The new Freedom tower and the additional structures that accompany it, will house more people than the previous structures... i.e. not a waste of space.
I find it very funny that an engineer would appreciate two simple monoliths... yes Hanabal I'm addressing you
Function over form.
Personally, I see this as a great opportunity to do something different, better and more forward thinking than the boring monstrosities that were there before... When I look at the Chrysler Building or the Empire State Building I see beauty... The WTC towers were just big and nothing more.
Quite a few of my NYC friends in the days and weeks after 9/11 gave me the shrug and said, we hated those buildings anyway... they almost all lived or worked in the area.