The World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was an open, international memorial contest, initiated by the

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in November 2001, following the September 11 attacks, to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan. ...

(LMDC) according to the specifications of the architect

Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...

, to design a memorial for the

World Trade Center site The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground zero#World Trade Center, Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounde ...

(later renamed the

National September 11 Memorial & Museum The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

) at the under-construction

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The competition began April 28, 2003 and the winner—

Michael Arad Michael Arad (Hebrew: מיכאל ארד) is an Israeli-American architect who is best known for being the designer of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. He won the competition to design the memorial in 2004. Early life and education ...

and Peter Walker's '' Reflecting Absence''—was revealed January 14, 2004, in a press conference at

Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Hall is a historic building at 26 Wall Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The current Greek Revival–style building, completed in 1842 as the Custom House, is operated by the National Park Service as a nati ...

. The contest garnered 5,201 entries from 63 nations and 49 U.S. states, out of 13,683 registrants from all 50 U.S. states and 94 nations, making it the largest design competition in history.

History

On March 5, 2002,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

, and the

(LMDC) jointly announced plans for an interim memorial to the victims of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in 2001 and the

1993 World Trade Center bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...

that happened on February 26 that year. On January 2, 2003, LMDC and

Port Authority In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...

announced that a series of public meetings would take place to discuss a future World Trade Center Site Memorial. The Selection Jury for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition were announced on April 10. The Competition began on April 28, when the

Guidelines A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. A guideline aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. Guidelines may be issued by and used by any organization (governmental or pri ...

were released, Registration was opened. The LMDC accepted questions from competitors between April 28 and May 18, which were answered on its website on May 23 and removed at the end of the competition. Potential entrants were given until May 29 to register for the stated purpose of gauging the volume of entires. On May 15, the LMDC announced that it had received registrants from all 50 US states and 70 other nations; on May 30, the LMDC announced that 13,683 competitors had registered from 94 nations. Submissions were accepted from registered entrants between June 9 and 30. On July 17, the LMDC announced that 5,201 submissions had been received, representing competitors from 49 U.S. states and 63 nations. The LMDC displayed the 8 finalists in the

Winter Garden A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime. History The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtro ...

on November 19. On January 6, 2004, the Selection Jury named the " Reflecting Absence" by

and Peter Walker as the winning design, which was displayed publicly January 14. On February 19, 2004, all 5,201 entries on its website were made available on the LMDC's website. On April 8, the LMDC announced the creation of an Advisory Committee to ensure that the Competition Guidelines are incorporated into the final design, which had undergone revision since January 14. On April 13, the LMDC announced that associate architect

Davis Brody Bond Davis Brody Bond is an American architectural firm headquartered in New York City, New York, with additional offices in Washington, DC and São Paulo, Brazil. The firm is named for Lewis Davis, Samuel Brody, and J. Max Bond Jr. and is le ...

would assist Arad and Walker with their final design. The online searchable archive of entries still exist

now under the auspices of the Memorial/Museum. The archive has only been reviewed in its entirety once for research 11memorialvisions.com

Guidelines

There were five required "program elements": * Recognize each individual who was a victim of the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 attacks * Provide an area for quiet visitation and contemplation * Provide an area for the families and loved ones of victims * Provide a separate accessible space to serve as the final resting-place for the unidentified remains from the World Trade Center Site * Make visible the footprints of the original World Trade Center Towers In addition, entrants were expected to conform to the following "guiding principles": * Embody the goals and spirit of the mission statement * Convey the magnitude of personal and physical loss at this location * Acknowledge all those who aided in rescue, recovery, and healing * Respect and enhance the sacred quality of the overall site and the space designed for the memorial * Encourage reflection and contemplation * Evoke the historical significance of the worldwide impact of September 11, 2001 * Create an original and powerful statement of enduring and universal symbolism * Inspire and engage people to learn more about the events and impact of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 * Evolve over time Entries were examined by "LMDC staff" prior to jury review to determine whether they met the competition requirements. Although the Jury was allowed to review the list of ineligible submissions, the LMDC itself was to make the final determination.

Selection jury

The jury was selected by the LMDC in consultation with the mayor and governor. It consisted mostly of architects and artists but also individuals with other affiliations: * Susan K. Freedman, President of the

Public Art Fund Public Art Fund is an independent, non-profit arts organization founded in 1977 by Doris Freedman, Doris C. Freedman. The organization presents contemporary art in New York City's public spaces through a series of highly visible artists' projects, n ...

Vartan Gregorian Vartan Gregorian; fa, وارتان گرگوریان (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Armenian-American academic, educator, and historian. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021. An Armenian born in Ira ...

, PhD, President of the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

of New York *

Patricia Harris Patricia Harris (born September 1, 1956) is the chief executive officer of Michael Bloomberg's philanthropic foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies. She was first deputy mayor for the City of New York from 2002 to December 31, 2013. She advised the ...

, Deputy Mayor for Administration for the City of New York *

Maya Lin Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...

, artist/architect, winner of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Design Competition * Michael McKeon, Governor Pataki's Director of Communications, the Governor's chief liaison on September 11 issues to City Hall and family groups *

Julie Menin Julie Menin (born October 6, 1967) is a member of the New York City Council from District 5. Before she was elected to this position, she served as an American attorney, civil servant, non-profit executive, professor and small business owner. In ...

, President and Founder of Wall Street Rising *

Enrique Norten Enrique Norten Rosenfeld (born c. 1954), Hon. FAIA, is a Mexican architect and principal of the design firm ''TEN Arquitectos'' (Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos). Norten was born in Mexico City in 1954 where he graduated from the Universidad ...

, architect *

Martin Puryear Martin L. Puryear (born May 23, 1941) is an American artist known for his devotion to traditional craft. Working in wood and bronze, among other media, his reductive technique and meditative approach challenge the physical and poetic boundaries ...

, artist *

Nancy Rosen Nancy Rosen is an independent curator based in New York City. In 1980, she founded Nancy Rosen Incorporated, an organization which assists a broad range of government agencies, not-for-profit and academic institutions, corporations, professiona ...

, public artist *

Lowery Stokes Sims Lowery Stokes Sims (born 1949) is an American art historian and curator of modern and contemporary art known for her expertise in the work of African, African American, Latinx, Native and Asian American artists such as Wifredo Lam, Fritz Scholder, ...

, PhD, Executive Director of the Studio Museum in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

Michael Van Valkenburgh Michael Robert Van Valkenburgh (born September 5, 1951) is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France, including public parks, college campuses, sculp ...

, architect * James E. Young, PhD, Professor & Chair of the Department of Judaic & Near Eastern Studies at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. Honorary Member: *

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

philanthropist

Finalists

The jury selected 8 finalists: * Norman Lee and Michael Lewis's ''Votives in Suspension'' * Joseph Karadin and Hsin-Yi Wu's ''Suspending Memory'' * Bradley Campbell and Matthias Neumann's ''Lower Waters'' * Pierre David, Sean Corriel, and Jessica Kmetovic's ''Garden of Lights'' * Gisela Baurmann, Sawad Brooks and Jonas Coersmeier's ''Passages of Light : Memorial Cloud'' * Toshio Sasaki's ''Inversion of Light'' * Brian Strawn and Karla Sierralta's ''Dual Memory'' *

and Peter Walker's ''Reflecting Absence''

''Reflecting Absence''

and Peter Walker's ''Reflecting Absence'' consists of a field of trees interrupted by two large voids containing recessed pools, marking the footprints of the Twin Towers. The

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees (swamp white oaks) are arranged in rows, forming informal clusters, clearings and groves. The park is at street level, sitting above the Memorial Museum. The World Trade Center site is a

bathtub A bathtub, also known simply as a bath or tub, is a container for holding water in which a person or animal may bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain-enameled steel or cast iron, or fiberglass-reinforced poly ...

, as the area was excavated to construct the original World Trade Center and the earth was used to build

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the north ...

, a neighboring residential community. The names of the victims of the attacks (including those from

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

American Airlines Flight 77 American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled American Airlines domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. The Boe ...

, and

United Airlines Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in Som ...

) and the 1993 bombing are inscribed on the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

s surrounding the waterfalls, in an arrangement based on "meaningful adjacencies". A portion of the

slurry wall A slurry wall is a civil engineering technique used to build reinforced concrete walls in areas of soft earth close to open water, or with a high groundwater table. This technique is typically used to build diaphragm (water-blocking) walls surro ...

(approximately half of what

originally wanted to preserveNew York – Disappearing Act
/ref>), originally designed to hold back the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, will be maintained in the Museum.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *Levine, Lester (2016). "911 Memorial Visions: Innovative Concepts from the 2003 World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition"

External links

National September 11 Memorial & Museum official website

World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition's Official Website

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's Official Website

The Competition Guidelines

* http://911memorialvisions.com {{World Trade Center Aftermath of the September 11 attacks Architectural competitions 2003 competitions