Memorial of the World Trade Center

The memorial of the World Trade Center is a memorial and a museum in construction in memory of the victims of the Attentats of September 11th, 2001 counter the turns of the World Trade Center to New York. It will be localized at the place even where previously the two twin towers were destroyed.

In August 2006, the foundation for the Memorial of the World Trade Center and the harbor authority of New York and of the New Jersey started the construction of a memorial and a museum. Its completion is planned for 2009

It is the project of the architect Michael Arad who was retained for the construction of the memorial. The original concept utilized almost no tree or vegetation. This project having been described as austere, it was called upon Peter Walker, a Landscape gardener of Berkeley, to plant of advantage of vegetation in order to soften the unit.

The design is in conformity with the original overall plan of Daniel Libeskind which claimed a memorial with 30 feet under the level of the street (70 feet in the beginning), integrated within a place. The project of Arad was still in string to only reject the idea of Libeskind according to which the buildings were to overhang the prints of the turns.

The idea of the memorial germinated immediately after the attacks and the destruction of the World Trade Center in order to make the mourning of the victims and to pay a homage to all the heroes of this September 11th, 2001. The Foundation for the Memorial of the World Trade Center is an association with nonlucrative goal which collects funds for the construction of the memorial

Concept

The memorial is composed of a park with two square basins located in the prints of the two destroyed towers. The basins are deep of 30 feet (that is to say 9 meters) and are supplied by water falls running out along walls. In the centers of the basins, one will be able to find two blocks square embedded, in which water will run out.

The visitors will be able to reach an underground commemorative space around the basin, behind the water fall. Around a parapet separating the visitors from the water falls will be. It was to carry the inscription of the name of all the victims of the attacks of the World Trade Center, but finally another monument should be born on the surface. That will make it possible to not make it available permanently and simply during the opening hours from the memorial. Commemorative spaces around the two swimming pools will be connected by a passage. It is expected that the access to this memorial is free.

Moreover, it is envisaged the construction of a Museum of the World Trade Center, which would be underground also. It is possible that the access to this museum is paying, except for the family members of victims. The preceding projects concerning the construction of an International Center for Freedom ( International Freedom Center ) were abandoned.

Contest of architecture

In spring 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), trade union responsible for installation and development of low Manhattan, launched an international competition for the construction of a memorial on the site of the World Trade Center in order to commemorate the lives lost at the time of the attacks of the September 11th 2001. On the whole: 5201 projects were filed in by American teams and whole world.

November 19th, 2003, the jury made up of thirteen members, of which Maya Flax, the architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Patricia Harris, first associated with the mayor, selected eight projects for a final examination. The project Reflecting Absence (literally, the " reflection of the absence") was finally selected like large winner of the contest of architecture, on January 6th, 2004. The final project for the Memorial of the World Trade Center was officially presented at the time of a press conference, on January 14th, 2004, with the Federal Hall of New York.

The Foundation for the Memorial of the World Trade Center

The Foundation for the Memorial of the World Trade Center is an association with nonlucrative goal (of type 501 (c) (3)) the goal is to collect bottom and to manage the expiries of construction of the memorial. The board of directors met for the first time on January 4th, 2005. This foundation is a subsidiary company of the Empire State Development Corporation , which is a public authority deciding on the construction of several projects in the State without having to pass by the approval of the legislative power or a vote.

The foundation envisages to collect between 0,5 and 1 billion dollar US to build the memorial as well as the museum of the memorial.

Its goals

To pay homage to the thousands of men, women, and innocent children killed in the terrorist attacks of February 26th, 1993 and of September 11th, 2001.
To respect this place returned crowned by tragic losses.
To recognize what endure the survivors, the courage of those who risked their life to save others of them and compassion of all those which gave their support at the time of these dark moments.
Faire so that one remembers the lost lives, that the exploits of the heroes are recognized and that the event radiates a such headlight to reaffirm the respect of the life and freedom, and to promote the end of hatred, ignorance and intolerance.

Financial responsibilities

The Foundation has large responsibilities in term for collection for funds because of the missions which the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation entrusted to him (LMDC). The Foundation is supposed to finance and manage the operation of:

the Memorial of the World Trade Center - the memorial Reflecting Absence conceived by Michael Arad and Peter Walker.
the museum of the World Trade Center - an underground museum to tell what occurred.
the theater of the performing arts of the World Trade Center - a theater of the performing arts in the north of the memorial, between the Freedom Tower and the '' World Trade Center '' (station PATH).

At its first meeting, the Foundation required of the service National parks to deal with the management and the maintenance of the memorial once it would be built. At present, it is not expected that the federal government deals with the operation of the memorial

John C. Whitehead was President at the same time of the LMDC and the Foundation for the Memorial of the World Trade Center, but he announced his resignation in May 2006. It is then the former President of the LMDC, Kevin Rampe, which took again the control of the LMDC.

Suspension of the collection of funds

Thomas S. Johnson, president of the executive committee of the Foundation, announced on May 9th, 2006: " It was decided not to actively continue the search for new funds until is clarified the situation on the level of the plan and the costs of the projet." Concerns concerning the cost of construction indeed burst publicly after a new estimate of the person in charge in load of construction, Bovis Lend Lease, according to which the memorial and the museum 672 million dollars and that would cost would be needed at least 973 million dollars on the whole, to entirely develop the accesses of the memorial. The budjet initially envisaged was of 494 million dollars.

May 26th, 2006, Gretchen Dykstra resigned of the post of chairman of the Foundation of the World Trade Center. The projects of the memorial were re-examined with the fall, and the budget was buckled for a total of 510 million dollars.

Critics of the Reflecting Absence

Although the memorial initially received a positive reception, it had its batch of critics considering the project too expensive, too complicated and with intolerable esthetics. Among the problems:

Fall of water pointing out the movement of collapse - descent without end of a water fall of 60 m ² (200 square feet) imitating the fall of the original towers, as if the twin towers had never finished and will never finish crumbling.
Fall of water in winter - a model was built with Toronto to find a way of preventing the fall from freezing in winter. It was not found of practical solution and not very expensive to do it. The advertisement made by the authorities according to which they would cut off the water in winter caused an outcry.
Coût - the current estimates place the cost of the memorial only at 500 million dollars what would make some, by far, the memorial expensive of the history. The additional projects for the construction of a museum and an artistic center could explode the budget with more than one billion dollar. The operating costs and of maintenance are estimated at 40 million per annum. The figures come from the mayor Michael Bloomberg when he criticized the complexity and the cost of the in February 2006 project.
underground Construction - the memorial indeed will be built under the ground. Some families as well as organizations of police officers and firemen recommend the construction of such a memorial on the surface.
erroneous Dimensions - the memorial in the beginning was supposed to correspond exactly to dimensions of the prints of the two turns. However, for technical considerations, the basins of the memorial will be smaller of 9m (30 feet) on each side.
Inscription of the names - the representatives of the firemen and the police of the town of New York insist that the name of their officers appear separately of the list of the civilian victims, by specifying their service, their badge, their rank and their task. For example: " FF. Michael F. Lynch, Badge No 2315, Machine 40, Ladder 35, in bearing with the Machine 62, Scale 32."

Beginning of work

Work began on March 13rd, 2006 with 8:00, local time. The same day, of the close relations of victims and other citizens concerned met to protest against the new memorial which, according to them, should rather be built on the surface. The president of the Foundation of the Memorial rétorqua that the families had been consulted, that a consensus around the selected project and that, consequently, work had been formed were to continue as envisaged, .

In May 2006, information according to which the costs of construction had been re-examined with the rise beyond the billion dollar was made public.

" The mayor, Michael Bloomberg, announced that the cost of construction of the memorial of September 11th went up out of arrow and that it was to be limited to 500 million dollars.
“One cannot quite simply spend of the just unlimited sums for a memorial”, announced Bloomberg. “Any figure higher than 500 million would be " inapproprié" , even if that requires to work over again the project.” "

With a billion dollar, the budget would approach the cost of the initial construction of the World Trade Center in 1970, with constant dollar.

Cancelled projects

Two centers were proposed then cancelled, for the Memorial of the World Trade Center, in 2005:

the International Freedom Center (literally, International Center for Freedom ) - a Think tank which was supposed to draw the attention to the battles in favor of freedom through the ages. Debra Burlingame, member of the Foundation for the Memorial of the World Trade Center, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the center had a vocation broader than the events of September 11th, 2001 and could potentially have to criticize the American policies. The center was largely criticized by the commentators and on the Blog S until the governor George E. Pataki decides to give up the project.

the Drawing Center - Art Gallery of the World Trade Center (literally, Center of drawing and Art gallery ) - Projects of Freedom Center to share its space with Drawing Center, in a building baptized " Center Culturel". The New York Daily News published a whole series of articles questioning the relevance to establish such a Center on the site of Ground Zero, taking into account the preceding exposures in its small buildings of SoHo.

See too

Internal bonds

new the World Trade Center

Other memorial of September 11th, 2001

national Memorial of the flight 93, Shanksville in Pennsylvania (project)
Memorial of the Pentagon (in construction)
luminous Homage, Site of the WTC (temporary representation)
Memorial of September 11th, Arizona

Random links: