Discussion
of the Competition and Jury Selection:
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While I am
generally satisfied with my overall concept even in hindsight, and
not withstanding that I was not one of the selected finalist, I
believe I took a fundamentally different approach to
creating a memorial then all of the the selected designs.
While each of the selected designs took the approach of making a
single abstract grand signature statement of form, and I certainly
considered that approach and to some extent incorporated a number of
such abstract forms, I felt that a more effective and accurate
approach to memorialize the Tragedy and to meet the dictates of the
competition required the integration of a number of different
elements. Some of these considerations include my belief that
it was important that the site would not only be a mausoleum to the
victims, but also a place which is surrounded by people living and
working today and in the future. It must not only respect the
past, but live in the present and inspire toward the future. I
believed that an
appropriate memorial could not be so completely abstract that in
generations to come people will have no idea what the forms stood
for or
what events took place.
(The
"Tunnels" through the Tower Footprint Markers were
inspired by the image of Mrs. Beverly Eckert holding the picture
over her heart of her husband lost in September 11th,
2001. There was an emptiness left in her heart, and all those
who lost loved ones, and our whole nation that can never be
filled, yet they have the strength to go on and more then that, to
persevere and triumph)
Even as I did
incorporate a number of large signature elements, it was critical to
me to show some clear and unmistakable connection to the events of
911 and to incorporate in some manner the simple elegance and
structural purity of the Twin Towers, which by their innovation
saved tens of thousands of lives by remaining standing for almost an
hour after the impacts (No other buildings in the world are likely
to have remained
standing at all). Accordingly my design incorporated the
following elements: The Stylized 1/10th Scale Twin Towers; a
large Portion of the Standing Wall; The Tower Footprint Markers
serving to protect the sacred ground from activity around it while
also the passage ways through the Tower Markers are clear
reminders; Markers to the Pentagon; Shanksville and the 1993 bombing
of the WTC; a history of the Place and Events set in a bronze mural
along the ramp to give a clear sense of what took place; An Earth
Sphere suspended from the Surrounding Buildings that link the events
of the Past through the present and to the future while reminding us
of the global nature of the event and indeed the world; a separate
wall to mark those who died in the line of duty not only on that
tragic day but those yet to come in the continuing war on
terror; the "Last Steel" in honor of all those who
toiled in the aftermath of the 911; and of course Bronze Statues of
Victims leaving through one of the "tunnels" while the
Rescue workers are going in for historical accuracy - I believe that
to serve as a true memorial there must be some sense of it being
more then just a beautiful abstract form which beyond its location
seems to have no particular meaning to the events of September 11th,
2001.
Finally, my
design was dictated by the requirements and guidelines of the
Competition which were presented in a most empathic manner, such
as the Slurry Wall, The Ramps, The Water Fall and the Buildings
overhanging the site. In this regard I am most perplexed by
the decision of the judges which by every appearance, each of the
selected designs seems to have omitted or violated to one
significant extent or another key aspects of the guidelines.
The fact that without exception each of the designs relied on a
single abstract concept, did not incorporate a single artifact or
any representation of any kind or form of the Towers, seems
surprising and limiting. Many of the plans seemed to be
variations of the Monument De Jour as in the Oklahoma City and
Pentagon Monuments. (Even the Vietnam Memorial ultimately
incorporated Statutes of Soldiers) Others seemed copies of
designs that had already been discarded in the design
competition for the redevelopment.
While I
commend each of the finalists designs for their visual creativity
and effort, in the words of Debra Brown Steinberg, a lawyer with
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft who has donated her time to
represent many victims' families:
"“These
plans are impersonal and generic... There is nothing about them
that is unique to the tragedy that happened down there.”
I want to
make absolutely clear that my comments do not come from not having
been chosen as a finalist. As one of the 5000 individuals
who devoted an extraordinary amount of time, effort and careful
thought to this undertaking, I believe I have as much
understanding of the complex design and emotional issues and
challenges, and am as informed and as entitled to have my
perspective on the chosen designs as anyone. By sharing my
thoughts in this way and through my design it is my hope that it
will contribute to others in making the best possible choice on a
final memorial.
As with most
of those who made submission, I never undertook this effort with the
expectation of "winning". This is part of our own
way of dealing with the tragedy of September 11, 2001. I am
proud of the work I have done and the work of all those who made
submissions, especially the 8 finalists.
Certainly
there are many aspects of my submission from both a design and
presentation standpoint that I would change, or want to improve
upon, but overall I feel satisfied with the effort I made and with
my concepts for approaching the many complex issues involved, as
well as the individual design elements and themes. While I had
no expectation of winning, I had every expect ion that the Jury
would at least select designs that conformed to the same competition
guidelines and addressed all of the issues in a profoundly
successful and moving way, visually, emotionally, and
practically. This is surely a situation where the
"doing" and "how you played the game" is its own
prize.
I know I was
not to my own satisfaction satisfied or successful in creating the
perfect visual form to serve as the perfect monument. But I
also know that many of the issues I tried to address, regardless of
my particular solution or particular form or limitations of my
skills are important and must be addressed by whatever is to serve
as the memorial place to the events of September 11th, 2003.
I wish I
could say and feel the chosen designs did address all the
issues in a satisfactory way because having a great Memorial to
this horrible Tragedy is the most important thing, not only for
the victims and their families, but for the people who live and
work and visit ; for the city; for the nation; for all the
world; for future generations to come. and, yes for enemies
as well.! Unfortunately, as with apparently so many
families of victims and many others I feel they have not!
To be successful
it must be more then just a place to mourn, but a place at which
we can live now and inspires us to with tomorrows possibilities.
Perhaps it is
time to hear from the judges and to see all that they saw in making
their decisions
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