Ground Zero: a work in progress.
Since the
destruction of the twin-tower World Trade Center in 2001 there has been a continuum of meetings, press conferences, back room
negotiations, pulic forums, and competitions leading to a plan for redevelopment.
If you want
to catch up with the action, you'll get a blow-by-blow chronicle of events in "Up From Zero," by
Paul Goldberger, Random House 2004.
As he reports, it was to be "the first great
urban-design problem of the twenty-first century." Not surprisingly, the public wants an emotionally-charged memorial.
The developer, Larry Silvertein, wants more office rental space. Competing architects Rafael Vinoly and Daniel Libeskind snipe
at one another. And the mayor and governor compete for the high-profile credits.
Goldberger concludes "What played out
through 2002 and 2003 was the use of architecture for political ends, not the use of politics for architectural ends-- that
is the key moral of the story...
"Idealism met cynacism at Ground Zero,
and so far they have battled to a
draw." 
