World Trade Center developer Larry A. Silverstein today announced that Guy Punzi and Fred Alvarez, two highly accomplished design architects, have joined his growing World Trade Center development team.
Mr. Punzi will serve as Design Manager for 175 Greenwich Street (Tower 3). In this capacity, he will manage the assembled team of architects, engineers and consultants on the office tower designed by Richard Rogers Partnership. The glass and steel tower will contain approximately 2.1 million square feet of office space and 133,000 square feet of retail.
Similarly, Mr. Alvarez will serve as Design Manager for 150 Greenwich Street (Tower 4), designed by Maki and Associates. The tower will contain approximately 1.8 million square feet of office space and five floors of retail.
In addition, Mr. Silverstein announced that Ed Narbutas, Vice President of Design for World Trade Center Properties, after completing coordination of the Freedom Tower design in 2006, will now serve as Design Manager for 200 Greenwich Street (Tower 2). Designed by Foster and Partners, 200 Greenwich Street, the second tallest building on the site, will contain approximately 2.3 million square feet of office space and 143,000 square feet of retail.
"As evidenced by these first-rate additions to our World Trade Center team, we are making tremendous progress on the development of the three magnificent towers that will rise along Church Street," said Mr. Silverstein. "Guy and Fred will be invaluable members of the team, and Ed continues to excel in multiple roles."
Since May of this year, the WTC Design Task Force, which encompasses four architectural firms and numerous engineers and other design professionals, has been working with an unprecedented collaborative approach in a design studio at 7 WTC. In less than four months, they unveiled conceptual designs for the three office towers, and they are now working diligently to finalize each design and ready them for construction.
"We continue to expand our blue-chip team. Guy and Fred are extremely qualified and all of us will benefit tremendously from their experience with large-scale, mixed-use projects," said Janno Lieber, Director of World Trade Center Development for the Silverstein organization.
Mr. Narbutas, 56, joined Silverstein Properties in April 2005. He has over 30 years of project design and construction management experience in multiple project types including 745 Seventh Avenue, World Wide Plaza, 1301 Avenue of the Americas and Park Avenue Plaza in New York City and 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City. Prior to joining Silverstein Properties, he was a Project Manager for the Hines New York Regional Office where he was responsible for all phases of the design and construction process for new office buildings for Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley. His earlier experience includes serving as Managing Principal for the Northeast Regional Office of DMJM Architects and Engineers, Associate Principal and Director of Operations with Perkins and Will's New York office and Associate Partner with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's New York office. Mr. Narbutas earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture degrees at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter.
"Working as the design manager for the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan gives me enormous satisfaction as an architect and as a New Yorker," said Mr. Narbutas. "Restoring the urban vitality of the city is critically important and I am proud to be part of this historic effort."
Prior to joining Silverstein Properties, Mr. Punzi, 48, was an Associate Partner and Senior Technical Coordinator at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in New York. He worked on a diverse range of high profile projects, including: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Ben Gurion International Airport, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Merrill Lynch Headquarters at the World Financial Center in New York and St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center. Guy received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science, Landscape Architecture from City College of City University of New York. He is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED accredited Professional.
"For a design professional, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am excited to become involved with such an accomplished and dedicated team," said Mr. Punzi.
Mr. Alvarez, 44, worked as Senior Associate Partner with Handel Architects where he specialized in the architectural design and management of several corporate, residential and hospitality projects, including two large and complicated mixed-use buildings in Washington, DC - 2200 M Street and the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown. Other projects include the 598 Madison Avenue renovation, expanded headquarters for Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), and the World Trade Center Memorial located at the center of the rebuilding efforts in lower Manhattan. Mr. Alvarez graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects.
"Rebuilding a dynamic Lower Manhattan in a dignified and respectful manner is of vital importance and it is an enormous privilege to play a role in this process," said Mr. Alvarez.