World Trade Center Memorial Competition

When the World Trade Center Group announced its memorial competition for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, several of our interns approached us about presenting an entry.

The resulting submittal enabled the office to work on an urban project of tremendous spiritual magnitude.  Our main concept stemmed from a custom common to many cultures around the world, that involves engraving the name of the deceased on a river rock, which is then cast back into the river.  The water slowly erodes away the name, as the surface is worn with time, marking the passage of one_s spirit into the world beyond. This ritual was the inspiration for our scheme.  Two large reflecting pools based in the footprints of the fallen towers overflow with a delicate sheet of water into two braided streams.  The streams wander through a grided stone plaza, then join into a larger stream and end up disappearing into an opening in the ground at the foot of the Slurry Wall.  The names of those lost on September 11 would be engraved on the rocks and placed in the bed of these streams, to be worn by the passing waters.  Our design harnesses the healing power of the natural world to create a peaceful and contemplative space in which to reflect upon the tragedy of September 11.