Until now, the project is still under construction, oops no, question: Will it be build? As there still a lot of buzz and fuzz around. But it isn’t any of our concern, except we will exploit the architecture, not its dollar, though Calatrava said in an interview in Fortune magazine that he continued to have “hope” for the project. Yeah, nothing wrong with him.

“It is a dream that I hope I can realize. It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever done. I have a wonderful client, and I hope we can build it. It is a wonderful location. He wants to do something different. He wants to deliver something very special. We are very close, and I am full of hope we will start it.” The building will be Calatrava’s first time residential project in the United States. The basic concepts of the building take the form of an offset stack of 45-foot glazed creative shapes of rectangular boxes, each of which is a separate residential unit, meant to house only one or two families, bundled around the central core. In a varian pattern, the tower comprises of 12 four-story cubes that would be cantilevered from a concrete core containing elevators, stairways, plumbing and electric lines.

Each cube will be approximately 10,336 square feet each, contained within its own individual cube with about 10,000 square feet of floor space and containing four stories, and is accompanied by a large private garden outside and a private elevator within. Moreover, convenience is paramount, with concierge services and amenities made available round the clock. Beside the cubes would be couples of slim stabilizing spines, turning the entire composition into a gigantic truss. Ten of the twelve cubes will contain residences and the two lower cubes, as well as the 8-story base will be commercial, that could house a museum or other cultural institution. The core contains the building plant, main elevator, service elevator, and emergency stair, so that usable space within the cubes is maximized. At the top of one cube would act as the terrace for the next cube up and for the structure is to be topped with a spire that would reach beyond 1,000 feet.

“I’ve always had a dream about New York,” says Calatrava. “New York is an island… those bridges…the skyline…the dynamism…”

“We cannot say form follows function,” Mr. Calatrava says, “In this case, function follows form. And it works.” For the studies in rhythm, Mr. Calatrava learned from a modular vocabulary of identically sized marble cubes. Wires hold them in tension in various vertical and diagonal configurations. The basic concept is flexible. Though the South Street Tower

is strictly vertical, the same technique could be used to cantilever a structure out over the water, say, at a 45-degree angle.

It will be the most expensive residences in the city and possibly in the world. With those kinds of features, the apartments are expected to be the most expensive in the city. Each townhouse is estimated to cost about 30 million dollars. With its unmatchable architectural design, the 80 South Street tower stands in bravery. The cheapest goes for $29 million each unit, but no more than $55 million for the deluxe one.

Resembling some of Mr. Calatrava’s sculptures, but on a titanic scale, the proposed “townhouses” floating in the air would rise over the East River at South and Fletcher Streets, near the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge, replace the existing six-story red-brick, upland from the sailing ship Wavertree that serves as the headquarters of Sciame Development and the F. J. Sciame Construction Company building. The residential entrance in the base building would be off Fletcher St. and the non-residential entrance off South St. Evans, also Frank J Sciame, the developer, is searching the possibility to creating a 12-parking-space garage in the tower’s basement, which could be reached through a conveyor belt. The project estimated its completion in 2006 or 2007. Its strategic location by the southern tip of the Manhattan waterfront, as well as being a stone’s throw away from the World Trade Center site, gives a panoramic view of both the calming waterfront seascape as well as the vibrant city skyline. While there is no guarantee that the tower will be built, both Mr. Sciame and Mr. Calatrava have established reputations for handling mad projects.

Although New York’s architectural community is highly accepting of the plan, some Downtown residents are skeptical. One resident of 85 South Street, which strikes the Sciame headquarters that will be torn down, expressed question at the Community Board 1 meeting about the noise of construction, vibration, falling debris and the potential of road-closures. Some other peoples were concerned about the structural safely of the tower, the narrowness of it, questioning if it would sustain a hit from a small plane. But please note that Calatrava is an engineer as well as an architect and a sculptor, or whatever. His work is hopefully based on structural logic.

So far, the project has been appreciated by people who have seen it. “Santiago Calatrava’s design concept for 80 South Street is one of the most unique and compelling this city has seen in decades,” Amanda M. Burden, the director of the Department of City Planning says. “It would add an extraordinary dimension to the East River skyline.” Carl Weisbrod, the president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, says. 80 South Street would be a bless to the East River waterfront, an area that has not gotten as much attention as the Hudson, in part by drawing down some of the unused development rights generated by the small structures in the district.

Perhaps not every preservationist would say yes, but Madelyn Wils, the chairwoman of the Lower Manhattan community board, said she did not think that the structure’s height would be controversial particularly given its slenderness and transparency. “It’s such an unusual building, it’s worth taking a chance on,” she said. 80 South Street Tower would restore New York to a place where innovative architecture is born.

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