Banksy Rubbishes Carbuncle Design Of New York’s World Trade Center

The British Street Artist Banksy, who is currently winding up his month long residency in Manhattan, has publicly rubbished the new design of One World Trade Center. This is the building replacing the ‘Twin Towers’ destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. In a statement posted on his website, the artist sounding more like Prince Charles than a Modernist has ripped into the structure saying that New York’s “glory days were over” It was, ‘a non event’ and looked like something they would build in Canada. (South Park reference)

Redefining Lower Manhattan’s New York skyline. Standing at 1,776 feet tall, the architectural and engineering of One World Trade Center is a symbol of renewal and hope. Designed by architect David Childs, of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP, One World Trade Center incorporates new architectural and environmental standards, setting a new level of social responsibility in urban design.

The 104-story building, a joint venture between The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and The Durst Organization, is designed to be the safest commercial structure in the world and the premier commercial business address in New York. It will feature 3 million square feet of office space on 71 office floors, a grand public lobby, and an observation deck offering unparalleled views of the region. Currently One World Trade Center is more than 55 percent leased, with world-class publisher Condé Nast as its anchor tenant. Conde Nast will occupy nearly 1.2 million square feet to house its global headquarters, along with the Vantone China Center, which has  leased 190,000 square feet, and the U.S. General Services Administration which will lease more than 270,000 square feet of space under a 20-year agreement.

Legendary UK graffiti artist Banksy’s work typically includes satirical social and political commentary, and ranges from murals to sculpture and installation, often playing with the contextual aspects of the work. The artist’s first solo show was held in 2002 at Los Angeles’ 33 1/3 Gallery, and in 2003 he was commissioned to design to cover of Blur’s ThinkTank. Today, Banksy’s work appears internationally; most notably, he painted nine sardonic images on the Palestinian side of the West Bank barrier. In Summer 2009, Banksy took over the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery with an exhibition attracting over 300,000 visitors and hour-long queues all the way down the road. Most recently the artist has experimented with film, achieving an Oscar nomination for his documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop. Consistently controversial, Banksy is described by some as genius and others as a vandal. Regardless of whether he is inspiring admiration or provoking outrage, his name is one that is well-known around the world. He is currently completing a 30 day residency in NYC.

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