Welp! Major downgrade happening here (before on left, after on right):
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That’s a BIG “oof’ if this is happening, as it looks like the glass is going from an interesting wavy look to a flat, ordinary design 
If they started construction (and the manufacturing of the steel/façade) and have the approved design outside the building, is it normal to change things like this? This went from one of the more interesting developments going up to an oddly-shaped building that’ll just get lost behind future supertalls 
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They turned The “Torch” into a Wrench 
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Lmao what a crappy tower
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I wish they would implement the previous design.
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Quick rant: What’s the point of this evocative design, if the namesake “The Torch” isn’t even apparent anymore. The roof has almost been completely flattened, and the soaring aspect of the building -the wave like stem- is now something that resembles one of my first Minecraft builds or an ugly tree house.
Might as well build a regular box here instead, rather than blight the city with a tower that now looks like a cleaned out chicken drum.
It’s amazing to me that the richest city in the world can not hire any architect with 3 active braincells. This couldve been a really cool building if done right…
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The tower got Silversteined 
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They can’t abandon the previous unique and beautiful design because the city is full of iconic buildings, every new project affects the city’s image, and large investments demand strong returns. I don’t think they will give up the original design
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Wow we really can’t get anything nice in this city. Happens every single time, a somewhat nice, large proposal gets continually cut down and redesigned until it turns into straight dull, forgettable mess
At least we were lucky enough to get 270 park
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It only took the largest bank in the country bankrolling the entire thing.
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It’s amazing to me that the richest city in the world can not hire any architect with 3 active braincells. This couldve been a really cool building if done right…
Agree about the building, but I will say it’s almost never the architect making decisions like this. It’s the developer. The architects are probably just as disappointed as we are that the plans got value engineered. Generally, architects have much less control over designs than people imagine. Final designs are mostly dictated by what the developer is willing to pay for.
Well, if there’s one bit of good news here it’s more confirmation that JRF really does have insider knowledge…which makes me hopeful for 2 WTC.
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Yup, we’ve seen this coming as JRF recently stated. It does suck that the curves and angles are gone, but the shape is still like a torch
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Seeing 12 updates on this thread before clicking it open this morning, I had this sinking feeling that it was time to be disappointed. Enshittification is in full swing in every aspect of American life.
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yooooo ahaha
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“The Torch” became “The BIC Lighter”; cheap, plain, and something you’ll eventually forget
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I totally agree. 
This movie clip pretty much encapsulates how I feel about the crappy redesign of the TORCH.
“Damn you: you blew it all up”
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lol me every time I see a spam, I know its a render drop and people are complaining
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The Bletch. 
Can we please get some renderings? ODA, if you’re reading this we need accurate, up-to-date renderings.
The fact that ODA are the architects still gives me hope.
Extell is notorius for not publishing renderings until the 11th hour. We didn’t know what Central Park Tower would actualy look like for a long time after constructiob began.
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