THE OCULUS

New York, NY

The Oculus is a transportation hub at the site of the late-World Trade Center towers, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The architect is known for his soaring skeletal forms, with curved ribs, often stimulating thoughts of prehistoric animal remains. Calatrava refers to this building as a symbol of “overcoming tragedy”. The 160’ tall, white-winged structure is a clam shell-looking organic form, standing in stark contrast to the sea of rectangular buildings in Lower Manhattan. The building, in functional terms, is a lid over a network of converging subway routes. The interior space of the building is a jaw-dropper B absolutely profound and inspiring, on par with St. Peters in Rome and other grand spaces. Initial estimates for the Oculus were five years to build and a cost of $2.2 billion. Work began one year after 9-11, and was completed 14 years later in 2016, at a cost $4 billion. One is reminded here of another revolutionary piece of New York architecture: the Guggenheim Museum (sketched on the same day) on the east side of Central Park. Both Calatrava and Frank Lloyd Wright ignored convention and context, and spoke with a grander language, in words hardly understandable. Extreme perseverance and fortitude were required, in equal doses, by each architect.

For a June morning in New York, the weather this day was perfect - sunny, with moderate temperatures. I sat in a Bosque in front of the building for this sketch. In the foreground of this drawing is the dark, sunken cube monument to 9-11, on the actual site of the Trade Center; seeing this was an experience in its own right. The names of those who perished in the 9-11 attack are engraved on the wall surrounding the cube.