Obvious Diversion

A new “Freedom Tower” was unveiled in New York last week and it brings up a few obvious questions. What was the point of showing the public all of those previous designs? What was the point of having a public comment period when it looks like the results of everyone’s effort were simply disregarded?

Two things are clear from this latest move. This design looks nothing like what was shown in the past and those in charge clearly have no regard for involving the public in any real way. This new design is neither inspiring nor enlightening. It adds nothing to the landscape that it will cast it’s shadow on. It can only be regarded as a fortress. A fortress is not a place where people grow and thrive. A fortress is a place where people simply survive. There’s no freedom or growth or inspiration that you can express in building a fortress. On a piece of land that holds such an emotional weight for so many, the only thing this fortress will express is fear and isolation.