WTC Replacement...

September 17, 2001 1:57 PM

WTC Replacement... This would be sweet, imagine a 2000ft version of this puppy
posted by zeoslap (14 comments total)

A 2000 ft. puppy? Okay, but you have to clean up after him...
posted by jjg at 2:13 PM on September 17, 2001

This is great. How can I rent space on the top floor? Will each desk come with a parachute?
posted by Doug at 2:21 PM on September 17, 2001

Hmm, you could also attach the wind thingies to a motor, so if any airplanes approached, they could just get blown away from the building. What a cunning anti-hitting-by-airplane measure.
posted by Mossy at 2:41 PM on September 17, 2001

while this idea initially seems great, what type of side effects would result? meaning, will there be any problems with objects getting stuck in the fans? birds? trash? Also the noise and vibration generated by the turbines might be insulated enough so that the surrounding areas may not hear them too much, but what about those working in the building? I think if my office faced a huge turbine like this, i would no doubt feel it as well as hear it. hopefully they're able to make it smooth enough to make these non-issues.
posted by physics at 2:58 PM on September 17, 2001

Did this photo make anyone else think of those scenes from Total Recall?
posted by Fley Mingmasc at 3:15 PM on September 17, 2001

< black humor >
There's precedent -- in fact, even before last tuesday, there was a bit of an architectural fad for buildings with holes in them.
< /black humor>

Chase Tower in Dallas, a Hong Kong apartment complex, Hong Kong again with the Citic Tower, and then ... well, there's Shanghai's World Financial Tower, which comes with a neat round hole. One early proposal included a massive ferris wheel built inside it, but now they're only putting in an observation deck (it's not done).




The ostensible engineering reason for these holes is managing the problems of wind resistance, which with square scrapers are often solved with counterweights or even built-in sway. In China there's also an aspect of feng shui influencing its popularity.

< black humor>
One added bonus of these buildings is that, coming with pre-made holes, they're ideal for fooling terrorists. Too late! Try next door!
< /black humor>
posted by dhartung at 3:25 PM on September 17, 2001

Personally, I like this idea a whole lot better... thanks Jason!
posted by silusGROK at 3:25 PM on September 17, 2001

i'm extremely excited about the continued adoption of wind power into everyday life. this is great.
posted by jakd at 3:34 PM on September 17, 2001

We should build some of these in Washington.

(Oh, come on, you knew that was coming.)
posted by mrbula at 3:46 PM on September 17, 2001

I'm now noticing something conspicuously absent from the design: giant bullseye painted on the side.
How much would you have to make to work in a new World Trade Center? I might, if they chose to make it out of solid steal, with a little office in the middle, but even then...
posted by Doug at 3:50 PM on September 17, 2001

Whether or not the design of the building can be construed as "ugly" is, I think in this case, pretty irrelavant. Since this is in initial stages of development it is the concept that it is important, and the rest can be taken care of later.

(though I am sure that I took the "ugly" comment far too seriously)
posted by TractorInc at 4:11 PM on September 17, 2001

I'm trying to imagine what it would be like were a plane to be diverted into that giant turbine. Would they, perhaps, hit the spokes and send the giant fan spinning out into the city, sawing apart buildings and people alike? With the speed needed to generate that much power, the fan would probably have enough momentum to saw through half of New Jersey before it landed with a giant thud and further destroyed with its weight.
posted by bokonon at 7:27 PM on September 17, 2001

And sawing through Northern New Jersey would be BAD?


(okay, okay....)
posted by Vidiot at 1:33 AM on September 18, 2001