The only cool ‘memorial’ would have been to rebuild the twin towers, only higher. Kind of a “fuck you” to terrorism.
I think that’s a dumb idea. You have to treat it seriously, and more importantly, you should look into addressing what their beef is with you. They aren’t doing it for fun, there’s a motive. I’m sure they don’t enjoy hating America, and I’m sure America doesn’t enjoy being afraid for their lives. The last thing that should be done is flipping your enemies the bird.
you should look into addressing what their beef is with you
We already know what their beef is. We’re not a Muslim nation, we’re free, our women dress how they want (plus vote, work, and do other things besides stay under their husband’s control) and we’re richer than shit, and they’re pissed off about it. Their attitude deserves a hearty “fuck you” and I think rebuilding the towers even taller than they were would be awesome. The 9/11 terrorists are dead. The towers should come back, taller than ever, proudly overlooking the ground in which the terrorists are rotting.
I’m sure they don’t enjoy hating America
Funny. I’d say they do. There were more than a few people dancing in the streets on September 11th upon hearing that the owers collapsed, and they weren’t frowning while they did it.
Well, the problem with the Garden of Lights is that it’s not static. It costs money and it wears out. Twenty years from now, it’ll look like crap.
As for rebuilding the Towers… the problem is rentable space. People weren’t that interested in renting all that space beforehand, unfortunately. It’d be a big white elephant on the real estate market and just drag prices down.
I kinda liked the Hanging Votives one, as well as the Garden of Lights.
Upon seeing all the finalists, it seems as though the jury picked the ugliest one. Maybe the changes will make a big difference, though.
I like it. I think some of the other finalists may have focused too much on the actual folks that died in the attack instead of recognizing that we were all attacked and we all experienced loss that day.
I liked this one best.
First off, it’s more than a bunch of names, which is getting to be an old concept. It was meaningful for the Vietnam memorial because it was the first time that the sheer amount of death involved in a war- without reference to glory- was portrayed in a memorial. But nowadays it seems like a bunch of names is the only way to make a monument, and the concept has lost it’s impact and meaning.
Second off, it acknowledges so many parts of the event. It addresses both the people and the buildings and the feeling of loss throughout the nation. And it does this all at the same time in a coherent way. Theres no “offering paths” or special light shows or other flighty gimmicks. Its more than an amalgamation of semi connected high-concept ideas that in fifty years are basically going to be “a path” and “a stream” and “a bunch of names”. It’s a good solid memorial, one that’ll last through the ages.
Plus, it sounds really cool- it’s not often we get to look at anything vaguly resembling infinity. The sense of space and time sounds like it will be amazing to see, and also truely relevent (unlike, say, an apple orchard). I like how it evokes the towers, provides a quiet space to contemplate them and try to understand what happens, memorializes the victims and provides one simple, time honored, thing to do (light a candle).
Why do most architects seem to be trapped in the 70s and early 80s??
This reminded me of Ward Sutton’s idea in the Village Voice: two towers shaped like human arms, with the middle fingers as antennae.
I think this design is great. I don’t see what the outcry over it is. It’s simple, clean, quiet, solitary, reflective. It’s nothing gaudy or grandiose about it. I think this is how memorials should be; well-designed and clean without drawing too much attention to themselves. It seems a perfect environment to reflect on the 9/11 tragedy, and is full of traditional and universal symbols of life and hope.
The lights design with the inscribed altars? That one didn’t sit well with me. It seemed too gimmicky to me, trying to be overly clever. For me, that design drew too much attention to itself, and not enough attention to the tragedy and memory of the victims.
For me, I can’t think of a more poignant, more tasteful, more appropriate tribute to lost ones than two shimmering pools of water at the base of where the twin towers once stood.
The alternative is attaching idiotic blue glowy lights to everything, a la Star Trek. Frankly, I’d take the '70s over that any day.
I don’t think that one thing excludes the other. You will never be able to change the sort of people that did this, you can only prevent more people from becoming like them.
Obviously there are a lot of people, like SnoopyFan, who don’t understand what the conflict is about, and that is the real problem as far as the US side of the conflict goes. I don’t think any kind of memorial will change that, hopefully the debate will magically shift from stupid catch-phrases (They hate us because we are free!) to a nuansced and non-partisan debate. This will probably happen just after I marry Julia Roberts and IFK Norrköping wins Champions League.
Obviously there’s only one thing to do. We must bring every human being on the face of the planet together for a conference on the World Trade Center Memorial (including Osama bin Laden, who lost some friends in the disaster as well) and then we should keep coming up with new ideas until we find one that everybody agrees is moving and appropriate. Anyone can veto a design for any reason, including “I like to say that things suck, because it gives me a chance to show people how cool and cynical I am.” Also, I think that all other human endeavors should cease until the memorial is completed. After all, nothing remotely like 9-11 has ever happened before in the history of the world, at least not to me, so this must take precedence. Never forget.
posted by NYR407 *
**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. **
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That’s what I was thinking - and I thought they were so pretty at night, and they really anchored Downtown, made clear that there are two Manhattan business districts. I miss them! 
But the memorial should be fine. And I, for one, do not wish to ever in my life recapture the horror of that day.