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May, 2005

Snøhetta Design for Center Building Unveiled

The design of the International Freedom Center's building at the World Trade Center site was unveiled by Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a press conference on May 19. The design was presented by Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen, founding partners of the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. In addition to the International Freedom Center, the building will house the Drawing Center and the site-wide visitor's center.

The schematic design lifts the main interior portions of the building above the ground, allowing visitors unimpeded access to the World Trade Center Memorial and a view corridor into the Memorial Plaza. The open and inviting space draws visitors to a gently ramped procession into the building where the visitor can move to enter either the International Freedom Center or the Drawing Center. The design currently calls for five double-height floors with a landscaped rooftop public space that overlooks the Memorial Plaza.

By raising the building off the ground, the design creates a horizontally oriented urban public space in stark contrast to the primarily vertical spaces often found in New York City. The lifting of the building also allows the Memorial Plaza to continue uninterrupted to Greenwich Street to the east and Fulton Street to the north.

At the center of the building, the main ramp brings the visitor into the raised lobby under a canopy of natural light. A light well brings natural light and air through the building, onto the entrance ramp and down through skylights into the concourses of Santiago Calatrava's World Trade Center Transportation Hub. At night the skylights will light the underside of the building, casting a warming glow.

In the northeast corner of the building, a low ramp on Fulton Street brings visitors to the entrance of the Drawing Center and a piano noble which offers a view of the Memorial Plaza. The platform also serves as a connector to the main central entrance ramp, allowing visitors to ascend to the west, view the North Tower pool, and descend to the south seamlessly without even entering the building.

The International Freedom Center is placed in the southern end and occupies the upper floors of the building while the Drawing Center is placed at the north end of the building and occupies the lower floors on that side. Shared events and educational spaces and a public roof top terrace will be located at the top of the building.

The current schematic design allows for an up to 250,000 square-foot building. The International Freedom Center, the Drawing Center and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation will be determining the optimal size of the building as they work through the final design phase and finalize programming needs. Design Development will be complete by the end of 2005 and the groundbreaking for the building is expected in 2007, with completion in 2009 along with other key elements of the site.

Architects Dykers and Thorsen said, "We at Snøhetta have found the World Trade Center site to be a place that will forever be sublime and poignant. In our efforts, we have endeavored to first and foremost respect the setting, designing our building as a direct extension of the context, while honoring it by bringing a lively and internationally respected architectural character to these two important institutions, the International Freedom Center and The Drawing Center. The new Cultural Center will be both a gateway to the Memorial and a window forward to a bright future."

Governor Pataki said the new building "will be a fitting celebration of the humanity which triumphed in the face of evil on September 11th. I want to congratulate Snøhetta on creating an inspiring design." The Governor continued, "Constructing a moving Memorial continues to be the centerpiece of our rebuilding efforts and this building will a part of a lasting tribute to freedom."

Mayor Bloomberg called the announcement "another important step toward achieving the goal of producing a cultural center at the World Trade Center site that will be of enormous significance and value to our entire city. It will be a fitting companion to the marvelous new World Trade Center Transportation Hub that Santiago Calatrava has designed, the groundbreaking for which will take place this summer, and it promises to be another shining star in the dazzling design constellation that is making this one of the great eras for architecture in New York's history."

Secretary to the Governor John Cahill, recently named by Mr. Pataki to lead and coordinate activities in Lower Manhattan, noted, "Snohetta has offered an innovative design solution which will allow the Calatrava Transportation Hub and the Cultural Center to be built simultaneously, ensuring that we remain on schedule for completion of both important projects."

LMDC Chairman John Whitehead added, that Snøhetta's design "is an architectural treasure for New York and the world." New LMDC President Stefan Pryor noted that the new building is "both appropriately respectful of its special setting and mindful of its potent role in our revitalized Lower Manhattan. The Cultural Center will serve as a hub of creativity and life - with a magnificent new public garden, extraordinary quality of light, incomparable views, and immediate proximity to what will be a major new transit hub for New York and the region. It will stand as a fitting response to the devastation of September 11th, a vessel of light and hope for our city's continuing vitality, and source of artistic and intellectual expression."

Speaking at the May 19 press conference, Tom A. Bernstein, co-founder and chairman of the International Freedom Center, said, "On behalf of my colleagues at the International Freedom Center, I want to thank Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and Chairman Whitehead for their support and for entrusting us with this great responsibility. Today is another milestone in our journey. We are both delighted with and inspired by the Snohetta design of our new home. Craig and Kjetl and their colleagues have listened, collaborated and created. From the outset, our ambition has been to create a world-class institution that will serve as an educational complement to the Memorial and fit organically with the entire site. Their building does this. It captures the spirit of freedom. It is a work of optimism, uplift and hope. It achieves the rare feat of reflecting and communicating-- and thus deepening-- the animating spirit of the institution it houses. That seamless blending of architecture and content was our highest aspiration when we began this process, and it has been more than fulfilled. For this we are most grateful and look forward to continuing our collaboration in the months ahead".


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