Rising from the ashes of 9/11 is not a phoenix, but a $4bn white elephant

摘要

When the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey commissioned Santiago Calatrava to rebuild the transport hub at Ground Zero, they didn't just look for a practical station, but for an idea that could raise the World Trade Center from its ashes. Calatrava responded with a building that evoked a phoenix taking flight, a vision that could fill the void left by the fallen towers. But like one of those dreams where the sound of the alarm clock keeps invading the fantasy, reality has morphed Calatrava's vision into something weirder, more complicated, and less elegant than a bird reborn.