Freedom Tower

[manman99 2]

I just recently learned, that the CHicago spire in Chicago, Illinois is currently breaking ground and starting construction.  I have also analyzed the heghts, contruction times, atc. atc.  The Chicago Spire is 224 ft. taller than the Freedom tower.  And as I recall, the Freedom tower was suppose to stand out in the entire country.  The ending time for the construction of the Chicago Spire will be 2010, the Freedom tower.....2011.  To me there just seems no point in building Freedom tower anymore.  It was suppose to be the tallest building in the world, then the US and now nothing.  So now I say, why build it, just rebuild thw Trade Center as it was only a bit safer and taller.  the word"Freedom" and the word"tower" put together would mean that it would have to be recognized, tall, and representing.  It doesent anymore, because its height AND dare i say, design, doesent do anything for me anymore.  They should either change the name, or build it taller.  

You know what I mean??  Sometimes I have a hard time explaining these things.

what are your current thoughts on the Freedom Tower, not its design, but what it stands for now since its being beaten by its own country??  And, does the design say, Freedom?  Or does it just say, I taper one way, and have a 450 ft spire??

[Godzillaman 21]

    Airlift the Spire in from Chicago to New York City and freedom tower from New York City to Chicago...

    It says freedom for New York and America. So what if its beaten by it's own country. It show's the nation's pride, even if other towers are taller.

    People actually wanted to rebuild the original towers instead of a single tower. And read this:

   

The base of the tower (fortified because of security concerns) has also been a source of controversy. A number of critics (notably Derek Murdoch in the National Review) have suggested that it is alienating and dull, and reflects a sense of fear rather than freedom, leading them to dub the project "the Fear Tower." Nicolai Ouroussoff, the architecture critic for the New York Times, calls the tower base decorations a "grotesque attempt to disguise its underlying paranoia" quote>

Wiki

odd...

[Duke87 1,070]

Um... the Freedom Tower was never intended to be the worlds tallest building (and even if it weren't for the Chicago Spire, the Burj Dubai would beat it anyway). It's height is supposed to be symbolic at 1776 feet because of the whole declaration of independence thing. The idea being that any status as world's tallest is impermanent, but that height keeps meaning no matter what. It's silly, but there ya go.

Nevertheless, saying we might as well not build it is silly, too. After all, symbolism or no, we do want to put buildings back there, don't we? Besides, it's already under construction so stopping it from being built isn't going to happen unless some severe circumstances change things.

[2nerdy4u 1]

I really dont care if its tallest or not. No matter how tall you build something, someone else is going to build one taller. That's just how it works. And I'm surprised u've just heard of the Spire. There was even a thread in this very category about it.

No matter what its position in the standings, the Freedom Tower is still one really tall building and it definitely stands out in the country. It symbolizes the nation's freedom from the past and present. America declared independence and freedom from Britain in 1776 (hence the height of the building), and now it symbolizes the strength. Here comes these planes and these horrible attacks. The great WTC towers fell and several people lost their lives. But Americans aren't going to put up with this. No, instead, America decides to build and even taller tower complex with a memorial to remember those who died on an ordinary day where something terribly extraordinary happened.

Hope that makes sense.

[tohokingdom 0]

Go WTC project.

I've finally come around to the project.

I was a staunch supporter of building the towers over again for the longest time, but I've researched all the designs and stuff for the new buildings and I think it's going to be a good tribute.

I think the base of the Freedom Tower is cool looking, with the anti-blast proof stuff.

--Nik

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

these new futuristic buildings they're planning now are really ugly, they act like nyc is dubai, or hong kong. those super glassy skyscrapers just look weird in new york/chicago in my opinion, i hated how the WTC7 looked when i visited it. why don't they make good stone skyscrapers anymore i think the old WTC was much better looking that this freedom tower...just my opinion though.

[CarmineHilton 6]

hotdogs, The world is entering a new era, and the old stone skyscrapers don't seem to fit in anymore!!..

New York has it's own charm, but I think that will be gone very soon 'cause old skyscrapers make place for new ones! And the new ones are all about reaching the sky and being shiny in glass......

That's just how it is

[manman99 2]

Duke87- yes actually the Freedom Tower, during the early beginnings of its proposal and designs, was in fact, intended to be the worlds tallest. Because it was thought of before the Burj Dubai even broke ground, which was in 2004.

2nerdy4u- what do u mean?? i have heard of the Chicago spire since it was even just a proposal. I just decided to bring up this convo now.

ANd its 1776 ft thing. Yes the year of our declaration of indapendence. But it doesent have to be so symbolic like that. It could be called Freedom tower and be 5000 ft tall. They can make the main tower 1776 ft tall and then add on a spire. It doesent seem like some of you are getting my point.

[sEAhAwk fAn121 0]

it doesnt matter if its the tallest in the USA! it still makes the point and still will be awsome i like both the Chicago Spire and the Freedom Tower both great buildings and BOTH deserve to be built!

[lipman0 0]

forget the spire in chicago and the freedom tower in new york, if the Eaton/ John Marion Tower was built in Toronto it would be a monstrous 686 meters ( 2,250ft) easily being the tallest tower in the world. Look it up in Wikipedia to see more on it

[SimRabbit 48]

lipman0: what if it is not built.. cuz canada lost its title that doesn't mean they have to retake it.

[Micah 16]

...if the Eaton/ John Marion Tower was built in Toronto it would be a monstrous 686 meters ( 2,250ft) easily being the tallest tower in the world.quote>

If it were to begin construction in the next few months (which it doesn't sound like it will), it would hold on to its title as the tallest for only a short time. The Al Burj at 3,937 feet would easily exceed the tower in Toronto.

[JakeMD 107]

As long as they build something there where the towers were that says that america can and will rebuild, i dont care what it looks like or how tall it is.

[banks 0]

i saw what that thing in chaigo is going to look like and well its pretty ugly compiared to the freedom tower and so what NYC is the birth place of the Skyscraper the outher smaller bulidings there buring arouund it are also soport to be taller then the empire state bulding i believe it might just be one of them but w/e i think someone should make it

[ThePunisher 0]

My personal opinion is that terrorists will probably try to take out the new WTC when it's complete. I'm not a fan of the design and the Chicago spire looks ugly as well.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: ilikehotdogsalot why don't they make good stone skyscrapers anymore quote>

Because stone is a) expensive and b) heavy.

Builders aren't going to pay extra for something that's unnecessary, and the excess weight it puts on isn't exactly appealing, either.

Besides, lots of glass means more natural light gets in, which means less energy is spent on lighting the building.

And stone as a construction material is a thing of the past since concrete is better and easier to work with.

Point is, whether you like the way they look or not, the newer glass and steel style is the way all buildings are getting built now because they make better buildings than the old art deco brick and mortar style did. As more years go by and we get more experience, construction and design practices improve. And while those old buildings may look nice, the fact remains that they are more expensive to build, maintain, and run. And in America, where function precedes form and money is everything, that means nobody builds them anymore. Simple as that.

[Micah 16]

For those that are sad about the Freedom Tower project, there are many more impressive projects going on in NYC. There are several supertall skyscrapers proposed in NYC and it's only a matter of time before they become a reality. If anyone is curious about what I'm talking about, I wouldn't mind posting a few threads from Skyscraperpage.com.

[banks 0]

what kinda super tall ones i know they just finshed the new york times tower whitch is over 1000ft and theres the bank of america whitch will reach 1200ft and the freedom tower will have 3 outher super tall buldings but what else is being planed ??

heres a pic of how the smaller bulidinsg are set to look

[noahdiehl 0]

They say alot of people in NYC do feel like manman99, they want the old towers back....and really that would be the biggest screw you to terrorist...and lets face it no mater what we build it is going to be a target...so I say lets turn that taget in to a great big American middle finger. Come on everyone at once now U S A U S A U S A!

[banks 0]

i dount anything will happen to the freedom tower i mean in a way i wont be suprized if something like that dose happen again i like the freedom toers look its not the same though as the WTC but i still like it's a buliding that sybloises alot about new your inculding what its know for being the home of super tall sky scrapers so what if chicago is buliding that thing the freedom tower will be the one of the eorllds nictest bulding

[AndisArt 2,068]

The change of the look of skyscrapers is definitely a tricky thing for designing skylines. That the change will happen is sure for the reasons mentioned already. Nevertheless in my opinion it wasn't the best choice to put The Spire into Chicago. I like the tower itself, but I find it doesn't match with the style of the Chicago architecture.

A much better example of a new style skyscraper fitting in the rest would have been 7 South Dearborn Center: 

The Freedom Tower and the surounding buildings seem to make a better bridge between old and new.

@lipman0: Can you post some more info and links about that tower in Toronto? I couldn't find anything about it.

@Micah: Yes yes, please post some stuff about those supertalls

[patriots_1228 51]

manman-See, the reason we arent making the freedom tower is because we are confident in ourselfs, we don't need to 3000 foot towers to make us feel important. Building a 1776 foot tower on ground zero means much more than building a 5000 footer in the desert. Besides, the chicago spire is an ugly sob. Besides, why would you want a 5000 foot tower. not only would it be hideous and possibly dangerous, it would cost billions, and make the rest of the world hate you (course they already hate america so...). 5000 footers are for rich losers trying to compensate for somthing else.

[ILL Tonkso 1,239]

I dont see why people need the tallest anyway? Here in the UK we are quite happy that our tallest is just over 1000ft, the French decided to build one taller just so they had one taller. (and it was (they admitted it) a copy of our future second tallest). does it really matter how tall the buildings are? Its the city around it that matters.

Cus ill tell ya something NYC is WAY better than Dubai.

[LivingInThePast 364]

@ andisart: That building looks indimidating.

[manman99 2]

Im not saying that I dont like the Freedom tower design. I love it and I am a strong supporter of it. Your points are all correct in every way. And yes I do know NYC is proposing more taller buildings Micah. But I also think that none of them would be built, only because although NYC has many projects going on now, the freedom Tower project alone, cost billions of dollars. And thats only because the economy is at a slow down for the moment.

and keep this thread clean guys ! Because i can already see some people are starting to get just a bit roudy, but I doubt any of you will start flaming !

edit: OH and everyone look at this link from skyscraperpage.  Its a bunch of Visions, Fantasy Buildings(which is a horrible word for that) and buildings that were cancelled.

edit edit:never mind.  The link doesent work, so go to skyscraperpage.com, search New York City, scroll down to the check boxes where it says (proposals and such) unckeck those three and check cancelled, vision, and fantasy, and click search.

[banks 0]

i think the only citys in the USA tht can have super tall bulidings are just new york and chicago and espiclay ny i bet in the next 20 years bouth will have su[epr tall buildings but Chicago to me is a city that dosent matter what there buldings look like whitch is why i think they dont have such a nice skyline example with the sears tower there really nothing to it to me it was a huge tube in the sky with no real features to it compaired to the empire state bulding or the world trade center. so to me i think NYC is the only city in the US to make super tall buldings and yet still have them fit in with the skyline

[2nerdy4u 1]

banks: man are you so wrong... chicago has one of the nicest skylines in the world. look at the height of each section on the sears tower and ull see that some thought was put into it. and how is sears tower a giant tube and wtc isnt? have u ever seen the wtc? THEYRE TWO BIG TUBES!

And Chicago definitely does matter. its the second city of the US. Center of commerce, business, history, rail, air traffic, everything! Theres so much demand and business, so why should Chicago be limited to tiny little lowrises? [unneeded] Marc

And other cities definitely can have supertalls. With all that sprawl in LA, I think they NEED some more. Houston has a few. Miami has some HUGE stuff proposed! The list goes on...

I just think that what uve said is absolutely naive and childish. Seems like you just like NYC cuz its the biggest and most well-known, and hate every other great city in the US...

And what does any of this have to do with the topic, the Freedom Tower?

Oh and welcome to ST!

[Micah 16]

...the freedom tower will have 3 outher super tall buldings but what else is being planed ??quote>

The Midtown Towers.

They are supertall twin towers.

[Shingure 56]

Say hello to Courisant >.>

[banks 0]

i wasent trying to be childish by what i was saying i think that chicago doset have such a nice skyline thats all i know not everyone thinks that but well i do and what made the WTC diffrent from the sears tower is that there was 2 of them not 1 but 2 and the color they had refcted good when the sun would set 2 me they were not just 2 tubes in the sky im not to much of a fan of the sears tower it looks like a tube to me but not all f chicagos buldings are bad i just see the sears tower as an eye soure in the chicago skyline along with the Chicago sphere thats going to be bulit if they had chaged the dizile of thoughs bulidings then well the chicago skyline will look nice. 

im sorry if i offdened u but its just how i feel anways i wonder if anyones going to make the freedom tower complex to add on here