Almost a decade after the attacks of 9/11, much of the new World Trade Center site remains under construction, with signature pieces like the Freedom Tower, the Frank Gehry performing arts pavilion and the 9/11 Memorial registering as little more than architectural renderings to most New Yorkers. But for the past seven years, at least one project right in the middle of it all has been fully operational � although not in its fully realized aesthetic glory.
Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, celebrated for his perfectly engineered minimalist transit centers around the world, was selected to design the WTC PATH Hub. He unveiled his vision � a multi-level underground arcade with clean lines, soaring arches, and light filtering 60 ft down to the train platforms of Lower Manhattan. The centerpiece was a grandiose retractable roof whose 150-ft-long crossing spikes were inspired by the wings of a dove.