page_title: World Trade Center (2001–present)
section_title: Planning
hierarchical_section_title: World Trade Center (2001–present) / Planning
context_page_description: The World Trade Center is a mostly completed complex of buildings in Lower Manhattan, New York City, U.S., replacing the original seven buildings on the same site that were destroyed in the September 11 attacks. The site is being rebuilt with up to six new skyscrapers, four of which have been completed; a memorial and museum to those killed in the attacks; the elevated Liberty Park adjacent to the site, containing the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Vehicular Security Center; and a transportation hub. The 104-story One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, is the lead building for the new complex.
  The buildings are among many created by the World Trade Centers Association. The original World Trade Center comprised the Twin Towers, which opened in 1973 and were the tallest buildings in the world at the time of their completion. They were destroyed on the morning of September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two Boeing 767 jets into the complex in a coordinated act of terrorism. The attacks on the World Trade Center killed 2,753 people.
context_section_description: In the months following the attacks, architects and urban planning experts held meetings and forums to discuss ideas for rebuilding the site. Outgoing Mayor Giuliani advocated for a "soaring memorial" to be the only thing at the World Trade Center site during his final speech as mayor. Meanwhile, Larry Silverstein wanted to construct a new World Trade Center as soon as possible: the insurance documents for his lease on the old World Trade Center had not been finalized at the time of the attacks, so he could not receive insurance benefits from the attacks unless he rebuilt all the office space that had been destroyed. George Pataki, the then-Governor of New York, controlled the Port Authority alongside the Governor of New Jersey and so was entitled to make the final decision regarding the site. He wished to balance the desires of people like Giuliani, who did not want any future development on the site, with those of people like Silverstein, who wanted a new World Trade Center as soon as possible. In January 2002, New York City art dealer Max Protetch solicited 50 concepts and renderings from artists and architects, which were put on exhibit in his art gallery in Chelsea.
  With the World Trade Center site, numerous stakeholders were involved, including Silverstein and the Port Authority. In addition, the victims' families, people in the surrounding neighborhoods, and others wanted input. In November 2001, Governor Pataki established the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) as an official commission to oversee the rebuilding process. In order to bypass the approval of the New York State Assembly, Pataki left out Sheldon Silver, the State Assemblyman for the area, from the decision-making process regarding the LMDC. The LMDC coordinated federal assistance in the rebuilding process and was tasked with working with the Port Authority, Larry Silverstein, and whoever was selected as the site's architects. The corporation also handled communication with the local community, businesses, the city of New York, and relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks. A 16-member board of directors, half appointed by the governor and half by the mayor of New York, governed the LMDC. The LMDC had questionable legal status regarding the restoration of the World Trade Center site, because the Port Authority owned most of the property and Larry Silverstein had the legal right to redevelop the World Trade Center. However, the LMDC, in an April 2002 articulation of its principles for action, asserted its role in revitalizing lower Manhattan.
  In April 2002, the LMDC sent out requests for proposals to redesign the World Trade Center site to 24 Manhattan architecture firms, but then soon withdrew them. The following month, the LMDC selected Beyer Blinder Belle as planner for the redesign of the World Trade Center site. The new 7 World Trade Center, which was not part of the new plan, began construction on May 7, 2002. On July 16, 2002, Beyer Blinder Belle unveiled six concepts for redesigning the World Trade Center site. The roughly 5,000 New Yorkers that submitted feedback deemed all six designs to be "poor", so the LDMC announced a new international, open-design study. In an August 2002 press release, the LMDC announced a design study for the World Trade Center site. The following month, the LMDC, along with New York New Visions – a coalition of 21 architecture, engineering, planning, landscape architecture and design organizations – announced seven semifinalists. These architecture firms were then invited to compete to be the master plan architect for the World Trade Center:
  Foster and Partners (Norman Foster)
  Studio Daniel Libeskind (Daniel Libeskind)
  Meier Eisenman Gwathmey Holl (Peter Eisenman, Richard Meier, Charles Gwathmey and Steven Holl), sometimes known as "The Dream Team"
  Peterson Littenberg
  Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  THINK Team (Shigeru Ban, Frederic Schwartz, Ken Smith, Rafael Viñoly)
  United Architects
  Peterson Littenberg, a small New York architecture firm, had been enlisted by the LMDC earlier that summer as a consultan
caption: Preliminary site plans for the World Trade Center's reconstruction.