Having been in Manhattan recently I thought I'd report on the progress of the World Trade Center site redevelopment. The two massive squares you see, which look like they would be the foundations for two new towers, will actually become two memorial pools (described below).Reflecting Absence, the design of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, was created by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, and selected from a design competition which included more than 5,200 entrants from 63 nations.
The Memorial will consist of two massive pools with waterfalls cascading down their sides, to serve as a powerful reminder of the Twin Towers and of the unprecedented loss of life from an attack on our soil. The names of the 2,980 who were killed in the September 11th attacks in New York City, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing, will be inscribed around the edge of the Memorial pools.
The WTC redevelopment plan includes:
- Five new skyscrapers (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 WTC)
- National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center
- World Trade Center Transportation Hub
- Retail Complex
- Performing Arts Center
