New Plan Unveiled for W.T.C. Memorial

By DAVID W. DUNLAP and CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: June 20, 2006



The names of the dead would be inscribed above ground, not around the pools below, as many of their relatives have demanded. But roaring waterfalls would still cascade into the pools, at the bottom of two enormous voids reflecting the absence of the twin towers.

The reconceived World Trade Center memorial and museum, unveiled today after weeks of anxious anticipation, tries to solve security problems, placate disaffected family members and, most of all, bring the project close to the $500 million budget cap set by Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The new plan, one of several developed by the construction executive Frank J. Sciame, would fundamentally alter a visitor's experience, while keeping many signature elements of the original design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, which was chosen in 2004 after a worldwide competition.

Mr. Sciame presented the options in a meeting last Thursday with the governor and the mayor. "Out of that, came consensus," he said. Mr. Sciame's recommendations and analysis can be found at www.renewnyc.com.

At the plaza level, visitors would find the names of all 2,979 victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Feb. 26, 1993, inscribed around the two voids. They would not have to pass through a security screening area, as they would have when the names were to be arrayed on parapets in eight memorial galleries around the two pools.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/nyregion/20cnd-memorial.html?hp&ex=1150862400&en=ba89ee19c55d3e90&ei=5094&partner=homepage

First of all, it's open access at pedestrian level, not some urban fortress. Next, it incorporates trees and human-scale accommodations. That's essential, imho. Bravo.

I like the way they have the courtyard all opened up with lots of natural growth!

As someone who used to work across the street in the World Financial Center, I like this view alot better than anything else I have seen. Very esthetically pleasing!

with half a billion? Half a billion for a memorial? Come on. A few million would be more than adequate.

if we don't do something about Global Warming.