THE TWIN TASKS OF THE MEMORIAL
REMEMBERING THE PAST
IMAGINING THE FUTURE
Ground Zero is the turning point of our times. As the turning point it must memorialize the
tragic and horrific ending to the lives of many noble individuals, and a way of life, and it
must inspire the beginning of a new sense of the future and the role each individual soul
plays in shaping our world. A visit to Ground Zero should be both a passive reflective and
commemorative event and it also should be a profound, moving and dynamic experience,
leaving the heart and soul of every visitor altered and awakened with new meaning and
purpose.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE DESIGN
Three elements of this design focus on the past: The Circle of Remembrance, The
Islands of Contemplation and The Wall of Gratitude. These elements work in the
human soul to acknowledge and heal grief, horror and anger. They also encourage
gratitude for all the love, warmth and unselfish effort living in the human soul.
Two elements have been designed to support the imagination of the future: The Twin
Arches of the Future and The Walk to Peace. A visit to Ground Zero must mirror the
flow of the human heart ... moving from grief and sorrow to hope. The life stories of many
who perished were filled with courageous dreams for the future. Appropriately, these two
elements symbolize those dreams.
WE REMEMBER
The Circle of Remembrance
Physical Description:
The Resting Place of the Unidentified Remains is a tall circular building
(50'dia 22'h). Its exterior is polished black granite.The exterior is unmarked except for one word: REMEMBER,
engraved on the surface facing the main entrance. The building's roof is a hanging garden
surrounding The Sphere, the damaged sculpture from the WTC Plaza. Six freestanding walls
(18' high x 22 ' wide), also of polished black granite, encircle the Resting Place. The names of all who
died are engraved in alphabetical order on the exterior side of each wall. Twelve viewing
benches, separated by trees in planters, surround the perimeter of the circle. The main access
to the Circle is on the east side. The entire Plaza is paved in a circular pattern radiating out
from the Circle of Remembrance.
Symbolism and Emotional Impact:
REMEMBER
- this word, carved large in the polished black granite of the Resting Place of the Unidentified Remains,
is the first experience of visitors to the memorial as they walk into the plaza. Coming down to the memorial site from
September 11 Place, the visitor walks under the Walk to Peace and the Twin Arches of the
Future and immediately faces the symbol of the individual lives lost. It is sacred remembrance.
Through the damaged sculpture, the black granite, the number of names, the radiating circles
in the plaza paving, the central significance of the loss of human life through the terrorist
attacks becomes evident and remembered.
The Footprints and the Islands of Contemplation
Physical Description:
Each footprint is a reflecting pool. Within each pool is an island (130 ' dia) reached by a ramp.
The island is a place of quiet contemplation where visitors may
walk and sit on the island boundary wall. Centered in each island is a raised circular area
oriented and made private by a protective curved wall of polished pink granite and a hedge
with additional planting. These raised circular areas have gated entrances and serve as private
places for the families and loved ones of the victims. The mourners will be able to sit on a
bench and look out over a small reflecting pool to the Circle of Remembrance and the slurry
wall behind it.
Symbolism and Emotional Impact:
The footprints remind the visitors of the devastating
destruction of the Twin Towers and the tragic loss of life. Surrounded by water, the universal
symbol and force of healing and renewal, visitors and families will find quiet moments to recall
the horror of 9/11 and to find some inner solace in the place where the towers stood. Even if
unoccupied, the private sanctuaries for the loved ones of the victims remind all visitors to
embrace those dear to them.
The Wall of Gratitude
Physical Description:
A significant surface along the south wall of the memorial is reserved for
a 20' high x 150' long bas-relief sculpture acknowledging the devotion and commitment of all
those whose efforts were given so generously in the aftermath of 9/11. A raised garden for
seasonal planting, is at the foot of the sculpture. The bas-relief wall serves as the background
for the public ceremonies held at the site.
Symbolism and Emotional Impact:
The deeds of devotion - from noble acts of heroism and
days of intense labor to simple gestures of comfort at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and in
Pennsylvania - demonstrated the goodness of the human spirit. The bas-relief sculpture
element of the memorial is where visitors will experience a sense of gratitude for the generous
spirit of all those who gave their heartfelt efforts to rescuing, rebuilding and renewal.
WE IMAGINE
The Twin Arches of the Future
Physical description:
The Twin Arches' conjoined parabolic forms are made from the
recovered steel of the Twin Towers. 
They soar to a height of ten stories above Ground Zero
Plaza. From the apex hangs a dramatic new sculpture of the world that above the crossing
point of the Walk to Peace.
Symbolism and Emotional Impact:
Twin Arches of the Future fabricated from the steel of the
Twin Towers supporting the New World symbolize the courageous fulfillment of hope. The
New World sculpture reflects the damaged Sphere and represents the connection between past
and future. It brings the questions "What is possible? What needs to change? What will be
different? " to the visitor.
The Walk to Peace
the dynamic and participatory element of the memorial
Physical Description:
The Walk is shaped in the form of the infinity symbol and slopes from
the low point of 10' above the Plaza on the west side of the North Tower footprint to the high
point of 45' above the Plaza on the west side of the South Tower footprint. The 1300' walk
loops around each Island of Contemplation. The support columns of the Walk of varying
heights rise out of the footprint pools and The circle of Imagination. The walkway, 20'wide,
has sculpted sides and is paved from rocks and minerals gathered from every country in the
world. The Walk is accessed either by stairs or elevators found at the Circle of Imagination.
The visitor enters the Walk near the crossing point and walks down to the lower level at the
North Tower, and then begins the climb to the high point at the South Tower. The walker
then moves toward the waterfall and down to the entry/exit level. At a slow contemplative pace
it will take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete the full distance. The Walk can
accommodate 50,000 walkers in 12 hours.
Symbolism and Emotional Impact:
Viewed from the Ground Zero Plaza, the street or from
Freedom Tower the Walk to Peace fills the imagination with awe. The curving horizontal form
balances the vertical angularity of the surrounding buildings. Its role at the memorial is to
move the visitor from quiet contemplation to dynamic purposeful activity.
The walking path moves down to the low point below street level, and into the shadows created
by the cultural center over the North Tower footprint, symbolizing the death and darkness of
9//11 and the past. From this low point, filled with the mood of loss and terror, the walker
now begins the challenge of the gently rising Walk to Peace É the upward path the world must
now take. Seeking a way to world peace calls for perseverance and devotion of the spirit ... just
as this walk calls for determination and strength from the walker.
The climb is encouraged by
the growing light and openness of the plaza along with the healing sounds of the waterfall. On
reaching the high point on the walker is now two stories above the hustle of daily street life.
Turning toward the waterfall the walker begins the return to where the walk began. The ease
of the downward slope allows for reflection on the Walk's experience and the insights relating
the committed will of the individual to world peace. The walker leaves the Walk to Peace with
the awareness that the souls of those whose deaths are memorialized here call out for a new
courage and a new devotion to peace worldwide and in each individual's daily life.
THE MEMORIAL'S ROLE IN LOWER MANHATTAN
Because this design brings, not just reverence for the tragedy of the attacks of 9/11 and 1993,
but also the deep sense of the universally desirable future of peace, it appeals to all. Many
individuals resistant to the pain of the past will come to experience the positive empowerment
found in the Walk to Peace. "Taking the Walk " will become a highlight of every visitor's trip to
NYC. This broad appeal expands the number of visitors to the memorial site and increases the
retail activity and cultural participation in all of Lower Manhattan. Potential tenants for the
office and retail space increase for identical reasons.
CONCLUSION
This simple and elegant design for the World Trade Center Memorial enriches all aspects of the
human soul: ideas and images, feelings and longings, possibilities and intentions. No matter
what your age, your nationality, or your religious belief, the time spent at this world sacred
site will stir your heart. The five elements provide the living experience of the mysteries that
the individual and the world are one; that past and future meet in the present; and that good
must redeem evil. The design evokes the power of the sacred and transformative, and
establishes quiet moods of reflection and inspiration in the major center of global economic
activity. It's dramatic scale balances World Trade Center's size and location. And finally, it
fulfills the twin tasks of healing the grieving heart and imagining the world's future.
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