The 9/11 Memorial is located where the former World Trade Centre complex and Twin Towers once stood in New York City. It is the principal site in the United States for honouring those who perished in the 2001 and 1993 attacks. The annual commemoration ceremony takes place at the Memorial Plaza where family members gather to read aloud their loved ones name.
Located at the same site is the 9/11 Memorial Museum which houses a collection of monumental and authentic artefacts.
“Reflecting Absence” by Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, was the chosen design of the World Trade Center Memorial.
Below is an extract from a letter sent by Michael Arad to family members;
‘With this design, I have tried to find a way to convey the terrible nature of the tragedy and also the courage and generosity that brought so many people together. I have imagined a great plaza in which two large voids would be inscribed, symbolic depictions of absence and loss. At the bottom of these voids would be reflecting memorial pools, 30 feet below the plaza, ringed with the thousands of names of the deceased. Water would cascade down the walls enclosing each pool, and from where there would continue towards a void at the center of each pool.‘Passageways leading underground along an exposed section of the surviving slurry wall would gradually remove visitors from the sights and sounds of the city and bring them into the quiet and contemplative space below ground. A memorial space for the unidentified remains located 80 feet below the plaza, at bedrock, would serve as a private place for memory, open to family members only. Above ground, an open and landscaped plaza, designed with Peter Walker, provides a park-like space that expresses changes in season and speaks of hope and rebirth.’
For further information please visit
https://www.911memorial.org
If you are planning a visit to New York, you may find the following websites useful:
https://voicescenter.org
https://911groundzero.com/blog/rebuilding-ground-zero-architects-behind-911-memorial-museum/
