santiago calatrava's greek orthodox church to restart construction at world trade center site

after years of delay, it has been announced that construction will resume on the santiago calatrava-designed greek orthodox church at the world trade center site in new york. the project will be driven by the friends of st. nicholas, a new non-profit organization with an independent 13-member board. it is hoped that the church will be completed in less than two years, with a commitment to open by september 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the attacks that saw the original church destroyed.

image © santiago calatrava (also main image)

santiago calatrava’s design, modeled after the hagia sophia and the church of the holy savior in istanbul, was unveiled in 2013. the structure topped out in 2016, however, due to financial concerns, construction shut down in 2017. when complete, the new st. nicholas greek orthodox church and national shrine will also house a nondenominational bereavement center for anyone seeking solace and strength at a time of loss. the structure will glow after dark, standing as a beacon of hope on the world trade center campus.

image © santiago calatrava

other projects built at the world trade center site since 9/11 include the transportation hub, also by calatrava, and the rogers stirk harbour + partners-designed 3 WTC, which opened in 2018. construction of one of the last signature structures on the campus — the ronald o. perelman performing arts center — is also underway. the performing arts center, designed by REX, is expected to open in 2021 and will be able to seat over 1,000 people in a flexible, state-of-the-art space. see all news relating to the site on designboom here.

the structure topped out in 2016, with construction shutting down in 2017
image by epicgenius – own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

project info:

name: st. nicholas greek orthodox church
location: new york city, NY
design: santiago calatrava
dates: 2012 –
previous coverage: october, 2014