Skyscrapers even taller than the World Trade Centre towers are among proposals unveiled for rebuilding Ground Zero.
"These are designs not only for our time, but for all time," said John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
"They must transcend the present, to speak to our children and to their children ... to send an immortal message."
The nine new proposals - the second round of plans to redevelop the site - take a variety of approaches to the 16 acre site in lower Manhattan.
They include a plan by British architect Lord Foster for a "twinned tower," a skyscraper that would divide into two parts but "kiss" at three points to create public space and observation decks.
Four of the plans proposed creating the tallest building in the world, topping Malaysia's 1,483 foot Petronas Twin Towers.
One recommended a 2,100 foot skyscraper, while another called for a 1,776 foot tower topped with a spire.
The plans for rebuilding the site and surrounding neighbourhood came from seven teams of architects from Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles, and were selected from 407 submissions. A choice is expected by January 31.
A first group of plans, released in July, was derided as boring and overstuffed with office space.
PA