World Trade Center Memorial Totally Explained

Everything about World Trade Center Memorial totally explained

In August 2006, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey began construction on the Memorial and Museum. The Memorial will be located at the World Trade Center site on the site of the two destroyed towers. The winner of the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was Israeli architect Michael Arad of Handel Architects, a New York and San Francisco-based firm. Arad's design calls for a giant forest of trees with two square pools in the center, each with a gaping hole where the Twin Towers stood. Peter Walker, a landscape architect, is also involved in the project.
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.
A memorial was planned in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and destruction of the World Trade Center to remember both the victims and those involved in rescue. The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is a non-profit corporation that collects donations for the memorial.

Winning design

The memorial consists of a park at street level with two recessed square pools located 30 feet (9m) below street level, fed by waterfalls along the walls. At the center of the pools are recessed squares into which the water flows.
   Visitors can descend to an underground memorial space around the pool, behind the waterfall; through a curtain of water they can look at the pool. Surrounding the pool, between the visitors and the waterfall, is a low stone parapet. According to the original plan the names of the victims would be inscribed in it, in random order (visitors could locate a particular name with the help of on-site staff or a printed directory), but according to a recent proposal the list of names is at street level. This has the advantage that it can be seen all day, as opposed to the original plan, which would only allow the names to be viewable when the indoor section of the memorial is open to the public.
   The memorial spaces around the two pools are connected by a passageway. The memorial itself is planned to be free of charge.
   In addition there will be a World Trade Center Memorial Museum, also underground. For this there may be an admission fee, but not for immediate family members of victims and 9/11 first responders. Earlier plans for an International Freedom Center have been abandoned.

Design competition

In spring 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation 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 individuals and 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. "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.

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 a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation which is a state authority used to build various projects in the state but doesn't require Legislative or voter approval.
The foundation is planning to raise $500 million to $900 million (U.S.) to build not only the memorial, but also the memorial museum.

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.

Fundraising

The Foundation has fundraising responsibilities because of the tasks assigned to it by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). The Foundation is to own, operate and finance:

World Trade Center Memorial — The formal "Reflecting Absence" memorial designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker.

World Trade Center Museum — A museum to tell the story of the events and which is slated to be below street level.

World Trade Center Performing Arts Theater — A performing arts theater to the north of the memorial to be sandwiched between the Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center (PATH station). 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 the federal government to operate the memorial. John C. Whitehead was chairman of both LMDC and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. He announced his resignation in May 2006. Former LMDC President Kevin Rampe will become chairman of the LMDC. As of May 2006, Whitehead's replacement as chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation wasn't named.

Fundraising suspended

Thomas S. Johnson, chairman of the foundation's executive committee announced on May 9,2006:
On May 26, 2006, Gretchen Dykstra resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Trade Center Foundation. The current President and CEO of the Foundation, Joseph C. Daniels, was appointed in October 2006
The memorial projects were eventually toned down, and the budget was cut to $510 million.

Criticism of "Reflecting Absence"

While the memorial initially received good reviews, it has had its share of critics who say it'll be too expensive, too complicated, or aesthetically untenable. 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 so. An outcry arose after officials said they'd 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'll 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.

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 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."

Construction commences

On March 13, 2006, at 8:00 AM New York time, construction workers 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.
In May 2006 it was disclosed that the estimated construction costs for the Memorial had risen to over $1 billion (USD).

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the costs of building the Sept. 11 memorial are skyrocketing and must be capped at $500 million.
'There's just not an unlimited amount of money that we can spend on a memorial,' Bloomberg said. Any figure higher than $500 million to build the memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would be "inappropriate", even if the design has to be changed, he said.' "

At $1 billion, it would approach the cost of the World Trade Center for which construction was completed in 1970 in nominal dollar terms.

Withdrawn proposals

Two centers were proposed and withdrawn from the World Trade Center Memorial plan in 2005:

The International Freedom Center — a "think tank" which was intended to draw attention to the battles for freedom through the ages. World Trade Center Memorial Foundation member Debra Burlingame wrote 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 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 whether its exhibits would be appropriate at Ground Zero based on the gallery's previous exhibits in its small Soho quarters.Further Information

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