The newly built World Trade Center Transportation Hub, designed to resemble a dove but tasked with the job of a phoenix, opens this week, nearly 15 years after the Sept. 11 attacks left Lower Manhattan in ashes, according to Reuters.
Oculus, the birdlike structure that is the hub's focal point, welcomes the public on Thursday, months ahead of the expected opening of connections to 11 New York City subway lines and the underground PATH trains that link New York to New Jersey.
After Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's vision of a dove released into the air from a child's hands, Oculus has a practical purpose: To rebuild a terminal that was destroyed when the Twin Towers collapsed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
But it also symbolizes the rebirth of Lower Manhattan after the devastation of 9/11 and the dark days that followed.
"It's a sign of reconstruction, even of peace," said Calatrava, standing beneath the soaring glass roof that framed a deep blue sky reminscent of the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. "It is a monument to life, everyday life."
With a final price tag of $4 billion, twice the estimate when it was unveiled in 2004, the soaring space has been described by some residents as an architectural wonder and by others as an expensive eyesore.
"I don't love it—it looks like a Transformer," said Lizzy Paulino, 35, a temporary office administrator who lives in Harlem, referring to the films about giant shape-shifting robots.
"There are so many other things they could have spent that money on - like fixing the roads and subways," Paulino said.
Even admirers had their own interpretations of the site's intended image.
"The metal that was torn apart and left twisted when the World Trade Center fell, that's what it depicts," said Brooklyn-born Bill Reinhard, 56, a retired pharmaceutical engineer who now lives in Littleton, Colorado.
"Very impressive," he said, gazing up at the white steel and marble structure. "If it takes 10 more tax dollars, it's worth it to show we are a country that is not going to be deterred or defeated."
With two metal-ribbed wings springing out from an elliptical shaped transit hall that is roughly the size of a soccer field, the Oculus glass roof is meant to bring natural light to the 250,000 commuters traveling through the hub each day.
In remembrance of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, the project features a 330-foot (100-meter) retractable skylight that will be open on temperate days as well as annually on Sept. 11.
Cafes and stores are expected to fill its 75,000 sf of retail space, and draw many of the estimated 17 million tourists forecast to visit Lower Manhattan in 2019.
The project has taken years longer than expected to complete, making it one of the most expensive and delayed train stations ever built.
The Oculus structure of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub is pictured in New York, in this file photo taken February 26, 2016. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/Files
(Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio)
Related Stories
| Jan 2, 2014
Sacramento utility maintenance facility earns LEED Platinum, targets net zero
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s new maintenance facility, which is targeting net zero, has received LEED Platinum certification.
| Dec 17, 2013
Kahn appoints Alan Cobb President and CEO
Cobb is the tenth president in the firm’s 118-year history. As President, Cobb is responsible for ensuring that all of the firm’s client issues are effectively address and that overall project team performance meets or exceeds client expectations for each and job the firm undertakes.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Nov 27, 2013
Exclusive survey: Revenues increased at nearly half of AEC firms in 2013
Forty-six percent of the respondents to an exclusive BD+C survey of AEC professionals reported that revenues had increased this year compared to 2012, with another 24.2% saying cash flow had stayed the same.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Nov 6, 2013
Energy-efficiency measures paying off for commercial building owners, says BOMA study
The commercial real estate industry’s ongoing focus on energy efficiency has resulted in a downward trend in total operating expenses (3.9 percent drop, on average), according to BOMA's Experience Exchange Report.
