The Spanish architect and designer Santiago Calatrava inaugurated the controversial metro station, called Oculus, at the World Trade Center in New York and was “proud and satisfied” with the final result of the modern terminal.
“The infrastructure is important because it will be the anchor and motor of development around lower Manhattan,” the architect told MLM, after he attended the opening of the transport interchange hub together with a team of the Port Authority of New York and some members of his family.
The transport station, which is yet to be totally completed, has a very different design from the straight and gridded skyscrapers in the financial district of Manhattan.
The main lobby stands out for its bright and vast space with a large dome made of white steel beams rising skyward, a design described by some media, such as The New York Times, as an attraction for selfies.
The opening of the Oculus was full of controversy due to the budget overrun of the construction, which ended up costing $4 billion, double it’s initial budget of $2 billion, and the also due to the abstract design, which some describe as “wings of reborn Phoenix” or “fishbone”.
Calatrava, however, was “hopeful” that the New Yorkers “understand all the heart and love that he put into this work, inspired by the classic stations such as Grand Central Terminal or Pennsylvania”.
The still unfinished station at Ground Zero will connect up to 11 different metro lines with trains arriving from New Jersey, offer direct underground accesses to the main towers of the World Trade Center and also host an entertainment area with a shopping mall and restaurants, which are still under construction.
According to those responsible for the construction of the Oculus, the official opening ceremony could take place in April, when most accesses to the station will be open to the public and the first shops will start operating.
