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Re:A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities by jim_greco on Sunday November 30, 2014 @10:40AM (#8677028)
It's unfortunate. They had a real opportunity and instead created a lifeless soulless building that stands in deep contrast to the subtle memorial next door or Calatrava's soaring transit hub. Too many sacrifices had to be made for this tower. The fortifications at the bottom (20 floors of concrete with a glass covering) are hideous and the removal of the decorative aspects to the spire make it look like a giant syringe.

Not to mention we really didn't need the downtown office space. The Financial District is already half the price of Midtown and firms who want a downtown presence are now looking to more exciting neighborhoods for young workers like Chelsea and the East Village.

Re:A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities by krschultz on Sunday November 30, 2014 @11:43AM (#8677202)
The spire is especially galling. How much money did it save? 0.5% of the total cost?
Re:A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities by g_mifo on Sunday November 30, 2014 @12:57PM (#8677449)
The spire is there so that the building is respectfully not taller than the old towers, but still can win the stupid "tallest building" guiness record. Typical play to vanity metrics.
Re:A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities by krschultz on Sunday November 30, 2014 @01:19PM (#8677528)
No I mean the fact that they neutered the spire. The original design called for a tapered spire. It ended up being built as simple antenna, seemingly with platforms every few stories. It looks unfinished. For a long time I was hoping it was simply unfinished. Turns out it was changed to save $20 million.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527023045439045773...

Re:A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities by kevin_thibedeau on Sunday November 30, 2014 @05:07PM (#8678313)
There was an engineering issue with wind loading on the clad version of the spire so they left it off.
Re:A Soaring Emblem of New York, and Its Upside-Down Priorities by Theodores on Sunday November 30, 2014 @02:14PM (#8677734)
I like your 'the syringe' name! Can we make that a meme so that is what people call it?