Back in June, when World Trade Center site planners axed Snøhetta' Drawing Center from the southwest corner of Greenwich and Fulton, it looked like a big win for architect Santiago Calatrava. After all, the subterranean concourse of his Transit Hub is designed bathe in light from above, and as the late lamented Guttersniper noted at the time, that could only exist with the preemptive demolition of the museum block above.
Of course, at the WTC site, it's never that easy. Comes David Dunlap today to point out that, um, it's going to be hard to grow those trees for the WTC memorial on top of Calatrava's translucent ground. (Treewise, 65 are planned for this part of the site.) "We are working through these issues and are very close to a resolution," says a Port Authority rep, presumably before devolving into spasmodic giggles.
· Intersection of Two Designs and Two Purposes [NYTimes]
· Revamped WTC Memorial: Critic's Choice [Curbed]