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Access to bedrock will be provided as part of the refined design
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When architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker unveiled a refined design for the World Trade Center memorial on Wednesday morning, the signature "voids" -- cascading pools sunken thirty feet into the footprints of the Twin Towers -- remained the centerpiece. But important changes had also been made, including extensive landscaping in the plaza surrounding the voids, the creation of an underground memorial center to house 9/11 artifacts, the placement of a cultural center at the intersection of Fulton and Greenwich Streets, and the decision that victims names would be listed randomly but with indicators beside those who were rescue workers.
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View a video animation of Reflecting Absence here.
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As soon as "Reflecting Absence" was named the winning design last week, Arad and Walker set to work making modifications called for by the jury. Speaking softly to the rows of victims' family members, memorial jurists, and civic leaders crowded into Federal Hall for the unveiling, Arad said that his most difficult task had been arriving at a way to memorialize every victim equally while paying tribute to those who lost their lives saving others. "Every way that you find to do this satisfies some but causes pain and anguish to others," he said. "I hope this will minimize the pain that others will feel."
In the end, the names will be listed in random order on parapets surrounding each of the two reflecting pools -- with shields bearing the insignias of their agencies beside the names of rescue workers -- behind which a wall of water will cascade down from the voids at street level. The arrangement of names is intended to reflect the "haphazard brutality of the attacks," said Arad in a statement about the design, and the insignias beside rescue workers, he continued, to mark their "selfless sacrifice."
"I am especially pleased that this design will give recognition to [those] that went into the buildings to save others," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking to the assembled crowd. "We have to find a way to both say that all humans' lives are equal but that there are ones who did something special," he said.
Access to Bedrock
In another important revision to the original design, visitors will have access to the bedrock level at the footprints of the towers, which they will reach via a stairway along the battered slurry wall that withstood the attacks.
Beneath the reflecting pool marking the place where the north tower stood -- at bedrock level some 80 feet below the plaza -- there will be an open space, looking up through the pool, through which the sky will be visible. There will also be a room reserved for family members and a container to hold the unidentified remains of victims who perished in the 9/11 attack.
For many victims' family members, access to the footprints was an essential addition to the design. "Saving the footprints was the biggest issue," said Lee Ielpi, whose son Jonathan, a firefighter, died in the 9/11 attacks. "That it's been done is a major victory."
Lush Gardens
The influence of Peter Walker, the landscape architect who joined forces with Arad after "Reflecting Absence" was selected as a memorial competition finalist, was also clear in the refined design revealed Wednesday. Though Arad's original design did call for a tree-filled plaza surrounding the reflecting pools, it was sparse in comparison to the "forest grove" Walker now sees as a providing an essential element of the memorial as a whole.
One of the most important functions of the plaza, said Walker, will be "to provide a space which resolves the terrible sadness people will feel" as they emerge from the depths of the voids. The plaza will also serve to separate the quiet, contemplative space of the memorial from the boisterous activity of the city that surrounds it. It will also, he said, provide a valuable open space in the middle of Lower Manhattan.
In an effort to meet all of these goals, the refined design calls for trees set in straight lines from east to west, but randomly from north to south. The effect: an irregular, almost unpredictable arrangement that reflects the "ambiguity between architectural and natural order."
The trees, all deciduous, will be of several varieties to ensure a varied pattern of fall colors and spring flowers. Beneath them will be many benches, intended for all to enjoy and make use of, but particularly for those emerging from the memorial who want to extend or reflect on feelings the voids evoke.
"More than anything, I hope that this element of park will bring a dimension of hope," said Walker.
For members of the surrounding community, arriving at a final design brings hope all its own. "It's the first time that all the elements are in place, which I think satisfies a lot of community concerns," said Albert Capsouto, a Lower Manhattan resident and business owner. "Now we know that it will be a civic place as well as a memorial."
LMDC Chairman John Whitehead, while cautioning that the memorial will continue to evolve and be refined, celebrated the unveiling of what he considers the most important piece of the plan for the WTC site. "The memorial will fill the final void, both in our sight and in our hearts," he said. "This design will expose for time immemorial the bare footprints forged by destruction, but the landscape will preserve irrepressible life -- undaunted, undeterred, undefeated."
A campaign to fund the memorial, cultural facilities, and museum will be announced in coming weeks, he said.
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