The Oculus | NYC's Newest Landmark
Words and Photos by Ben Brewster, Creative Director, The Cuff
It wasn't quick or easy but Downtown Manhattan is finally starting to feel a revitalization some 15 years after the tragic events of 9/11. The symbolic presence of One World Trade Center towering above and the overwhelmingly powerful National September 11 Memorial have breathed new life into the neighborhood. One of the area's crowning architectural achievements is The Oculus. Designed by neofuturistic architect Santiago Calatrava, The Oculus is part train station, part mall, part futuristic seagull and one of the more innovative and unique structures to come to the city in some time. Stepping through the doors at street level the walls plunge down to a basin-like lower floor, where people seem like ants scattering in all directions across the white tiles. As you might have noticed, everything is white. Stepping out onto one of the hanging balconies one feels as if they might be on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey, floating through space headed for Mars or beyond—and that's not a bad thing.
The Oculus
21 Dey St,
New York, NY
