 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
On 7th Anniversary, Libeskind Reflects on ‘Mind-Boggling’ Site
Trib: What are your thoughts about the progress, or lack of progress, at the World Trade Center site? Libeskind: I have worked in many different cities around the world and it is never easy to build a big project. This is one of the most complex projects ever undertaken. It is on 16 acres in the heart of New York. You’ve got so many stakeholders: the families of the victims, the Port Authority, the politicians, the governor, the mayor, the PATH, and so many other interests. It’s complex politically, financially, technically, logistically, emotionally. If you were close to it your hair would become grey very quickly. Trib: Did you have any idea what you were getting into? Libeskind: No. It’s mind-boggling. Trib: And could you have imagined how long it would take? Libeskind: Of course I thought we should be making more progress. But we are making progress. Trib: Critics say there have been too many agencies and politicians involved, too many chefs in the kitchen. Do you agree? Libeskind: I don’t know. I’m not a politician but it could have been done in other ways. You have other models of how politicians can work together to create an ambiance where things can go more smoothly. Not here. Trib: What are your thoughts about the recent Port Authority report that dismisses previous rebuilding timetables and budgets as fanciful? Libeskind: I see it as positive. I think somebody has to say, “Okay, what is happening on the site and who is responsible?” I think it is a wise thing to make a timetable that isn’t just a bunch of hot air but actually holds parties responsible. Trib: The timetables in the past were hot air? Libeskind: Unfortunately, sometimes it was just politics. You know, there’s a photo op and everything is great, but I’m kind of in the trenches and trying really to work with all the different people organizations to make it happen. Trib: Would you like to see the public become involved in the process again? Libeskind: I’ve always felt that the more closely the public was involved, the better it was for the project. When the public was involved very early on, it put pressure on politicians. I think that the voice of the public helps steer the project away from private interests and bureaucracies and toward the goals that we all share, which is to create a very meaningful site that is not just business as usual, some big development somewhere. Trib: What are your feelings about the way the master plan has changed? Libeskind: It has evolved, I think, in a way that is good. I didn’t get all the things that I wanted. There had to be compromises and I believe in them. In general, if you compare the rendering made three months after the competition and the most recent rendering, it’s pretty damn close given that this is such a huge and fractious site. It has the memorial at its center and it is a very large and significant public space. The fact is that the footprints, and more than that the entire civic space is open to the public. The fact that the slurry wall is there and there will be a museum about 9/11. The streets are going to be reconnected and there’s going to be an urban sense of activity along Church Street, and the whole intersection of Fulton and Greenwich will be a gateway. We hope still that there will be a performing arts center. Trib: How important is the performing arts center and the cultural component to your vision? Libeskind: It’s critical for Lower Manhattan and for the site. We need people to say, “We demand that this is not just a bunch of office towers.” We know that people will come to the memorial. But the site is not just for grieving and sadness and if there is culture it is a sign that New York is moving forward. The cultural center should not be the stepchild. Trib: It is widely believed that the cost of the Freedom Tower will far exceed projected estimates. If so, should it be scaled back? Libeskind: There were voices early on, like Mayor Giuliani, who said, “Why don’t we build a two-story building?” But this is not about giving up in the face of terrorism and saying we’ve run out of spirit. Some people say, “Who needs a symbolic tower?” We need it. There have been military and political answers to the attack. This is a cultural answer about a space in New York. A civic space. Trib: Do you walk by the site these days? Libeskind: Every day. To come to work, to go home. Trib: And what goes through your mind when you see it? Libeskind: Every large project I’ve worked on goes through evolution, through transformation, through value engineering. But they’re a drop in the ocean compared to this one. I just sometimes wish people understood what it takes to have this site rebuilt.
[Home][Back][Search][Contact] The Tribeca Trib · 401 Broadway, 5th Floor · New York, NY · 10013 · 212.219.9709 |
