# The winning design for the new 9/11 memeorial sucks (mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 7, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152 "2004-01-07T04:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/1 "2004-01-07T04:30:21Z")
The [winner](http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040106/D7VTJM300.html) is in…and it sucks. Two reflecting pools and some rocks. It looks like something you’d see at a mall. This is the best they could come up with after two years? Personally I liked the “Garden of Lights” idea much better. This thing is completely uninspiring, bland and unmoving. It doesn’t look like the families like it very much either. What are they thinking? ---
**Author:** ![eli\_the\_fanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ccd318/32.png) [@eli\_the\_fanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eli_the_fanatic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/2 "2004-01-07T04:49:15Z")
Public art is always compromised. The committees usually have an impossible time coming to a decision, and end up settling on something everyone dislikes the least and nobody likes best. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/3 "2004-01-07T05:19:23Z")
Art is a crock. That looks like a litter trap waiting to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/4 "2004-01-07T05:21:00Z")
Many people hated the Vietnam War memorial. Now it’s almost impossible to find people for whom it isn’t a beloved national symbol. It’s hard to judge these things. That said, it does seem pretty fucking bland and uninspired. The Vietnam War memorial worked by being blunt and stark: a single striking object THAT is minimalism. This is bland “I went to art school!” minimalism. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/5 "2004-01-07T08:04:56Z")
Ha!, you think that´s bad art? You whinny punny man, just today I saw a piece of cra… ejem art that almost made me burst an aneurism. in a corner of the Flag Square, just a few blocks of my house, it´s called The Quixote of Three Crosses (3 crosses is the name of the area) that Quixote consist of a bloody rotten trolleybus and… well, filth, grit, and dirt; that´s it. I swear I could have slapped the “artist” with a cactus if he had been there. I just found some pictures [this “artist” certainly has some nerve to put them on a website.](http://www.elsitiodemontevideo.org/troleIIII/troleIIII.html) The bottom line is, DtC, it could had been much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/6 "2004-01-07T08:40:46Z")
Personally, when deciding on memorials, they should think about what would mean something to people not even born now. Two of those options involving altars and lights representing the dead sounded way more inspired than the chosen design. And **Ale**? My condolences, mate. That is one ugly piece of wreck. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/7 "2004-01-07T09:15:42Z")
Well, I like it. But what about the Liebinkid (sp?) plans for rebuilding the towers? Are both going to happen? That was just plain f’ing ugly. And now he’s going to go do the same thing with my Denver Art Museum. A total piece of deconstructionist post-modern crap that neither meshes nor references the Gio Ponti original. I hate him. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/8 "2004-01-07T09:19:21Z")
I think it’s good: symbolic, calming, reflective. I think, when it’s finished, it will become well thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/9 "2004-01-07T09:25:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ale \* > \*\*Ha!, you think that´s bad art? You whinny punny man, just today I saw a piece of cra… ejem art that almost made me burst an aneurism. in a corner of the Flag Square, just a few blocks of my house, it´s called The Quixote of Three Crosses (3 crosses is the name of the area) that Quixote consist of a bloody rotten trolleybus and… well, filth, grit, and dirt; that´s it. I swear I could have slapped the “artist” with a cactus if he had been there. > \*\* That’s fucking atrocious. Of course the artist will no doubt argue that the reaction of people saying “That’s fucking atrocious” is _part of the exhibit_. Wank. ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/10 "2004-01-07T12:28:04Z")
I dunno, it just doesn’t _say_ anything to me. I liked the “Garden of Lights” concept much better. Yeah, and my condolences, Ale. It’s junk. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/11 "2004-01-07T12:31:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ale \* > \*\*I just found some pictures [this “artist” certainly has some nerve to put them on a website.](http://www.elsitiodemontevideo.org/troleIIII/troleIIII.html) \*\* I saw ‘art’ just like that almost every night growing up in my housing estate in NI. I guess I just didn’t appreciate the skill involved then. I was young. > [@](#): > > **But what about the Liebinkid (sp?) plans for rebuilding the towers? Are both going to happen? That was just plain f’ing ugly.** The [Libeskind design](http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/chosen/tour1.shtml) is still going ahead, although it may well also be compromised by financial considerations. Libeskind himself has been [‘removed’](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/18/wzero18.xml) as chief project architect and replaced by a corporate architect representing the interests of the land-owners. They want to move one of the towers to a location on the site a lot closer to the subway as this will increase rents for the building. It will also destroy the ‘shaft of light’ Libeskind worked into his design, where at the precise time of impact of the planes the arrangement of the buildings would produce a shaft of sunlight focussed on a specific place, meant as a permanent reminder of the day. But it looks like the money-men will win over this architectural ‘extravagance’. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/12 "2004-01-07T12:53:09Z")
I saw the design this morning, pure shit. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/13 "2004-01-07T13:21:37Z")
The notion that the groups of victims’ families “own” 9/11, and that only they are qualified to approve any memorial design, is just as ugly as the blandest public art development. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/14 "2004-01-07T14:02:23Z")
I don’t care for the design and I especially don’t care for the name “Reflecting Absence”. Everytime I see it I first read it as “Reflecting Abstinence” and I’m sure that’s not the intention. Although this from the article in the OP: > [@](#): > > The memorial drew an icy reception from victims’ families, who accused the jury of ignoring their input during a hasty deliberation and said the design **failed to convey the horror of the attack.** Maybe it’s me, but I don’t think I want to see horror and a site of rememberance. What happened was painful enough, I’d hate to see a video reenactment shown in lasers on the side of a plane to remember the horror of the attack. ymmv ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/15 "2004-01-07T14:23:34Z")
I like the idea of minimizing the “stuff” you’re looking at so your brain is clear to ponder the tragedy itself. Much like the Vietnam memorial (which brought me to tears), less is more. I vote in favor of it. The brother who claims it is unacceptable is wanting a ticker tape parade maybe? I think it’s good. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/16 "2004-01-07T14:34:33Z")
From what I’ve seen of the final approved towers design, it looks very nice. It was a compromise between Libeskind and Childs, two of the bestest architects I’ve known of. Libeskind, IIRC does some oddball angular designs, designed to look jagged and twisted. Some of his best work was the Berlin Jewish memorial museum. Odd from the outside, odd and cool on the inside. Childs is eminently more practical, and the fusion, I think, works out well. There’s an element of emotional appeal while also being a clean-lined and attractive structure. When looking at it from beyond the Statue of Liberty, it’s going to duplicate some of the visual effect of the SoLiberty. Very neat. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/17 "2004-01-07T14:41:56Z")
Maybe they should have called it “Absence of Reflection.” It’s not as bad as the tower design, though. That gridwork at the top? Looks exactly like they ran out of money and couldn’t finish the thing. What an embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/18 "2004-01-07T14:45:13Z")
Well speaking of the freedom tower, I think that 70 floors of building with a 1000 foot antenna conveys “HEY TERRORISTS YOU’VE WON!” ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/19 "2004-01-07T14:48:16Z")
I rather favor the simplicity. It’s a place for rememberance, not a horror movie. The symbolism of the water is both traditional and interesting. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152/20 "2004-01-07T14:48:16Z")
The Twin Towers themselves were once considered an ugly design. There were protests and public out cry about the design and location of the Twin Towers that it is almost inconceivable to think that NYC could have come to love as well as be defined by them. I can easily see people accepting and liking the 9/11 Mem in the years to come. No one design will please everyone but as long as you remember the tragedy and the lives lost than it has served its purpose. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-winning-design-for-the-new-9-11-memeorial-sucks-mild/223152.md?page=2)