Gehry Partners to Design
WTC Cultural Buildings
by Alex Frangos
From The Wall Street Journal Online
October 18, 2004
Gehry Partners LLP, led by architect Frank O. Gehry, and Snohetta, a Norwegian architectural firm, will design the main cultural buildings at the rebuilt World Trade Center.
The Joyce Theater Foundation and the Signature Theatre Company selected Mr. Gehry to conceive a venue with four performance spaces that will serve the two organizations.
Snohetta, known for the modern incarnation of the Alexandria Library in Egypt, will create a structure to hold the Drawing Center, an institution devoted to the exhibition of drawings, and the International Freedom Center, a museum that will be "centered on humankind's enduring quest for freedom."
For Snohetta, which means "snow cap" in Norwegian, the museum building will be its first project in North America. Craig Dykers, an architect there, says being selected was an "honor and a privilege." He says the firm will pay particular attention to how the structure interacts with the nearby memorial.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a state agency guiding the rebuilding process, made the announcement. The firms were selected from among 68 entries and 16 finalists.
The most prominent name among finalists not picked was Daniel Libeskind, the site's master planner. The decision means he will likely not have his name on any single building at the site.
Since Mr. Libeskind's overall vision for the 16-acre site of the Sept. 11 attacks was picked in February 2003, the assignments for the individual elements have been meted out to other parties.
David M. Childs of Skidmore Owings & Merrill is lead designer on the signature skyscraper, the Freedom Tower. Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava is designing the transit hub. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker are in charge of the memorial.
Mr. Libeskind couldn't be reached for comment.
The two cultural-building projects are expected to cost $250 million to $300 million each. Funds to pay for the buildings will come from federal money that the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. controls, from fund raising and from the institutions themselves.
Initial designs are expected in early 2005. The goal is to open in 2009.
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