, and Liberty Park will be on the block to the west.
Last week, the bank inked a $300 million deal with the Port Authority to build the tower on land where the ruined Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. is now being demolished.
Like much else at Ground Zero, the JPMorgan building’s bizarre form resulted from ever-changing plans that scrunched in more elements than easily fit.
Trading operations require the largest floors in buildings for Wall Street companies - so they’re usually at the bottom.
But three years ago, the state, city and PA decided to extend the World Trade Center to the block south of Ground Zero. The plan included the new church, the park - and an apartment building.
When JP Morgan came along instead, neighborhood residents expressed fears that giant trading floors starting at ground level would squeeze out the church or cast the park into complete shadow.
The tortured design by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox solves both problems. But it’s a glaring contrast to the eloquent, rational schemes in Ground Zero itself by architects David Childs, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki.
JPMorgan’s five cantilevered trading floors, starting at the 12th floor, will each have between 50,800 and 55,900 square feet - nearly twice as big as the floors above and below them.
Community Board 1 Chairwoman Julie Menin said, “I’m pleased to hear the preliminary shadow studies look promising,” but she did not want to comment further until a “full architectural presentation” next month.
scuozzo@nypost.com
Note: J.P. Morgan's CEO, James Dimon, the grandson of a Greek immigrant from Smyrna, was quoted on the plans to build at ground zero as saying, "We're going back home. We feel great about it."
from johnmetexas greek blog.
Post columnist slams 'hideous' ground-zero tower plan over rebuilt St. Nicholas
From New York Post:
jp morgan over st. nicholasWHAT A ZERO!
JPMORGAN PLANS HIDEOUS ‘BEER BELLY’ TOWER AT WTC
By STEVE CUOZZO
June 22, 2007 -- HERE’S the first look at JPMorgan Chase’s new headquarters across the street from Ground Zero - a 42-story skyscraper with a stack of floors protruding like a beer belly over a rebuilt church.
How did we end up with this lemon?
The midriff bulge accommodates giant trading floors. The odd design was necessary to save room on the ground for a new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox church, which will replace the original one destroyed on 9/11, and to minimize shadows on a new park.
The church will be built just north of JPMorgan on the same block, and Liberty Park will be on the block to the west.
Last week, the bank inked a $300 million deal with the Port Authority to build the tower on land where the ruined Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. is now being demolished.
Like much else at Ground Zero, the JPMorgan building’s bizarre form resulted from ever-changing plans that scrunched in more elements than easily fit.
Trading operations require the largest floors in buildings for Wall Street companies - so they’re usually at the bottom.
But three years ago, the state, city and PA decided to extend the World Trade Center to the block south of Ground Zero. The plan included the new church, the park - and an apartment building.
When JP Morgan came along instead, neighborhood residents expressed fears that giant trading floors starting at ground level would squeeze out the church or cast the park into complete shadow.
The tortured design by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox solves both problems. But it’s a glaring contrast to the eloquent, rational schemes in Ground Zero itself by architects David Childs, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki.
JPMorgan’s five cantilevered trading floors, starting at the 12th floor, will each have between 50,800 and 55,900 square feet - nearly twice as big as the floors above and below them.
Community Board 1 Chairwoman Julie Menin said, “I’m pleased to hear the preliminary shadow studies look promising,” but she did not want to comment further until a “full architectural presentation” next month.
scuozzo@nypost.com
Note: J.P. Morgan's CEO, James Dimon, the grandson of a Greek immigrant from Smyrna, was quoted on the plans to build at ground zero as saying, "We're going back home. We feel great about it."
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