After reading contrasting profiles in the Times this weekend, it is difficult to discern who will have more impact at Ground Zero: master planner Daniel Libeskind, or 24-ton Freedom Tower cornerstone Garnite Flecked Granite. A Curbed analysis:
HEIGHT
Granite: "Five foot high"
Libeskind: Just over five foot high (but shrinking)
APPEARANCE
Granite: "Cut, honed, polished, and inscribed"
Libeskind: Chiseled features of another sort
COST
Granite: $0 (value $14,000, donated)
Libeskind: Several million bucks, give or take a genius fee or two
FUTURE
Granite: "Will disappear from view, finally to be obscured entirely by the underground structure filling the 70-foot-deep foundation."
Libeskind: Will disappear from view, finally to be obscured entirely by David Childs, Larry Silverstein, and changing fashion trends that eschew boldly architected glasses.
Hmmmm. Edge: Granite.
· The Incredible Shrinking Daniel Libeskind [NYTimes]
· From 20-Ton Granite Block, Freedom Tower Will Rise [NYTimes]