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A Temple of Contemplation and Conflict

Architecture Review | International Freedom Center, Drawing Center
A Temple of Contemplation and Conflict

By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF
Published: May 20, 2005 - New York Times

    "FOR architects who find inspiration in conflict, ground zero can be perversely fascinating. From the battles over money and security to the nasty political elbowing, all of the ingredients are there. The strains are evident in the design for a new museum that will house the International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center, unveiled yesterday by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The building, by the Norwegian firm Snohetta, is strangely seductive: with some fine-tuning, it could even become a fascinating work. It is already closer to the standard set by Santiago Calatrava's soaring glass-and-steel transportation hub than that of the site's troubled Freedom Tower, for example. But ultimately, the museum is more about politics than architecture - a theme-park view of American ideals in an alluring wrapper. (.....) What is missing at ground zero is a sense of humility. This is something that cannot be remedied by reducing the scale of a building. We should refocus attention on what matters most: remembering the human beings who were lost at ground zero, while allowing life to return to the void there. The rest is a pointless distraction."

Source / continue reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/arts/design/20free.html?pagewanted=all
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