World Trade Center Memorial

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(Redirected from Reflecting Absence)

A World Trade Center Memorial was planned in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and destruction of the World Trade Center to mourn the victims and honor the heros of that day. The memorial will be located at the World Trade Center site on the building footprint of the two towers. The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded to collect donations and build the memorial. It is scheduled to open on September 11, 2009

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Design Competition

Image:Arad1.jpg

In spring 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) launched an international competition to design a memorial at the World Trade Center site to commemorate the lives lost in the September 11, 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers.

5,201 teams from the United States and from around the world contributed design proposals. The 5,201 World Trade Center Memorial proposals were authored by people from all walks of life, and reflected a wide range of approaches to the memorial.

On November 19, 2003, the thirteen-member jury, which included Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris, selected eight finalists. Michael Arad Reflecting Absence was chosen as the winning design on January 6, 2004. On January 14, 2004, the final design for the World Trade Center site memorial was revealed in a press conference at Federal Hall in New York.

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World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, Inc.

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, Inc., was formed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation to raise funds and manage the planning and construction of the memorial. Its board of directors had its inaugural meeting on January 4, 2005. The foundation is planning to raise $500 million to $1 billion (US) to build not only the memorial, but also the memorial museum.

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Mission Statement

  • Remember and honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children murdered by terrorists in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001.
  • Respect this place made sacred through tragic loss.
  • Recognize the endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us in our darkest hours.
  • May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance. [1]
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Formidable Fundraising Responsibilities

The Foundation has a formidable fundraising responsibilities because the tasks assigned to it by the LMDC. The Foundation is to own, operate and finance:

Two tasks assigned to the Foundation drew considerable fire in the summer of 2005 and were withdrawn:

  • The Freedom Center -- a "think tank" which was intended to draw attention to the battles for freedom through the ages. WTC Foundation member Debra Burlingame charged in the Wall Street Journal that the center would have a mission that had nothing to do directly with the events of September 11 and could potentially criticize American policies. Blogs and commentators, particularly conservative ones, heavily criticized the center until Governor George Pataki withdrew support for it.
  • The Drawing Center Art Gallery at the World Trade Center - Plans called for the Freedom Center to share its space with the Drawing Center in a building called the "Cultural Center." The New York Daily News ran a series of articles questioning its exhibits would be appropriate at Ground Zero based on the gallery's previous exhibits in its small Soho quarters.

The Foundation at its very first meeting asked the National Park Service to take over and pay for the memorial once it was built. Currently there are no plans for for the federal government to operate the memorial.

John C. Whitehead is chairman of both LMDC and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation.

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Reflecting Absence

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Description

Image:Refabs.jpg Reflecting Absence is the winning proposal for the World Trade Center site memorial. The original design concept was submitted by Michael Arad, an architect for the New York City Housing Authority.

The design had no above ground features -- no ruins, no landmark Koenig Sphere, no statues and not even a flag. The initial design also called for almost no trees or vegetation. This design had been criticized as too severe. Subsequently Peter Walker, a landscape architect from Berkeley, California, was hired to plant vegetation to soften it. Walker is now one of the designers of record for the memorial.

The primary feature are two 30-foot deep pools with waterfalls in the footprints of the two buildings. The names of the victims are to be engraved on the walls.

The design is consistent with the original Daniel Libeskind master plan that called for the memorial to be 30 feet below street level (originally 70 feet) in a piazza. The design was the only finalist to throw out Libeskind's requirement that buildings overhang the footprints.

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Criticism of Reflecting Absence

While the memorial initially received good reviews it has had its share of critics who say it will be too expensive and too complicated. Among the problems:

  • Waterfalls in winter -- A mock up of the memorial was built in Toronto to find ways to keep the waterfalls from freezing in winter. The result was that there was no practical, cost effective way to do that. An outcry arose after officials said they would turn the waterfalls off in the winter prompting a pledge to keep them heated and running.
  • Cost -- Current estimates place the cost of just the memorial to be US $500 million which would make it by far the most expensive memorial in world history. Plans for additional buildings including a museum and performing arts center could push the cost to more than $1 billion. It is estimated it will cost at least US $40 million a year to operate. The dollar estimates came from Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he criticized the memorial in February 2006 as too complicated and too expensive.
  • Admission Price -- Because of the extraordinary cost and poor fund-raising, rather than having free admission as most memorials of this type have, it would need to charge admission to all visitors (other than relatives of victims), according to Gretchen Dykstra of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. [2]
  • Below Ground Orientation -- The memorial will in effect be in a building below ground level. Some families as well as fire and police organizations are now saying they want a memorial built above ground.
  • Inaccurate Dimensions -- The memorial originally was supposed to fit the exact dimensions of the footprints. However, because of technical considerations the memorial pools will be 30 feet shorter on each side.
  • Presentation of names -- The representatives of the New York City Fire Department and New York City Police Department insist that the names of the their officers appear apart from the civilian victims and in addition to the name, indicate service, badge, rank, and assignment. An example would be :"FF. Michael F. Lynch, Badge No. 2315, Engine 40-Ladder 35, on rotation from Engine 62-Ladder 32." [3]
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Construction commences

On March 13, 2006, at 8:00 AM New York time, construction workers quietly arrived at the WTC site to commence work on the Reflecting Absence design. On that same day, relatives of the victims and other concerned citizens gathered to protest the new memorial, stating that the memorial should be built above ground. The president of the memorial foundation, however, has stated that family members were consulted and formed a consensus in favor of the current design, and that work will continue as planned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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See also

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Other 9/11 memorials

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References

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External links

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