Passions and confusion hover over the former World Trade Center site like lingering smoke. An international design competition could help clear the air downtown and produce creative, worthwhile structures that advance our whole culture. Without a competition, economic pressure and cronyism may allow any building done there to devolve toward architectural mediocrity, while the world loses a chance for a new vision. However, competitions are fraught with possibilities, good and bad, and are not panaceas: They require the right framework to succeed.
The first requirement may be the hardest—an agreed-on program for the whole parcel. While cleanup efforts accelerate and leadership becomes more apparent, the simplest outlines of a consensus are emerging from the chaos. Conversations and roundtables mention a memorial to anchor the hallowed 16 acres, surrounded by housing as well as commercial and office space, with a cultural or educational component included for the long-term, civic weal. Mayor Bloomberg has informally endorsed similar programmatic goals. The ensuing months should promote debate, community discussions, and planning, resulting in a hard-nosed, realistic program for development.
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