Posted 7:35 PM by Gene

I hope I'm wrong in thinking the withdrawal of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill from the WTC redesign contest is bad news. They're the suits of architecture and have put up more refrigerators than anyone, but at least their presence offered continuity. Now the "avant-garde" (ah! How the Times LOVES that word) has a better chance at building 3,000-foot-high Tinkertoy sculptures or two-block-long glass walls. I fear whatever replaces the WTC will be a) ugly, b) impractical, c) a white elephant, or ideally, d) all of the above.

I really believe a better idea would be to dust off old blueprints of buildings that could have been masterpieces but were never built, for one reason or another. The various designs for the Tribune Building in Chicago come to mind. Otherwise, the result will be a permanent eyesore, and the world's worst practical joke.