NEW YORK | 200 Greenwich St (2WTC) | 1,348 FT | 88 FLOORS | ON HOLD

The new design is much more cohesive with the rest of the WTC.

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:face_vomiting:

I hope this isnā€™t the final design. Not exactly inspiring or iconic. The resolution towards the top is ugly af and not refined. It looks dialed in, especially after waiting 20+ years.

My issue with BIGs iteration wasnā€™t exactly the design as much as the location. It wasnā€™t appropriate for the area but it appeared way more interesting.

This design here is definitely not boundary-breaking like the original WTC. Just a tall resignation like weā€™ve given up on any sense of American imagination.

It seems the height is back up to 1350ā€™ according to the article. This will at least fill the silhouette of the old building. But given how things go here Iā€™m sure the height will be re-chopped.

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I donā€™t mind the new design at all. It has height, setbacks, angles, and a mix of materials. I think itā€™s a handsome building. I also just want this site to be finished so I say BUILD IT NOW!

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Itā€™s not terribleā€¦ albeit generic

Lets be honest a massive signature tower was never going to rise at this site

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With the same color glass it will definitely blend in with the other towers. But on its own it is nothing to write home about.

At least it is full height IMO. Itā€™s probably designed for affordable construction.

Can anyone photoshop this to have reflective glass so we can get a better sense of it versus other towers

Question is, will we see some meaningful movement in 2022? If not donā€™t count on this design either. If time goes by they tend to adjust the design for the market, whatever that might be.
Never been in the US but I follow the redevelopment since the decision was made to rebuildā€¦ I was 14 in 2001 pretty sad the complex isnā€™t finished ā€˜healedā€™ 20 years after.

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itā€™s basically the same tower brought up to modern expectations. The loss of the diamonds is regrettable but it allows for more office space towards the top of the tower. And now the tower has setbacks for amenity space. Iā€™m curious what it will look like from the West across the Hudson, it may look very similar with setbacks taking the place of each diamond point on the crown.

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Iā€™m curious to see more detailed renders of the crown. It looks similar to the top of the Comcast Tech Center in Philadelphia, as well as what weā€™ve seen so far of the 270 Park crown. Foster & Partners seem to be developing a ā€œlate styleā€ with their latest supertalls: a glass block broken up by either setbacks, atria, or cantilevers with off-center mechanicals and ā€œstructural expressionistā€ details like steel bracing, with a rudimentary crown on top. This tower, 15 Penn, 270, 350, & 425 Park, and Comcast Tech Center all follow this formula. Theyā€™re all designed with tenant needs firstā€“and thatā€™s usually a good thing, but not if the end result is ugly or inappropriate for its location. (And honestly, I doubt ā€œLordā€ Foster had much to do with any of these designs, the guy is 85 and lives in a huge Swiss chaletā€“he moved there for ā€œtax purposesā€. They probably just trot him out to give a statement and take some photos).

Iā€™m not too worried because this seems like a working model, but so far it looks underwhelming for such an iconic and historically significant location. I had the same complaint about 15 Penn, but thatā€™s what happens when an architecture firm takes a tenant-first formula and applies it everywhere, context be damned.

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Needless to say Iā€™m disappointed. But Iā€™m so tired of all of this, just build a half decent tower already.

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I think many are missing the point here, 2WTC was never meant to overshadow 1 WTC so it wonā€™t be iconic. 1WTC is the ā€œiconā€ at the site and everything else will just be filler which I think this design fulfills.
They should just get on with it and build.

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This is more or less what weā€™ve been expecting, realistically: the same basic profile as the original, but with a simplified upper section to make a more efficient use of space.

Given the constraints (i.e. the foundation already exists, the need to attract a tenant and turn a profit) I think this is decent. The setbacks seem to work harmoniously with the other towers in the master plan, and the massing is as imposing as you could want for a WTC tower.

I donā€™t love the ā€œfinā€ up top, but I donā€™t hate it. Mainly I find it odd that it seems almost perfectly level with the roof of One WTC. As has been discussed here ad nauseum, the ā€œillusionā€ of Twins doesnā€™t work when viewing the site from the North given how far apart 1 & 2 are spaced; in silhouette 1 & 2 may appear like two roughly identical goalposts. I would have rather this be either a little shorter that One WTC, with an upward gesture at the crown (in keeping with the original spiral plan) or much taller.

Edit: looking at it again, Iā€™ve realized the fin is oriented North/South rather than East/West, so I guess it will appear like a spire reaching the roof height of One WTC, as opposed to the illusion of a flat roof. Still feels odd to me but less than if it were turned the other way around.

And I see too that the upper setbacks are offset so there is an upward gesture towards One WTC. Now that Iā€™ve had my morning coffee this is looking more cohesive than Iā€™d originally thought.

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I agree. That bothers me as well.

I think this will go up within a year or so. Now that 50HY and spiral are done, itā€™s just 3 Hudson, grand Hyatt, and this competing for new tenants. This tower will definitely be the most affordable so eventually someone will come to it.

However, the problem with this site has always been its connection to the port authority, so it canā€™t get traded around among ā€˜multinational corporationsā€™ as some investment the way private properties can be. That means the anchor tenant matters, whereas private properties can be built on spec without any consideration of when a tenant ever moves in, since the goal is simply to make profit by flipping the building.

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I agree with this entirely. It hurts to even say it.

The fin and crown makes the building look like a very tall version of something that belongs in Hunters Point.

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Well whatever. Maybe theyā€™ll have a bar or restaurant on top that we can go to.

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Who knows if this is even the final design and Iā€™d take this 1000x over the BIG monstrosity we came close to receiving. Maybe weā€™ll be pleasantly surprised when official renders are released.

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This design is a hit or miss, renderings could make this one of the best towers currently proposed in NYC. Since itā€™s just a model rn, it isnā€™t substantial enough to get a final opinion. I just really hope that with the extra floor height, Windows on the World will make its grand return

It definitely looks like thereā€™s some amenity space in the crown, but itā€™s probably reserved for the tenants. I really hope thatā€™s not the final design for the crown, it looks totally disjointed. Itā€™s frustratingā€“Foster & Partners seems to realize that a good tall building needs a decorative crown. But they canā€™t pull off a good-looking one. The fins on top of 2 WTC 3.0, the poles stuck on top of 350 Park, the Wolverine claws on 425, and the thick mast on Comcast Tech look clumsy to me.

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Would love to have another Windows on the World. Also would love to have another observation deck like on the original Twins, which I think are still currently unmatched. Though that wonā€™t happen on this design.