The base of the building utilizes the maximum area of the site, housing TV studios and , sq ft of retail space over multiple levels. The lobby is connected to the WTC transit hub, providing direct access to subway lines and PATH trains. A public plaza at the foot of the building and access to shopping and restaurants in the adjacent transportation hub and concourses will ensure life and activity in and around the new World Trade Center.

The first stages of project development at BIG always involve a careful study of the site and the programmatic requirements. In the case of the Escher Tower, the site was an orthogonal intersection of an east-west highway and a north-south subway line, populated by a department store and a medical business. The program was identical hotel rooms with the only interesting activities to be placed in a single floor at the ground.

The museum is placed as an abstract shape in the landscape. Its sculptural form is spanning between perfect geometry and specific bridge technology: on one side, it’s a simple box structure; on the other side, it’s a huge warping sculpture. A simple twist in the building volume allows the bridge to lift from the relatively lower forested area towards the south, and up to the hillside area in the north.

Like the monsoons, the dust storms and the mountains, the BIG Pin is also an exceptional moment, a point of reference and a mechanism to set the still landscape in motion &#; only this time through the movement of the spectator. Instead of referencing other observation towers, the Pin takes as a point of reference Frank Lloyd Wright’s celebrated Guggenheim Museum of New York. The visitor experiences the museum as a spiral motion looking inward. At the BIG Pin, the focus is reversed. Instead of a void, there is the dramatic landscape of Phoenix, Arizona.

Landsec’s redevelopment of Red Lion Court, Bankside recently received planning permission to create a green office cluster in Southwark. The new Red Lion Court will bring , sq ft of Grade A offices, retail and open public space to the banks of the River Thames, adjacent to Borough Yards. The BIG-designed building will provide access to outdoor spaces on every floor, an extensive communal roof terrace and unfettered views over the river into the City.