New York City's Ground Zero, home to an unearthed 18th-century cargo ship and soon to be neighbor of a nearby mosque, has seen its fair share of radical skyscraper designs proposed by architects looking to make their mark on the now-sacred ground. But instead of taking their inspiration from, say, simply wanting to compete for the title of world's tallest tower, the site might need a bit more old-fashioned inspiration. Paul Goldberger, the architectural critic from The New Yorker makes this case in an interview with Big Think in which he explains that Ground Zero needs "[e]ither a pure tower, just as a symbol, like the Eiffel Tower of the 21st Century, we might say" or at the very least, something "better than the average piece of junk on Third Avenue."

He explains his vision, which seems to align with the more grandiose Freedom tower plans, here:

[Hat tip: The New York Observer]

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Erik Hayden