"I feel better about this than the original," said the building's chief architect, David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. "The building is simpler, architecturally. It is unique, yet it subtly recalls, in the sky, the tragedy that has happened here."
I feel better too. The original design with it’s asymmetrical tower intended to mimic and parallel the nearby Statue of Liberty seemed rigid and forced. The forms lacked elegance and seemed contrived and contorted.
The original design featured a torgued rectangle which is an inherently unstable design visually; this is not the kind of message you want to send in a structure on this site. The new design is much sleeker and the crystalline structure speaks of clarity and crispness.
According to Nicolai Ouroussoff, of the NY Times:
The new obelisk-shaped tower, which stands on an enormous 20-story concrete pedestal, evokes a gigantic glass paperweight with a toothpick stuck on top.
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