At least one of the architects behind the Hudson Yards plans released last week knows what New Yorkers are worried about when it comes to big, flashy, tall buildings. While showing off his plan for Extell Development Co., one of the five groups competing to build the most ambitious megablocks since the World Trade Center went up, architect Steven Holl pointed to the stepped peak of his tallest building. “There are three towers joined at the top,” he said. “That makes it safer—you can exit up.” Exit up? Yes, in case you get trapped above a horrific disaster somewhere below you in the building. His plan calls for eleven skyscrapers; the tallest would climb 90 stories. “We use 12,000-psi concrete,” Holl continued. “This will easily take a plane and won’t burn.”

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Alec Appelbaum
• Table of Contents: December 3, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!