Il y a 50 ans, en 1964, les dessins de Minoru Yamasaki étaient montrés au grand public. Visibles au delà de la ligne d'horizon des buildings existants, les tours jumelles, au centre du complexe du World Trade Center, étaient destinées à représenter "la croyance de l'homme dans l'humanité".
Dès le départ, le projet était controversé. Il entrainait la destruction de tout un quartier.
Clog revient sur toute l'histoire.
Les textes sont en anglais.
Fifty years ago, in 1964, Minoru Yamasaki’s proposed design
for the World Trade Center was first revealed to the public. Rising far above
the Lower Manhattan skyline, the Twin Towers—centerpieces of the original World
Trade Center complex—were intended, in the words of their architect, to “become
a living representation of man’s belief in humanity.”
From the beginning, the project was not without controversy.
Positioned at the confluence of several transportation routes, an entire
district known as “Radio Row” would be claimed through eminent domain and
demolished to make way for the new center of commerce. The abstract—arguably
overpowering—design invited fierce criticism. Nevertheless, Yamasaki and
associate architects Emery Roth & Sons would devote over a decade to the
design and construction of the World Trade Center, which proved significant not
only as an urban renewal project, but also as an architectural and engineering
marvel.
By the time of their destruction, the Twin Towers were one
of New York City’s most prominent icons. With the new World Trade Center slowly
approaching completion, the importance and irreplaceability of the original
becomes more evident. CLOG will therefore critically examine that which has
forever been lost: the World Trade Center, Dedicated April 4, 1973.
