WTC Memorial - by Michael Arad (Architect) and Peter Walker (Landscape)

[DarrylStrawberry]

Originally Posted by 195Broadway

.... A two Adderall observation.

Wikipedia says it is good for alertness and libido.

Watch out Beantown! Here comes some lovin'!

[lofter1]

Should the Sphere be repaired so that it looks like it did on the morning after the towers came down (with barely a scratch on it)?

Or left as it is now, torn and shredded by heavy equipment during the deconstruction of the WTC?

[ZippyTheChimp]

Left the way it is now.

[RKOwens4]

It should be repaired structurally (that is, have the big hole on the top of it closed up and have the entire thing take on its original shape) but have the scratches and "scars" from where the holes were left in place.

[scumonkey]

i disagree.... leave it as it is!

[steve1young]

Originally Posted by RKOwens4

I've been saying for a long time that the Sphere should be relocated into the middle of the opening at the northeast corner of the memorial plaza. It would be impossibly to return it to its EXACT location, not just because of the fact that it would be in the middle of Greenwich Street, but because it would also have to be floating 12 feet above Greenwich Street (the original plaza was about 12 feet above Greenwich Street).

Not only would the northeast corner of the memorial plaza be pretty darn close to its original location, but it's also the ONLY logical place on the entire site where it could be located. The east and west plazas for 1WTC are too small (the Sphere is way bigger than it looks in photos), if it were located outside the transportation hub it would be overshadowed by having the oculus wings hanging right above it, the park outside 7WTC has a really good structure already, and anywhere else on the memorial plaza is too dense with trees. Besides, the point of the Sphere was that it was the center of the WTC site (not necessarily just the towers). The center of the new WTC is still this exact location. It's the perfect and only logical spot.

All great points.

Originally Posted by lofter1

Should the Sphere be repaired so that it looks like it did on the morning after the towers came down (with barely a scratch on it)?

Or left as it is now, torn and shredded by heavy equipment during the deconstruction of the WTC?

As is.

[lofter1]

I'm somewhat surprised, considering that 90% + of the damage to Koenig's Sphere occurred in the days after the attack when it was being removed from the WTC site, that there is such strong support to leave it as it now appears.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I don't know how much additional damage was done to the sphere during removal (it was cut or disassembled into sections), but it was heavily damaged by the collapse of the buildings.

Don't know if this is true or an urban myth, but it was stated in a documentary by Percy Adlon that parts of one of the airliners were found inside the sphere.

http://www.percyadlon.com/film_and_s...ssphere_2.html

Photo album - some show the sphere on site Oct 2001

[scumonkey]

No matter what the story really is, the artist himself supervised the re-installation of his sculpture .
If he wanted it fixed he would have balked about long before now.
....leave it alone!

[lofter1]

Originally Posted by ZippyTheChimp

... it was heavily damaged by the collapse of the buildings.

It had a big hole in the top, but otherwise it was pretty much intact.

Check out this thread.

And a photo from shortly after the attacks and quotes from Fritz Koenig HERE. (Also a shot of the partially deconstructed sphere after crews had started to tear it apart in order to get it off the site.)

It would probably be nearly impossible (and incredibly costly) to re-shape the Sphere, given that the metal would need to be heated and formed.

Better that Koenig be commissioned to create a companion piece. But he is now 85 years old, so that might be an impossibility.

[195Broadway]

I say leave it as is. The damage is a result of that day, both directly and indirectly.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Originally Posted by lofter1

Check out this thread.

What new info is on that thread?

The text doesn't state that the sphere was "intact," only that it "survived". That covers a wide range of damage.

The earliest photos after 09/11 that I've found are #7 and #8 in the album I previously posted. It appears to be in worse shape than now.

The text in this link states that the sphere was "dismantled," not "ripped apart."

[Bob]

The Sphere means more now than it ever did, so I would prefer that it not be restored in any way. Leave it as is and reinstall it as close to the original location as possible. I also would have no problem putting it 12 feet in the air, in the exact original location. Now that would be something.

[lofter1]

The long shot shot (#2) in that gallery shows the Sphere, upright and in place (as was shown in the documentary).

Also: Look at this shot (#5); the caption pretty much says it all.

The next few shots show the progression of what happened to the Sphere once the heavy equipment got involved.

Anyway, it's all academic at this point. The Sphere is now what it's become. Restoring it will never happen. And without the the big plaza and the gushing fountain to play against the form it's probably better to leave it this way.

[yepole]

With the exception of a few beams, another level in the SW corner of the memorial looks to be complete. Also more progress in the south pool. Just in case if some don't check EarthCam regularly: