IT'S LIBESKIND!: On the tenth anniversary of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has chosen German Jewish architect Daniel Libeskind's proposal for development at Ground Zero.
I don't love Libeskind's plan, but I do think it's far superior to the goofy THINK proposal, and I do like that it contains the world's largest building. I just hope that the LMDC, the city, the state, and the various developers can get their act together, and actually begin the process of construction of the buildings, a memorial, and a transit hub by this time next year.
But perhaps best of all, the choice of Libeskind's proposal is a slap in the face to the New York Times' obnoxious architecture critic Herbert Muschamp, who has been largely critical of the plan since the start of the process. Muschamp is the same man who infamously ripped the original proposals last fall because they "failed to address America's troubled relationship with the world." It's never a good idea for a single critic (whether in film, theater, architecture, or restaurants) to have all-powerful influence in any medium, so we should all be thankful that this modern-day Bosley Crowther has for once been cut down to size.