elements for a "timeless"
world-class Ground Zero memorial

Surviving WTC Wall is a National Treasure
Working together for nearly 10 years, our impassioned team (Broadway set designer, firefighter, NJ Police Officer, Wall Street executive, educator, AA 767 pilot and Enduring Freedom Veteran) affirmed that preserving the historical WTC steel edifice is paramount!   It is our vision to best honor the deaths of friends and colleagues killed in NY, Washington, Pennsylvania and Combat. Send a message to terrorists that we will not live in fear; and most importantly, to stand as witness to all nations and the future.   

Reminiscent to millions touched by the twisted metal of Pearl Harbor's Arizona Memorial, the 140-foot WTC skeleton transcends all cultures and tells our story of unity, strength and resolution.  The images of the WTC steel debris pierced the hearts of 5-billion people.  In addition to the WTC slurry wall, it is our sincere wish to reassemble and back light the only material that survived this epicenter.

Unfortunately in the crisis following 9/11, almost all of the 10,000 WTC beams were removed and melted for scrap.  Fewer than 100 sections are saved/available.  These original columns would therefore commence at the base with new steel completing the full tower.  From West Avenue, a modern sculptural wall stands frozen in time; but on closer detail, individuals from around the world can pay homage by touching the (painted) twisted beams. Throughout the GZ complex and around Lower Manhattan, framed Glass panels would overlay the original 1,367' WTC skyscraper image against the surviving GZ Memorial Steel.

Honor Wall etched in WTC Glass e

Three thousand names are etched on blue-tinted WTC glass walls facing the steel fragments. By incorporating the skyscraper glass element, hundreds of flowers and thirty rows of names are visible from both sides.  A white canopy floats over the hallowed ground to protect the Names, 9/11 Museum entrance, and guests from inclement weather.  As we descend into the Museum, visitors continue to see shadows of people, touching the names (in reverse), against the 140' Steel tower.

Voice for the Victims - 82-Bell Carillon

Throughout centuries, bells have been the universal voice for freedom, celebration and loss.  Let's host in true Manhattan style, the world's largest, 100-ton, manual carillon –  of unprecedented seven octaves.  Each bell represents a nation that lost a citizen in the WTC tragedy. In consultation with World Peace Bell, Verdin Foundry (one of the oldest family business in America), NY area representative Scott Edgell, Schulmerich Carillons, and the North American Guild of Carillonneurs, 120 harmonically-paired bells (totaling over 100 tons), would chime quarterly and offer live performances for public ceremonies and celebrations.   During anniversary ceremonies, 9/11 family members and distinguished guests may individually toll the 42,000-pound base bell.  This 11-ft diameter bell is mounted at waist level, between the two WTC corner columns. Its extraordinary size and placement invites visitors to touch the beautiful inscriptions.

Memorial captures the distinguished WTC shape

WTC Faces on 140' Steel Tower - the only thing that survived the GZ inferno

Three thousand prisms, placed in within the “windows” of the 19-story wall, symbolize the lives lost. From adjacent buildings, spotlights engage the crystals; dispersing an ever-changing array of light, color and hope.

Memorial Fountain Inscription, Missing Person flyers in Museum exhibit and Reflection Pool

In the WORLD MEMORIAL center, a 30-foot diameter fountain resembles the original WTC Plaza.  Water plants form a “Fountain of Life” around several steel columns and one dome-skylight that peeks into the Visitors Center and 9/11 Educational Museum.  The dedication by WTC Architect Yamaski is inscribed, in large one-foot lettering, on the bronze fountain cap.

HOPE - a monument to world peace ...the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness... 1973 World Trade Center dedication by Minoru Yamasaki, Chief Architect, 1912 - 1986

 

WTC Footprints
This design proposal highlights both footprints.  Rising 43 feet above the Memorial Park, the southern footprint becomes a monolith, amplifying the distinguished WTC octagon shape.  The Memorial, Visitors Center, 9/11 Museum, Contemplation Area, Education Center and Remains are embodied within these hallowed grounds. 
 
Visitors Center and 9/11 Museum
Wide pedestrian ramp, elevators and a bank of four escalators descend 24-feet below the Memorial Level to the 60,000 sq-ft Visitors Center housed within Southern Footprint.  50 Exhibits (in chronological order), original artwork, huge 40-foot WTC model, 911-seat (multi-use) auditorium, Observation Deck simulators, artifacts, 9/11 family treasures, and interactive kiosks invite you to journey the extraordinary thirty-year WTC history. Contrasting floors of black granite, full-length murals, and slide shows present vitality of America, WTC glory and former tenants.  Acceding to 9/11 family wishes, professional tributes are presented, in addition to the main Honor Roll, for 343 Fire Fighters, 137 Law Enforcement Officers, 184 Pentagon personnel, Aircrew, Passengers, survivors, rescue workers and all who supported us in our darkest hour.

On descent within into the 9/11 Museum, visitors can touch the relief called Texture of Terror.  It is a cross-section of devastation, where rescue workers uncovered 12 stories of warped 18” beams, desk shards, and debris “pancaked” into the space of just twenty feet.  Markers identify each WTC floor. 

9/11 Families' Retreat & Journey of Healing
By private entrance, a secluded room offers simplicity, classical art, comfortable lounge chairs, and many fresh flowers.  This spiritual room for Families, friends and dignitaries is strategically placed one floor above ground-level, within Libeskind's Freedom Tower. From tall windows that overlook the panoramic view, a family member can whisper the name of their loved one - and across the Memorial Promenade - that name will glow.  With a simplicity of light, family members and the public are immediately bonded to this ethereal effect. 

Children's Nursery dedicated to the 3,251 children who lost a parent that day

Ashes
Within the heart of the first building to fall, a cylindrical stained-glass wall encircles a sacred room within a room.  Water and a curtain of light embrace the Remains of the Unknown that rests upon a marble pedestal in the center of this safe-haven.  Visitors contemplate from quiet benches; eyes gazing up toward the huge WTC beams that willow through the water-coated skylight.

Contemplation Area for an International Audience
The damaged Sphere (by Fritz Koenig) rests in the Grass-Block® courtyard (North footprint). Two hundred International flags form an audience to the damaged symbol of world peace, displaying colors three-story high in proper UN protocol. 82 flagpoles present a bronze “ribbon” commemorating citizens killed from each respective country. Etched on the glazed wall are photographs, flowers and letters posted from Missing Persons' Boards displaying loss, despair and hopelessness.  Visitors may touch the notices, photographs and artifacts left days after the tragedy. 

Education Center… Going beyond 9/11
Visitors may choose a journey post 9/11 within the 30,000 Sq-ft Education Center, located on the lowest level; lectures, hands-on exhibits and survivor testimonials (i.e. Robert Santando, Windows of the World Supervisor) examine hatred , ignorance and intolerance that have spanned the globe since written history.  Supplementing worldwide school programs, this medium is a remarkable tool for our future generations.

3D Animation by Matt Jackson (Memorial Concept) Final animation sequence would include: Freeform 360' orbit of the WORLD MEMORIAL; swoops down to the Memorial Mall, around the reflecting pool, HOPE sculpture and "Wall of Whispers," and proceeds down the ramp, "Texture of Terror" exhibit and into the Museum lobby  Within the WORLD MEMORIAL Visitors Center lobby, we see NYC exhibits, 9/11 Memorial Museum and Sanctuary Room with WTC remains of the unknown, and look up to view the skylight & WTC steel overhead After passing through the auditorium, we descent to Education Center and stroll by the Art Galleries, Bookstore and Nursery, through the Park to the North Footprint Contemplation Wall, Sphere and International Flags. On finish, we soar high above the memorial and New WTC.