New York, WTC, Ground Floor
Link to Album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/J5HoxdC3XU346mmn6
Notes:
The ground floor of the WTC is nothing less than an
architectural masterpiece rivalling anything found anywhere else in the
world...since the construction of thatch-covered, mud-daubed dwellings. Shanghai
and Dubai are "futuristic" cities that have pushed conventional
architecture to its limits, specifically the Burj Khalifa (Dubai) and the
Shanghai Tower come to mind. But this building redefines those limits, from the
bottom up.
Unlike other totemic buildings, here, at the WTC, the entranceway on the ground floor is what's remarkable... dare I say awesome? It is vast and open... with filtered lighting, natural and artificial, indirect yet luminous; lighting that washes across the entire ceiling with just enough contrasting shadows to give an impression of the sky itself.... under roof. Someone on the design side wandered around Grand Central more than once.
PS: Back on earth, this is the great hall of a transportation hub, where train lines meet subway lines.
There are no visible massive columns bearing all the weight
of the hall. The enormous walls containing the vast space are somewhat sloped,
reminiscent of Gothic cathedrals with their "flying buttresses". Are
they performing the same supporting function? To the layman (that's me) the
design suggests that it is just air holding up the massive tower. Like the
Duomo in Florence.
