NORMAN Foster, the British architect known for his restoration of the Reichstag in Berlin, was selected recently to design one of the commercial office buildings on the World Trade Centre site.

Two other architects, Fumihiko Maki and Jean Nouvel, were also selected by developer Larry Silverstein to design new offices near Ground Zero.

As with the signature skyscraper on the site, the 541mhigh Freedom Tower, the commercial buildings have already been conceptualised by Daniel Libeskind, the architect charged with the master plan.

But Silverstein, as the leaseholder of the World Trade Centre, has hired architects of his own liking to come up with working designs for the buildings. David Childs, an architect with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, has been charged with translating Libeskind's vision for the Freedom Tower into a functional blueprint.

Foster, a Pritzker prize winner, was one of the architects who submitted a design proposal for the site last year. But his design was ultimately bypassed in favour of Libeskind's plan.

No drawings have been released but reconstruction officials want work to begin on the Freedom Tower next year and Silverstein has said work on the commercial buildings would follow. He wants all construction to be finished by 2013.

Oct 08 2003 08:05:24:000AM Christopher Grimes Business Day 1st Edition