NEW YORK | One World Trade Center | 1,776' Pinnacle / 1,373' Roof | 108 FLOORS

[upNaway]

This is BULLSHIT fuck codenast for doing this. The design was perfect now its fucked even is its on the North side of the building and they try to cover it up its not the point we will all know its there. Why do they need a fancy cafe anyways let the construction workers leave the subway restaurant in the tower after construction for them

[Incognito]

Originally Posted by BrBTowers

Won't the windows above the vent get all gross from the smoke and what not? I'm not liking this idea at all.

This.

If you've ever worked in a restaurant/fast food chain, or if you've had to clean out your oven hood, you know the gunk that builds up in these exhaust systems.

[Kanto]

I fear that after this, each new tenant will make tons of special requirements cause they gonna think how desperate the WTC folks are to rent this tower.

[The Grand Architect]

Conde Nast ruined it now....

Hope they put it lower than the 60th floor, so the 7 WTC can block it from being seen by the people on the North Side.

Still, it doesn't look good. Think of all that residue and gunk that accumulates overtime- it's going to affect the surrounding glass panels and the surrounding floors too. In a few weeks or so, the 1WTC will have a "sunburn" on it's north side.

Conde Nast is now Conde NASTY.

[JayPro]

Originally Posted by Kanto

Ladies and gentlemen, I present you now the Conde Nast Tower:

And, since I'm the twin towers crusader, I also present you it's twin:

Image taken from http://hopeinhockeyministry.blogspot.com/2010/09/hockey-smile.html

Methinks there is some protestation afoot.

It is my hope that the black square you used is strictly to show the comparative size of this vent, even if said black square comes across to someone like me as a bit exaggerated.
First, though, how sure are any of us at this juncture that it'll be placed at the height your illustration depicts? And even if it *is*, it will do absolute pfui to sully the views from either ESB or Top of the Rock. That small an area from as close up as your illustration portrays will be *completely* unnoticeable from ≈4 miles out, where both aforementioned ob decks stand.
And speaking of viewing...

The original article that gave us these tidings made mention, IIRC, of this vent's ostensible ease of visibility from street level.
Well then, it would seem to me that the average pedestrian would have a whole lotta squinting to do. Somehow, I don't think the average visitor/worker at the Tower would totally disregard the architectural beauty at the site to rail at a matter of functionality that will ultimately be impossible to espy. BTW, the article author's use of the word "huge" to explain the vent size is more of the usual unqualified smart-ass dabbler hyperbole that needs to get called on the carpet way more often than is frequently the case.

In the end, the most important views of 1WTC---i.e. *not* directly south towards Downtown from less than 5000 feet away---will be spared this (non-existent) architectural kick in the nads.

If the tone of my message seems to run over with snarky sarcasm, please be assured that I meant no offense. What I merely tried to do here is respond to some premature--and quite strident--misgivings on a recent twist in this tower's development.

Peace.

[JSsocal]

Conde Nast is floors 20-41, and they've stipulated that the vent will be on the back of the tower (North Side). 25 feet is like 5 windows.

[Plokoon11]

Maybe they can put it directly in the center of the 5 floors and shape it into a triangular shard pointing up covered in reflective glass.

[The Grand Architect]

Originally Posted by JayPro

Methinks there is some protestation afoot.

It is my hope that the black square you used is strictly to show the comparative size of this vent, even if said black square comes across to someone like me as a bit exaggerated.
First, though, how sure are any of us at this juncture that it'll be placed at the height your illustration depicts? And even if it *is*, it will do absolute pfui to sully the views from either ESB or Top of the Rock. That small an area from as close up as your illustration portrays will be *completely* unnoticeable from ≈4 miles out, where both aforementioned ob decks stand.
And speaking of viewing...

The original article that gave us these tidings made mention, IIRC, of this vent's ostensible ease of visibility from street level.
Well then, it would seem to me that the average pedestrian would have a whole lotta squinting to do. Somehow, I don't think the average visitor/worker at the Tower would totally disregard the architectural beauty at the site to rail at a matter of functionality that will ultimately be impossible to espy. BTW, the article author's use of the word "huge" to explain the vent size is more of the usual unqualified smart-ass dabbler hyperbole that needs to get called on the carpet way more often than is frequently the case.

In the end, the most important views of 1WTC---i.e. *not* directly south towards Downtown from less than 5000 feet away---will be spared this (non-existent) architectural kick in the nads.

If the tone of my message seems to run over with snarky sarcasm, please be assured that I meant no offense. What I merely tried to do here is respond to some premature--and quite strident--misgivings on a recent twist in this tower's development.

Peace.

Good point. It's like a pimple. It's unnoticeable.

[JayPro]

@SoCal

Props for the clarification.

If my count is right, i.e. from the top of the base to the area that would be designated floors 20-41, this vent thing should be hidden by 7WTC, as has been postulated before.

@the folks who think this will create a visual blight over time;

We don't even know how the engineer and design consortium will integrate this into the structure. All this rhetoric without renderings is counterproductive. Was this building not painstakingly designed to green standards as well as, if not as *much* as to those of safety? Then surely there must be a way to address schmutz removal that does what's needed.

Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in......

[STR]

Originally Posted by The Grand Architect

Conde Nast ruined it now....

Hope they put it lower than the 60th floor, so the 7 WTC can block it from being seen by the people on the North Side.[/B]

Conde Nast won't have any floor space above the 44th floor. The vents themselves will look similar to the main air intakes higher up in the building, with 5 glass panes, that will likely have to be removed since the CN space is already enclosed. These panes will have sections removed, so that each frame will be 1/2 glass and 1/2 open. The louvers will exhaust behind the glass.

I'll have something mocked up sometime this weekend.

[Don098]

I'm expecting it to be somewhere around the 25th to 30th floor on the north side which will be completely obscured. And I agree with STR...I imagined the vents looking nice with a vertical orientation just like the ones at the top of the tower. If the architects were called back in, this might end up looking pretty nice actually. My main concern is simply that it's going to look terrible in the wintertime when the air condenses quickly and becomes visible, along with the inevitable staining of the tops of the vents. If they wash the windows relatively often, it might not be a problem.

I just don't understand why Conde Nast had to be such little bitches about it. Pony up the money...it couldn't possibly be that expensive to use the normal flu, especially for a company that's going to shell out over $2 billion to use the space over the course of this lease...If you're really trying to save money, WHY ARE YOU SIGNING A LEASE IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN and doing studies to make sure the LIMOS that pull up are comfortable?

The P.A. really must have no backbone to cave on such a stupid f---ing request. Conde must have been one of the only companies in negotiations because it seems like they used this as leverage during the negotiation process. If the P.A. had other viable options, they would have told Conde to go f themselves and pursued the next interested party.

[STR]

^It will be on the Vessey St side, and will be obscured by either 7 World Trade, or the Verizon Building. That was pretty much the counter demand from Chris Ward. If they wanted to modify the building, it was going to be on PA terms. On the plus side, it can't be too extreme of a modification, otherwise they would have already removed the window panels. It also couldn't be too ugly, since the PA clearly took an interest in the aesthetics of the modification.

My guess is that they're having the new glass fabbed right now, and will slot them in when done, and either put the old panes further up in the building, or keep the extra panes in storage (in case of inevitable damage later on or for when CN moves out or changes their mind).

As for CN, they were being bitches. The reason given for the modification, rather than using the central flue, was that they didn't want to pay or be bothered with city inspectors that would have required a more exhaustive (ba dum tish) examination of the centralized system. Personally, I'd just give them a break on the lease to even the expense. However, I wouldn't make too big of a deal, it doesn't ruin the whole building (it in fact adds a very utilitarian detail to an otherwise too-minimalist modernist design) and will end up being a trivia question in any SSP meetup/drinking game.

[STR]

Just to show what what kind of setup we're looking at here, here's a walkthrough.

First, the actual vent is going to be recessed. So...the worst of the grime will cake the small area between the vent and the curtain wall. It won't be that high up, CN is only taking the first 21 floors. Worst case, it's on the 41st.


Closer view.


Now, you can just leave a warm alcove like that, it will get festered with birds and their mess real quick. Random crap will get blown in there too. So the curtain wall will have a mess/grate screen. Probably not this thick of a grating, but that's a trade off in order to make the material look good far away.



It also won't catch the sun like that, since it's on the north face of the building. So from the street, it will look something like this:

[The Grand Architect]

Thanks for the visualization STR. Is that what it's gonna look like once they install the curtain wall on that section? Because it looks really good, from your renderings. It matches the overall style of the facade, not just a big "box" sticking out of the curtain wall.

BTW, I found this interesting article on MediaBistro.com relating to the same subject:

Article on MediaBistro.com:

June 10, 2011:

Condé Threatened to Walk From 1 WTC Deal Over Cafeteria Vent

By Chris O'Shea on June 10, 2011 10:32 AM

The executives at Condé Nast love their cafeterias so much that they almost nixed the deal to move to 1 World Trade Center over it. According to The New York Post, the company demanded that its cafeteria have a special vent - which cost about $1 million to install – or it wouldn’t rent the space from Port Authority.

Port Authority was annoyed because not only would it have to redo the system for just one company, the vent – at one story tall and 25 feet wide – was going to be quite the eyesore.

Condé wanted the special vent so that it could avoid maintenance costs that the other tenants will garner using the ventilation system that is already installed in 1 WTC. FishbowlNY imagines that the irony of seeking cost-cutting measures for an insanely lavish food court was not lost on Condé, but you never know.

Of course Condé got its way and the vent is now being built. Let’s just hope that whatever the chefs in that cafeteria end up cooking makes it worth all the trouble. We’re thinking meatloaf laced with gold.

(Main article here: http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/co...om-1-wtc-deal-over-cafeteria-vent_b37503)

So basically, it's vent, or the deal's off.

[CoolCzech]

Well, regarding a possible Conde Naste vent, there'd have to be some sort of grill over it, right? Perhaps they could give the slats a mirrored surface that would make it all about invisible?

[The Grand Architect]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

Well, regarding a possible Conde Naste vent, there'd have to be some sort of grill over it, right? Perhaps they could give the slats a mirrored surface that would make it all about invisible?

Hopefully, it's the only way I could see fit that would make it less obvious from people on street level.

[CoolCzech]

Anyway, Conde Naste must be staffed by some hysterically egotistical assholes. The FT is part of a freaking memorial. And these jerks want to compromise it with vents? How self-centered can they be?

[Fishman92]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

Anyway, Conde Naste must be staffed by some hysterically egotistical assholes. The FT is part of a freaking memorial. And these jerks want to compromise it with vents? How self-centered can they be?

I completely agree.

[Don098]

Honestly, if I were the P.A., I would have told them to screw themselves. Then I would threaten Conde with the specter of holding a press conference afterwards with the NYTimes, CNN, and Fox News explaining that these "elitists" wanted to come in and deface the facade of the "Freedom Tower" in order to dodge "minimal and necessary regulation" that is "nothing new" to the industry. I would label their idea "classless" and "selfish". The threat of bad press would probably be enough for them to change their minds...

And then I'd have a lower rent price in my back pocket if they seriously tried to walk away in order to offset the cost.

EDIT: On second thought...that approach would probably backfire by deterring potential tenants from engaging in negotiations with me in the future - that is if I went through with the press conference I bet. Still, the PA needs to show a little more backbone than they have. This move makes them look weak and desperate...at least in my opinion it does...

[JoePDX]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

Anyway, Conde Naste must be staffed by some hysterically egotistical assholes. The FT is part of a freaking memorial. And these jerks want to compromise it with vents? How self-centered can they be?

I dont understand the uproar..LOL, So WHO are the people here being self-centered and obsessing about something? LOL. Look at yourself people. I can see it now. When the vents are installed and all the rest of the facade is in place we will have endless pictures and analysis of the "visual impact" and the "havoc" this has created. Get a grip people.