The Pavilion at Brookfield Place (formerly the World Financial Center) through its expressive architectural and engineering form is a new and vibrant landmark in Lower Manhattan. Measuring 110-feet wide, 68-feet deep, and 54-feet tall, the 7,800 square foot Pavilion serves as the principal entrance and link to public transportation for the 8.2 million square foot mixed-use Brookfield Place as well as the 35,000 commuters and visitors traveling daily between lower Manhattan and Battery Park City via the new underground concourse under West Street. The new entry Pavilion moves the front door to the sidewalk and street level by replacing a bridge at the second level which linked to the former World Trade Center and was destroyed in 9/11. The Pavilion creates a new public sequence to the river and the esplanades through the great public space of the Winter Garden, one of New York’s great public rooms. The iconic columns that support the roof and enclosure are the Pavilion’s most visually dynamic architecturally engineered features. Responding to the Winter Garden’s strongly arching trusses and palm trees within that soften the grand vaulted space with natural canopies, the columns are a sympathetic and contemporary interpretation in its form and materiality. The elegance of the final glass enclosure was also a product of the resourceful collaboration between city agencies, the owner and the design team. Its gracefully faceted edges allow for a fluid connection to the busy street traffic, while also presenting the viewer with an uninterrupted panoramic overlook of the World Trade Center 9/11 memorial and the city beyond to the east.
