Free Republic

I was confronted by three strands of cultural connective tissue this week which portend the death of artistic expression. No, it has nothing to do with the First Amendment or government suppression. It has everything to do with the tearing down of greatness and the worship of mediocrity by the dominant cultural elite. First, Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Second, the Zurich Opera's production of Richard Wagner's Parsifal. And third, that gaping hole in the ground where New York's World Trade Center once stood

Malmö’s famous Turning Torso skyscraper is among the tallest housing blocks in Europe. Behind the ultra-modern exterior is one of the world's most luxurious apartment complexes, writes Paul Steele. People in the south of Sweden are total sceptics to new projects until they’re finished. The Öresund Bridge – no one will ever use it. The City Tunnel – complete waste of money. Turning Torso – Ha! Who would ever want to live there? I for one, and probably half of south Sweden and greater Copenhagen for another. One of the tallest accommodation blocks in Europe, Turning Torso is the leading...

Sometimes... the most important quality an architect can possess is optimism. For example, it took 12 years for the Jewish Museum I designed in Berlin to finally open to the public. A few hours later it had to close. The date: Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. That jarring confluence of events not only predated but also presaged my role in rebuilding ground zero. And the memories of what we went through in Berlin give me confidence that we will succeed in New York as well. When I won the museum competition, Berliners were divided between those who felt my design would...

NEW YORK - A rebuilt transit hub under the World Trade Center site linking ferries, commuter trains and 14 subway lines will feature natural light shining 60 feet underground, officials familiar with the design said. The design by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava also features open-air, mechanical walkways and architectural recognition of the 2001 attacks. Calatrava was to present final drawings Thursday for the $2 billion transit station that New York and New Jersey officials say will be comparable to city landmarks like Grand Central Terminal. Calatrava, who has designed buildings around the world including the stadium for this summer's...

The site plan represents the destruction of Sept. 11. Now the architecture will provide the creative response. That's the implicit message in the selection of Santiago Calatrava to design a permanent replacement for the PATH station that was destroyed by the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. At last, the controversial plan developed by Daniel Libeskind for the site begins to make sense. From it, great things might grow. Mr. Calatrava, 52, is the world's greatest living poet of transportation architecture. A native of Spain, Mr. Calatrava trained as both an engineer and an architect. He is best...