Orange County Engineer Unveils Bold World Trade Center Design; Structural Expert Johan Perslow Sends Design to New York Decision-Makers.

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2003

Orange County entrepreneur Johan Perslow today announced his intent to petition to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC), asking the organization to re-consider its World Trade Center design selection criteria.

Perslow, who included his own bold, stirring design in his proposal, believes the LMDC, a corporation responsible for managing the Lower Manhattan revitalization effort -- including selecting the design for a new memorial and building complex to be built on the site of the former World Trade Center -- has misunderstood the unique spiritual and spatial requirements any building to be erected on this hallowed site must possess.

For evidence of his contention, Perslow cites the latest round of designs, published by the LDMC in December 2002, which lack strong public support, largely because of their overly ambitious scale.

Perslow, who believes a broader range of work should be considered in the final selection process, has sent his design to influential business and political contacts on both coasts.

Recipients of the design proposal include former NYC mayor Rudolph Giuliani and current NYC mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. While hopeful that his design will cause the LMDC to rethink their design selection policy, Perslow's overriding objective is to ensure that the LMDC selects the most deserving design.

"I'm sure the best design is out there somewhere," Perslow said recently, "just not in the group of official phase two contenders. The best designs function as both a fitting memorial to the victims, survivors and events of 9/11 and as a celebration of life."

Perslow's design uses the pentagon -- a strong geometric shape -- as its central design metaphor. The heart of the design features a 110-story center tower, housing galleries, meeting space, restaurants, observation floors and retail shops, and, on the 48th floor, a 250,000 square foot seven-story domed museum dedicated to the Sept. 11 tragedy.

Further up, at 85 and 110 stories respectively, are two orbs, offering visitors breathtaking 360-degree views of Manhattan. While visitors can shop and dine in the lower orb, the highest point in the structure is intended for the most adventurous. From this breathtaking vantage point, visitors are reminded of mankind's boundless possibility -- and the frailty of human life.

Surrounding this soaring spire are five 76-story pentagon-shaped towers -- offering 10 million square feet of much needed office space -- positioned at locations on the periphery of the 10-acre design footprint.

In a dazzling display of Perslow's mastery of park design and geometry, light, shade, glass, and water intermingle in a life-affirming rhapsody, imbuing the ground-level memorial with a subtle, yet moving, quality of spiritual regeneration.

Perslow noted that businessmen like Derek Turner are also pushing alternative designs. Turner has even launched a type of "write-in" campaign for his design on his Web site. The LMDC has repeatedly said there is no specific timeframe for selecting the rebuild design -- an assertion that its opponents feel is reason enough to re-open the competition.

While LMDC has stated that they intend to make a final decision in early February 2003, public hearings continue to be held regarding the design selection.

If Perslow's World Trade Center Memorial Complex design is not enough to stop the current process, Perslow will resubmit his proposal for a perpetual fountain memorial at ground zero when the LMDC opens the memorial-only competition in the spring. "In my opinion the rebuilding of the structures should not be separated from the memorial design. To me, they are one in the same," Perslow insisted.

"We should build a memorial that can be seen from miles away, not one that is hidden within a maze of concrete and steel. Let the concrete and steel itself reflect our respect for those who perished and represent our hopes for a better tomorrow."

About the Designer

Swedish-born American engineer Perslow, P.E., studied under Professor Sven Olof Asplund, a consulting senior design adviser for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge project in New York and perhaps best known for his 1965 work on the Gothenburg Suspension Bridge in Sweden, boasting the tallest concrete towers ever erected for a bridge at the time.

Perslow received an advanced degree in concrete construction from the University of Technology in Stockholm. Sweden is widely recognized for its advanced principles in concrete construction, since its native rock creates some of the strongest concrete available in the world. As a student, Perslow worked for global general engineering contractor Skanska.

Perslow relocated to the United States and began work for Trico in Phoenix, engineering the infrastructure for Havasu City and Fountain Hills, Ariz., including roadways, water, sewer, flood control and waste management systems.

Eventually, Perslow moved to California where he founded Pacific Aquascape, a water resource contractor specializing in water features and amenities for retail, hotel chains, golf resorts and cities.

In the last several years he has founded two additional companies -- PACE (Pacific Advanced Civil Engineering) in order to expand his reach into complicated flood control, erosion control, and environmental mitigation, and PERC (Pacific Environmental Resources Corp.), specializing in water reclamation and wastewater treatment.

Throughout his career, Perslow has lent his expertise to well-known projects around the world, including Biosphere II in Arizona. Contact Perslow at [e-mail].

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