| Votives
in Suspension Norman Lee and Michael Lewis
Finalist Statement:
In their absence, the World
Trade Center Towers have attained a greater degree of symbolic significance, their meaning
instantaneously transformed on September 11, 2001. As monumental buildings, they were
symbols of American capitalism, as voids, they now represent a concept of loss
unparalleled in both scale and complexity. Our proposal for the WTC memorial aims to
transform the towers' footprints into dual sanctuary spaces that resonate profoundly with
a sense of both individual and collective loss.
The memorial sanctuaries will be
set into the earth and semi-enclosed from the outside. Only narrow gaps that outline each
footprint will allow sunlight to penetrate into these sacred areas. Austere and minimal,
the exteriors will give no indication of their interior space. From street level, the
sanctuaries' monolithic expanses will invite contemplation and suggest absence.
Once on the memorial grounds,
the sanctuaries will only be made visible to visitors by long parapet walls that surround
the footprints of the original towers. Most of this area will be kept as green park space
providing a versatile venue for memorial ceremonies. Visitors will also be visually drawn
to the exposed slurry walls on the western edge of the site as well as the Liberty Wall
located on the southern side. The Liberty Wall will be engraved with monumental text that
provides a didactic historical timeline of the World Trade Center site. A large part of
this story will focus on the heroic efforts of brave rescue workers who worked tirelessly,
many of who made the ultimate sacrifice, to save lives on September 11th.
Visitors will descend down a
stairway or lift system into each sanctuary, emerging into a darkened, serene environment.
Here they will witness an expansive field of votive lights suspended in mid-air creating a
sublimely beautiful downpour of loss. The votives, each representing a victim of the
terrorist attacks, hang down on cables from the sanctuary ceiling just above a reflecting
pool. The cables will function as capillaries that channel liquid fuel into the votives to
sustain the symbolic flames. The age of each victim is used to determine the height of the
suspended votives creating an irregular field of light that both breaks apart into
fragments and coalesces as an entirety. This reinforces the memorial mission to convey
both the overall magnitude of loss and pay tribute to individual lives. As a part of the
memorial's creation, victims' families and friends will be invited to light the votives
that represent their lost loved ones. Each flame, therefore, will be created by an
individual act of remembrance.
The name of each victim will be
listed horizontally in alphabetical order on the parapet walls that define and encompass
each sanctuary space. The procession of names will begin in the sanctuary devoted to the
North Tower, where the first plane hit, and conclude in the sanctuary dedicated to the
South Tower. A somber underground passageway will connect these two sanctuaries as well as
provide access to a burial space located at bedrock for the unidentified remains of
victims.
Finalist Biography:
Norman Lee Norman Lee graduated
with a BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Art History
from the University of Houston. In 1997, Lee received an internship with Walt Disney
Imagineering, developing attraction concepts for Disney's California Adventure theme park.
Lee continued his studies at the University of Texas, where in 2000 he received a MA in
Museum Education. The topic of his thesis examined the contribution that museum exhibit
professionals make toward implementing education and entertainment in creating enriched
experiences for museum visitors. Mr. Lee currently works as a senior concept developer of
museum exhibits in Houston, Texas, the city where he was born and raised.
Michael Lewis Michael Lewis
graduated with a BA of Theater Arts (Design and Technical Directing emphasis) from
Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina. During that time he studied Photography in
Oxford, England, as well as Film Directing through a joint studies program with the New
York Film Academy. He has worked as a technical director for theater and television and
convention centers, and as a resident set and lighting designer for various stage
productions. He currently works as a Museum Exhibit Designer and Project Manager on
large-scale museum installations. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Mr. Lewis currently resides
in Houston, Texas.
Acknowledgements:
Scale Models: Richard Coleman
Associates, Houston, TX Illustrations/animation by Payne Rowlett, Houston, TX Plan and
Section Drawings: Jim Arp Architectural Renderings, Houston, TX
Lower Waters Bradley Campbell
and Matthias Neumann
Finalist Statement:
Water and light symbolize life,
rejuvenation and rebirth. By using water and light as key elements of the design and by
bringing people directly to the site of the attacks, we hope that visitors will remember
not only the loss of life but also the sanctity of life that we live each day. These
elements point to the passing of time, and speak to us of emotion and transcendence. The
site is designed to provide a place in this city and within each of us where we may find
peace in experiencing the challenging, often painful cycle of death, grief, rebirth and
life.
Our physical movement throughout
the site, the inclined park and the various levels of memorial and museum, represents our
emotional movement through the experiences of memory, grief, discovery, hope, and rebirth.
We descend to the memorial spaces, the literal and figurative centers, and to the Museum
of September 11. Our contact with the names of the victims, their final resting place, the
original slurry wall, and bedrock level of the World Trade Center causes us to contemplate
the profound loss suffered on September 11 and to be grateful for the many that were
saved. As we ascend, we come back to the city and ourselves transformed by the emotional
and historic magnitude of that day.
Materials have been carefully
chosen to support the concept, symbolism and emotion of the memorial. The memorial space
of the North Tower is clad in black granite - solemn, strong, stable - a reference to
living memory and to the foundation of the towers. The private area for families of the
victims and the intimate area for the public are made of thick walls of earth, to suggest
comfort and stability at the depths. The façade of the Museum of September 11 in the
South Tower Footprint is stacked glass with sanded edges referring to both the
construction and collapse of the towers.
The design meets the daunting
challenge of unifying the various site characteristics, the breadth of emotional and
historical significance, and the community's many requirements. It is important that the
site fulfill two major roles in the complex program of this memorial. First, it is a place
of peace, reflection and reverence where we engage ourselves emotionally and spiritually.
Second, it addresses the need for an intellectual understanding and historical perspective
of the events of September 11, 2001. These are the dual roles of, and the overlap between,
the Memorial and the Museum of September 11, 2001.
Finalist Biography:
Bradley Campbell Bradley
Campbell was born on September 10, 1969 in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1988 he moved to
Columbus, Ohio to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design. In 1990 Campbell left
school after 2 ½ years to pursue a career as an artist. He has shown his work regularly
since his first exhibition in 1990. He has exhibited paintings and, more recently,
sculptures at Rebecca Ibel Gallery in Columbus, Ohio since 1993. Mr. Campbell received the
Greater Columbus Arts Council Business/Arts Partnership Award in 1997, and the Columbus
Museum of Art Award in the 85th Annual Columbus Art League Spring Exhibition in 1996. Mr.
Campbell now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Matthias Neumann Matthias
Neumann joined the office of Alfredo Di Vido Associates in 2002. Two years ago he became
co-founder of normaldesign, a multi-disciplined design group loosely based in New York
City. Most recently normaldesign was a finalist in the "Marking Places That
Matter" competition organized by Place Matters, a joint project of the Municipal Art
Society and City Lore. Normaldesign has exhibited at the Urban Center and at the AIA's new
Center for Architecture, both in Manhattan. Mr. Neumann, a resident of Brooklyn, New York,
was born in Germany and completed his architectural training in Germany, Canada and Italy.
Prior projects and interests include Glass House, an exploration of environmental and
experimental housing, industrial, furniture and fixture design, and urban planning. Mr.
Neumann has a degree in Architecture from the University of Dresden, Germany.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Radii, Inc.,
Hoboken, NJ Illustrations/animation: Screampoint 3D Systems for Real Estate, New York, NY
Landscape consultant: Elliott Maltby, Thread Collective, Brooklyn, NY
Passages of Light: The Memorial
Cloud bbc art + architecture Baurmann Brooks Coersmeier Gisela Baurmann, Sawad Brooks,
Jonas Coersmeier
Finalist Statement:
Through "Passages of Light
: The Memorial Cloud," we wish to create upon a site scarred by a terrifying loss,
sorrow, and grief, a work of shared and individual mourning, as well as a gesture
affirming our hopes, common dreams, and ability to rebuild.
Our intention is first to
recognize and honor the victims of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 within a
special, shrouded, spiritual space, protected from the noise and pace of the city by a
crystalline "cloud." The cloud's top surface is a translucent bandage healing a
wound. Level with "Ground Zero" (street level) and permitting traversal, it
reconnects the urban fabric of downtown. On the ground beneath the cloud each of the 2,982
victims is represented by a radiating circle of light embedded into the floor, which
illuminates the engraved name of the individual victim but also projects a subtle ray of
light upward into the cloud. During the day, the cloud, like an undulating veil, a sinuous
surface forming cathedral-like vaults, channels daylight downward onto the field of names.
Together, the names form a
design that we term the "Pompeii Scheme," because it represents individuals
equally in the course of their lives, cut short by the attacks. A name appears near those
of the people with whom he or she died. For example, the approximately 1400 individuals
who perished in Tower One define the largest field of lights. This field is continuous
with the group of approximately 600 who died in the second tower. The design's appearance
reflects the cloud's topology of cupolas. A "Line of Rescuers" runs through both
groups, where Firefighters, Police, and ordained and medical people can be represented.
Our design is guided by our
respect for the sacred ground. Accordingly, we limit the cloud to touching the ground for
support on only five points; we judiciously open the earth beneath the World Trade Center
Tower footprints only to provide visitors access to the symbolic "bedrock"
level, creating thereby a processional passage of light and subterranean darkness. The
procession that carries visitors beside the repository for the "unidentified
remains" connects both footprints with the channel along the exposed slurry wall.
Through the Memorial Cloud we
hope to elicit two more responses, one highly physical, the other imaginative, both of
awe. One recovers a sensation associated with the World Trade Center Towers when we recall
standing in their presence: the urge to look skywards, a vertical gesture associated with
hope. With the second gesture we seek to give expression to a relation between those we
mourn and those who live on affected by the tragedy and repercussions of the attacks. This
is a relation between the finite and the sublime. The cloud's design as a bundle of 10,000
vertical conduits for light which support each other structurally, distributing forces of
tension and compression, figuratively represents our shared responsiveness to crisis and
our cumulative strength.
Finalist Biography:
Gisela Baurmann Gisela Baurmann
is an award-winning architect and designer who has taught and lectured internationally.
She is the principal of amoebe architecture, a New York-based design firm. Ms. Baurmann
received her Masters in Architecture Degree from Columbia University as a Fulbright
Scholar, and also studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in
London and the Technical University Berlin. As project architect she designed and
constructed a modern church and congregation hall in Frankfurt, Germany, consecrated in
2000. In 2001, teaming up with Jonas Coersmeier and Birgit Schoenbrodt in her firm amoebe
architecture, she won second prize in the International Design Ideas Competition
"Redesigning Queens Plaza," organized by the Van Alen Institute. Since January
2000, Ms. Baurmann has taught regularly at Columbia University and Pratt Institute, as
well as serving as guest critic at Princeton, Yale University, Rensselear Polytechnic, New
Jersey Institute of Technology and City College New York.
Sawad Brooks Sawad Brooks is a
critic, artist, and award winning designer working with public and information spaces.
Sawad's work has been exhibited internationally, including shows at the Whitney Museum of
American Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Johannesburg Biennale and
the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. He is currently working with Warren Sack on
"hELLO7734," a new network protocol art-research project. With Goil Amornvivat,
he is also working on a new line of kinetic responsive architecture. He has taught at Yale
University; Merz Akademie, Stuttgart; Parsons School of Design, New York; and last year
was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Brown University's Department of Modern Culture and
Media. Mr. Sawad, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, currently lives and works in New York
City.
Jonas Coersmeier Jonas
Coersmeier is an award winning architectural designer and the Principal of Probehead
Architecture, New York. Born in Cologne, Germany, he received his architectural education
at Columbia University, M.I.T. and Technical University Darmstadt. He holds a Masters in
Advanced Architectural Design and a Diplom Ingenieur degree in Architecture. Mr.
Coersmeier has worked as a designer for various architectural offices in Germany and the
US. He also worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. He teaches at
the Pratt Institute School of Architecture and serves as a guest design critic at Columbia
University, Princeton and NYIT. Mr. Coersmeier's work has been exhibited at the Van Alen
Institute and the Goethe Institute in New York City.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Kennedy
Fabrications, New York, NY Rendering, Illustration, Technology Consultant: E. Andrea
Shiman Rendering and Animation: Screampoint 3D Systems for Real Estate, New York, NY
Structural Engineering Consultant: Burio Happold Consulting Engineers, P.C. - Craig
Schwitter, Principal,Greg Otto, Sr. Eng., Bob Kearns, Graduate Eng. Lighting design
consultant: Fisher Marantz Stone Partners -- Paul Marantz Technical Consultant on 3D
Technology: Jose I. Sanchez
Suspending Memory Joseph Karadin
with Hsin-Yi Wu
Finalist Statement:
The memorial at the World Trade
Center site gives the victim's family members a chance to tell the story of the ones that
they have lost. It will give each and every person who witnesses the memorial a chance to
learn something about the people who perished and the family members who continue mourn
the loss of their loved ones.
The lives lost on September 11,
2001 and February 26, 1993 collectively form the foundation of two memorial gardens rising
from where the WTC towers once stood. Each victim is manifested as a symbol of strength, a
single column helping support one of two island gardens. As the columns extend through the
garden surface at varied heights they transform from concrete into glass. Each unique
glass column is a timeline of a victim's defining moments beginning with a birth date and
culminating at September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. It is an object biography that
gives visitors a glimpse of the persons who perished on both days. By sharing the victim's
birth date and life story, it enables visitors to relate and form a personal bond which
otherwise would not have existed. The memorial column becomes a glowing beacon of each
victim; their defining moments shining brightest at night.
In passing between the
ever-changing gardens, the visitor is made aware of two other tragic events bridged in
time; Somerset County, Pennsylvania and Arlington, Virginia. The memorial bridge is
composed of alternating bands of stone and glass, epitomizing the past and the present,
the enduring and the ever changing. The name of each victim from Pennsylvania and Virginia
is etched into a glass plaque suspended over a pool of reflected azure.
Upon entering the North garden,
visitors are greeted with a natural stone wall inlaid with 2982 randomly protruding
polished squares. This wall spans the length of the island, shielding it from its frenetic
surroundings. Water trickles from an opening at the base of each square into a pristine
reflecting pool. The Pool of Tears enfolds the entire memorial site forever preserving
Ground Zero as hallowed ground. The expanse of this pool is a metaphor of the collective
tears shed by millions around the world.
The memorials become the
embodiment of each victim representing them as a summation of time; a collection of
moments recorded in each life. Together they form a place of hope and tranquil beauty
suspended in a sea of calming motion.
Finalist Biography:
Joseph Karadin Originally from
Ohio, Joseph Karadin moved to New York City in 1997 after graduating from Cornell
University with a Bachelor of Architecture. Currently, Mr. Karadin is working as a
designer in Manhattan and lives in New York.
Hsin-Yi Wu Hsin-Yi Wu was born
in Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia; she arrived in the United States in
1992. In 1997 she graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Architecture. She
currently works in Manhattan and lives in New York.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Radii, Inc.,
Hoboken, NJ Illustrations/animation: dbox, New York, NY Music by Matthew Bannister,
Charles D'autremont and Carl Wegin
Garden of Lights Pierre David
with Sean Corriel, Jessica Kmetovic
Finalist statement:
There was a last hour, a last
minute, a last second that 2,982 stars went dark. The instant there was this last light
there was a first light, 2,982 stars were born. A new constellation expands across the
entire site; a new garden expands across the entire site. Time and space slow as the
lights from the constellation pass through the garden, through the earth, and create the
new constellation below. Above there is the garden, below there is a new sky and 2,982
stars. The garden of lights links the sky above to the new sky below. A glass wall
surrounds this garden of lights. When it opens everyday from 8:46am to 10:29am it is a
breath, a new rhythm for the city. The seed of the garden is the courage of the past. A
gardener is invited from a different part of the world each year to nurture this seed. The
footprints teem with life, a prairie. Between the footprints the gardener raises an
orchard. Each season we walk a new path through the prairie and new seeds grow on the old
path. In September the orchard gives fruit, the gift of life nourished by light. Between
the garden above and the new sky below are two rooms the expanse of the footprints. The
south room of light is pure light filled with all of the sky above and below. The family
moves with their tears in between lights, memory, and life. Leading to the north room of
light is an offering path, a stream lined with roses. They give a rose, and the floating
petals bring them into the north room of light. A steel wall forged from the salvaged
metal of the towers occupies the length of this room. The family passes along its
thickness. On the other side of this wall glow 1,275 lights. This is the resting place of
the unidentified remains. Beneath the garden, beneath the rooms of light, we are under the
constellation of 2,982 stars that shine down on 2,982 altars. The eight year-old daughter
has hand-written the name of her father. Her handwriting is engraved in the alabaster of
her father's altar forever. Light shines on each engraved name for eternity. Each visitor
has a map of the new constellation and they navigate their path through the stars. The
light for those we have lost is with us, at our hands, on our faces. In the distance, the
slurry wall accompanies the light down to reveal bedrock. The slurry wall holds the
garden, the new sky, and the bedrock below. In the garden of lights we can look down the
path of each light. We see the name inscribed in stone and the light from the shining
star. A cloud passes over the city; it is a shadow on the garden, a sparkle in the stars
below, a glimmer on the altar, a flicker in the soul.
Finalist Biography:
Pierre David Mr. David resides
in Paris. After receiving his degree in Architecture from the Ecole d'Architecture Paris
Belleville in 1991, Pierre David taught Landscape Architecture until 1998 at the Ecole
Nationale Superieure du Paysage in Versailles. Since that time he has taught architecture
and landscape design at various institutions in France, throughout Europe, and in the
United States including Harvard University and Columbia University. In addition, he has
designed gardens and houses for private clients. He currently teaches at the Ecole
d'Architecture de Clermont-Ferrand and for the New York/Paris Program, administrated by
Columbia University.
Sean Corriel Sean Corriel grew
up in Huntington, New York. He is a fifth-year landscape architecture student at Cornell
University. Sean is currently working on an honors thesis for his undergraduate degree.
Upon graduating, he plans on continuing his research in the field of design and applying
it to practice. Later Mr. Corriel plans on continuing his education in a masters program
in architecture.
Jessica Kmetovic Jessica
Kmetovic resides in Oakland, CA, where she is currently a fifth-year student in the
bachelor architecture program at the California College of Arts and Crafts. She attended
Shape of Two Cities Program: New York/Paris at the Columbia University Graduate School of
Design, fall 2002-spring 2003, and has interned at Tom Eliot Fisch and Baker Vilar
Architects, among others.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Radii, Inc.,
Hoboken, NJ Illustrations/animation: Screampoint 3D Systems for Real Estate, New York, NY
Engineering consultant: RFR, Paris Consulting Engineers: Henry Bardsley, Jean-Francois
Blassel, Matt King Lighting design consultant: L'Observatorie One; Concepteurs-Lumieres:
Georges Berne Landscape consultant: Nina Bassuk, Director, Urban Architecture Institute,
Cornell University
Reflecting Absence: A Memorial
at the World Trade Center Site Michael Arad
Finalist Statement:
This design proposes a space
that resonates with the feelings of loss and absence that were generated by the death and
destruction at the World Trade Center. A pair of reflective pools marks the location of
the towers' footprints. The surface of these pools is broken by large voids. These voids
can be read as containers of loss, being close-by yet inaccessible.
The pools are submerged thirty
feet below street level in the middle of a large open plaza. They too are large voids,
open and visible reminders of the absence. The pools are fed by a constant stream of
water, cascading down the walls which enclose them. Bordering each pool is a pair of
sloped buildings. These buildings create a sense of enclosure, capturing the exposed outer
corners of the memorial site and defining a path of circulation around each pool. They
also guide visitors to the site into the memorial itself.
Visitors begin their descent
into the memorial by entering one of these buildings. This descent removes them from the
sights and sounds of the city and immerses them in a cool darkness. As they gradually
proceed, step by step, the sound of water falling grows louder, and more daylight filters
in from below. At the bottom of their descent, they find themselves behind a thin curtain
of water, staring out at an enormous pool that flows endlessly towards a central void that
remains empty. A ribbon of names surrounds this pool and the enormity of this space and
the multitude of names lining it underscore the vast scope of the tragedy that took place
at this site. Standing there at the water's edge, looking at a pool of water that is
flowing away into an abyss, a visitor to the site can sense that what is beyond this
curtain of water and ribbon of names is inaccessible.
The names of the deceased appear
to be in no discernible order. The apparent randomness reflects the haphazard brutality of
the deaths and allows for flexibility in the placement of names of friends and relatives
in ways that permit for meaningful adjacencies; for example, siblings who perished
together at the site could have their names listed side by side. Family members seeking
out the name of a loved one are guided by on-site staff or a printed directory to their
specific location. The location of the name marks a spot that is their own.
In between the two pools is a
short passageway that links them at this subterranean level. At its center is a small
alcove where visitors can light a candle. Across from it, a long corridor leads to a
chamber that houses unidentified remains. This space is only open to family members and
serves as a private contemplative space.
The end of a visit to the
memorial is marked by an ascent back to street level. Visitors are again ensconced by
darkness, but now the long and narrow passageway leads up towards daylight. As they emerge
from the ramped enclosure, they find themselves back in the open plaza.
The western edge of the plaza is
bounded by a cultural building that shelters the site from the highway. The remaining
three sides are open and link the plaza to adjacent streets and neighborhoods. Tall pines
punctuate the plaza's surface, softening its character and creating shaded areas within
this large outdoor room. Designed to be a mediating space, the plaza belongs both to the
city and to the memorial. It encourages uses that are both contemplative and everyday. It
is a living part of the city.
Finalist Biography:
Michael Arad Michael Arad grew
up in Israel, the United States and Mexico. He has been living in the U.S. since finishing
his military service in the Israeli Defense Force in 1991. He received a BA from Dartmouth
College, and a MA from Georgia Tech's College of Architecture. He moved to New York City
in 1999 and worked as an architect at Kohn Pedersen Fox for three years. He recently
joined the Design Department of the New York City Housing Authority and has been working
on the design development of two police stations for the New York City Police Department.
Mr. Arad lives in the East Village in New York City with his wife, Melanie Arad
Fitzpatrick, and his newborn son, Nathaniel.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Awad
Architectural Models, New York, NY Graphics + Visualization: sQuared design lab, LLC Music
on animation: Violin: Anne Akiko Meyers, Piano: Li Jian, Composition: Somei Satoh
Dual Memory Brian Strawn and
Karla Sierralta
Finalist Statement:
The memory of an individual and
the combined memory of the community as a whole are embodied by the footprints of the
former World Trade Center Towers and the new future for the area. On a personal level, and
as members of our larger communities, we were all affected by the terrorist attacks on
February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001. The footprints serve as healing points for our
great loses. Elements of water reflect light and memory. 2,982 light portals shine over
the "Individual Memory Footprint", where the North Tower of the WTC once stood.
Each light glows with individual intensity, honoring all of the victims who died. Elements
of water embrace and reflect memories related to those we lost, those who survived and the
selfless actions of those who aided in rescue, recovery and healing. The journey to the
emotional center of the footprint is a personal experience. Evolving images are reflected
as water flows down the walls that support the plane of water above. On glass and stone,
the names are revealed. Here, as stories are shared, they become part of our collective. A
final resting place for the unidentified remains embraces a private area for family
members and loved ones. This space, at bedrock, becomes the most sacred. Elements of earth
create spaces that frame the sky. 92 Sugar Maples trees stand on the "Shared Memory
Footprint". The space, where the South Tower of the WTC once stood, is devoted to the
shared loss of a community, a city, a country, and the world. These native trees of New
York grow as a symbol of new life in the soil of each of the 92 nations brought together
by the great tragedies. A shared path guides visitors through bands of nature that form
around the emotional center of the footprint. Stone walls that carry messages of hope from
each of the countries and a bed of wild roses surround this quiet space for meditation and
contemplation. The emotional centers of each of the footprints resonate at a different
pace. The constantly evolving stories of the individual inform the more slowly developing
shared perspective of the collective. These encounter one another, exchange their
composition, and form landscaped patterns allowing for intimate and public gatherings.
Although the intensity of the lights changes during the course of day, and the trees
weather with the passing of the seasons, the footprints will act as a constant reminder.
Finalist Biography:
Brian Strawn Brian Strawn was
born and raised on a small farm in Alexander, Illinois. His interest in nature led him to
pursue an undergraduate degree in zoology. After completion of his undergraduate degree in
1997 at Southern Illinois University, he worked for a year at the Henson Robinson Zoo, and
participated in a work abroad program in London. His travels in Europe inspired him to go
on to graduate school in architecture; he received a Master of Arts in Architecture from
the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2003. While there, Mr. Strawn participated in
housing, mixed-use, long span, and digital media studios. He took part in a study abroad
studio in Rome and a summer course on high rise technology at T.U. Delft in Holland. While
at university, he was nominated for the Chicago AIA, Ben Johnck Award in 2002, and was
awarded the Susan Nealy/FGM Fund for Architectural Studies Portfolio Award in 2003. Mr.
Strawn now works for an architecture firm in Chicago.
Karla Sierralta Karla Sierralta
was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She received her bachelor of architecture
from the University of Zulia (LUZ) in 1999. After graduation, she continued working at the
university's research center for one year, participating in design team work for low
income-bioclimatic dwelling prototypes. In 2000, she was a recipient for a scholarship to
participate in an Academic Training Program for Future Professors at LUZ. A year later,
Ms. Sierralta was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her Masters in Architecture at
the University of Illinois in Chicago; she was awarded her degree this year. During her
time at the University of Illinois she participated in a housing studio, a long span and a
digital media studio, as well as a study abroad program in Rome, Italy. She now works for
a small architecture firm in Chicago, Illinois, as an academic training extension of her
Fulbright scholarship.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Model
Options, Chicago, IL Illustrations/animation: Vertex Graphics, Chicago, IL Engineering
consultant: Louis Shell Lighting consultant: Schuler & Shook, Inc.
Inversion of Light Toshio Sasaki
Finalist statement:
As a human being and a witness
to the great tragedies of September 11, 2001, and the 1993 terrorist bombings, I seek a
way to remember and honor the thousands of innocent lives that were lost and the courage
of the heroes. I seek to address this project as a challenge to inspire the human mind and
to reaffirm respect for life, to strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and to bring
about an end to hatred, ignorance, and intolerance.
The work I envision for the site
will consist of the universal elements of light, water, air, and earth. Light, which is
eternal and which emanates from the beginning of the universe; water, from which life
came; and earth and air, which nourish life and the living. I propose to create a
street-level park that will preserve the twin towers' footprints and the slurry wall. The
park will signify the renewal of life and offer a place for public ceremonies and days of
remembrance. The below-grade level beneath the park- where the unidentified-remains area
is situated, gives both the victims and their families a serene place for visitation,
contemplation, and rest.
To enter the underground area of
the memorial, one descends a ramp leading to where the victims are represented as light,
water, and air. Within the north tower's footprint, a representative floor plan, based on
those of the ninety-fourth and ninety-fifth floors, is illuminated from below; the light
is blocked in the central area of the plan. On the north wall of the memorial, where the
first plane hit, an extended curtain of clear glass will be etched with the names of the
lost individuals. The victim's names will be sorted in two main categories, designated by
2001 and 1993. The 2001 category will be organized by locations: World Trade Center site,
Somerset County, Pennsylvania and Arlington, Virginia. The victim names within these
locations will be organized by civilians and non-civilians (military personnel, NYPD, NYFD
and other groups). Behind the glass and along its length and height, water will trickle
continuously, representing the eternal movement of life through time. The black-granite
east and west walls will be etched with the memorial mission statement and the heroes'
insignias; the east wall with the history of events.
In footprint of the south tower,
a reflection pond will serve as a tribute to the spirits of the victims; at night, it will
be illuminated from beneath by a circle of lights projecting into the sky. In winter, the
heat of the lights will vaporize the water and create the image of flames on its surface.
The centrally located
unidentified-remains area is enclosed in two semicircular glass walls, unified above by a
circular skylight that emerges in the curvilinear park. From this central column ripples
out a horizontal configuration that incorporates all elements of the memorial and its
surroundings-all columns, the main ramp, all lighting, the museums, the footprints and
elements within, and the geography of the surrounding urban grid, extending to the Statue
of Liberty and, perhaps, beyond. From this column a blue laser light shines into the
universe, connecting the geometry and geography of the earth with the geometry and
eternity of the universe.
The proposed memorial,
conceptually called Inversion of Light, is a living memorial. Dedicated to world peace, it
will ensure that future generations never forget this great tragedy. We, as human beings,
hope that we can serve this memory well and lead ourselves toward peacefulness,
tranquility, and purity of contemplation. We, as part of the greater universe, hope to
transcend the suffering of any single generation and come to an understanding of the
authenticity of eternity and the vindication of truth.
Finalist Biography:
Toshio Sasaki Artist Toshio
Sasaki was born in Kyoto, Japan. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Aiichi
University of Fine Arts he came to New York to attend the Brooklyn Museum Art School. He
is the recipient of a NYSCA CAPS Fellowship and a NEA Visual Artists Fellowship, and has
been recognized by the City of New York for his wall relief The First Symphony of the Sea
at the Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation in Brooklyn. His work has been exhibited in New
York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, PA and Japan. Mr. Sasaki currently lives and works in
Brooklyn, New York.
Acknowledgements:
Model Fabrication: Radii, Inc.,
Hoboken, NJ Illustrations/animation: dbox, New York, NY Engineering consultant: Tsuneo
Yoshizawa & Weidlinger Associates, Inc. |
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World Trade Center Site Memorial
Competition Jury Statement
We, the 13 individuals selected
to serve as the World Trade Center site memorial jurors, are ever mindful of the
historical importance of the task we have come together to carry out. We understand the
obligation we have to the victims, to their families, to society-indeed, to history-to
serve the mission given to us: to remember and honor those who died, to recognize the
endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save the
lives of others, and the compassion of all those who supported the victims' families in
their darkest hours. The program statement of the families and other advisory councils has
also asked us to be especially mindful of the memorial's mandate to recognize the victims,
to keep the footprints unencumbered, and provide access to the bedrock at Ground Zero.
In selecting the competition
finalists, our goal has been to find, within them, the elements that best embody both the
letter and the spirit of the mission entrusted to us. In these finalists, we have sought
designs that represent the heights of imagination while incorporating aesthetic grace and
spiritual strength.
We jurors come from many
different walks of life. We include among our number a victim's family member, artists and
architects, public art administrators, a museum director, a resident of downtown New York,
public officials, an educator and a historian. During the past five months, it has been
our responsibility and our privilege to review every single one of the 5,201 submissions
for the World Trade Center site memorial in order to select the design among them that
will best capture so many individual tragedies, which collectively amount to both national
and international tragedies, as well; a design that will recall an event that defies
reason by the wantonness and sheer enormity of its destruction. Our aim was to identify a
memorial design that would do justice to New York and its spirit, by becoming a symbol of
its resiliency. Our aim has also been to find a design that will begin to repair both the
wounded cityscape and our wounded souls, to provide a place for the contemplation of both
loss and new life.
We have been profoundly moved by
the fact that people from 63 countries and many continents have submitted memorial
designs, people of different faiths, ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds and beliefs.
Their participation in the memorial competition reaffirms our common humanity and is a
testament to the solidarity and shared values of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,
daughters, sons, friends and families from every corner of the world.
Choosing the eight finalists has
been very difficult. Coming to a consensus has entailed hours of frank discussions,
agreements and disagreements, always with the goal of arriving at common ground. From the
very beginning, the jury strongly supported the LMDC process, in both its transparency and
its equitable treatment of all the submissions. Proceedings were kept absolutely
confidential, and submissions were kept absolutely anonymous. As jurors, we have enjoyed
complete autonomy, and we continue to appreciate the responsibility entrusted to us as the
ultimate judges of the competition.
It has also been crucial for us
to be able to hear all interested parties' and constituencies' opinions and views. We met
with representatives of the victims' families, who shared their grief and the magnitude of
their loss with us. We met with the downtown community to hear their concerns about the
site and its place in their neighborhood. We met with the competent authorities entrusted
with the task of rebuilding Ground Zero, including the architects, the board of the Lower
Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) and their chairman. In addition, we met with
Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and Mayor Giuliani. Each of them assured us that while
they have their own individual views, they will respect and honor the jury's decision.
The eight memorial designs
chosen as finalists have a number of characteristics in common. They strive neither to
overwhelm the visitor nor their immediate surroundings. They aspire to soar-not by
competing with the soaring skyline of New York but rather by creating spaces that strive
to reconcile vertical and horizontal, green and concrete, contemplation and inspiration.
They allow for the change of seasons, passage of years and evolution over time. They
emphasize the process of memorialization over their own grandeur and present themselves as
living landscapes of living memory that both connect us to our past and carry us forward
into the decades ahead.
We have interviewed all eight
teams of designers and have taken time to form our opinions and establish perspective in
order not to rush to judgment. While the eight final designs we have chosen all address
the guidelines of the memorial competition, we recognize that are still in development,
and that even the final version of the winning design will require additional refinements,
including how the names of each of the victims should be recognized, how to respect the
tower footprints and keep them unencumbered, how to provide access to bedrock, and what
the relationship of the memorial will be to the site's interpretive museum. The jury feels
that if the memorial alone cannot address all the issues put forth in the mission
statement, then together with the planned interpretive museum, all parts of the mission
statement can be realized over time.
We are particularly pleased that
the LMDC has agreed to our request to exhibit all 5,201 submissions and to issue a
certificate of appreciation to each of them for honoring our city by participating in this
global contest, the largest of its kind and most inclusive in its democratic outreach.
Furthermore, as promised, the eight final designs will be exhibited to the public while we
continue our deliberations toward making our ultimate choice.
At this stage of the process, we
also want to acknowledge that, ultimately, the memorial itself is a process, an attempt to
bring reconciliation to that which can never be reconciled: love and loss, heroism and
horror, past and present, public recognition and private introspection. The power and pain
of this memorial's public discussions energize and animate this process, and thus help
keep this memory alive. To give up, on the other hand, or to grow weary, is to begin to
forget.
With these thoughts in mind, we
thank everybody in New York City, the nation and the international community for your
confidence in us. Your faith in the process and our part in it is instrumental in
inspiring us to select the one final memorial design that will embody the spirit of our
restless, energetic, resilient city and stand as a beacon of hope on the bright path to
the future.
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Future 
