Nine Eleven Memorial: A Memorial Built in Tears
11 September 2001; One of the most significant dates in the history of human civilization. The day is marked in red on the calendar page, which clearly divides the time of the 21st century. The day is known to all as Nine-Eleven or 9/11. Its location is one of the most horrific building accidents in America and the world. A memorial and museum, later known as the Nine Eleven Memorial or World Trade Center Memorial, was built on the same site to commemorate the deaths of nearly 3,000 innocent people.
Three years after 9/11, in 2004 a memorial was erected at the accident site in memory of the victims, the design of which was selected through a competition. Out of about 5,000 architects’ designs, the judges chose an unknown, unfamiliar architect named Michael Arad. Architect Michael Arad called the event one of the most significant events of his life. Because, while implementing this design, he got a chance to know New York City in a new way. Construction began in 2006 and was opened to the public in 2011.
The 9/11 Memorial has two parts, one a memorial and the other a museum. The museum is completely underground. If one visits this memorial, only the entrance will be visible on the ground and the rest will be covered with trees. The building that is built on the ground to enter the museum is actually an exhibition room or pavilion. Another architect, Peter Walker, designed the entire site landscape with Michael Arad.
Architect Arad was near the scene at the time of the tragic 2001 incident. From the roof of another building, he saw how the second plane came and hit the building on the south side. After the incident, Arad dreamed of building a memorial at the site, so a month later, he sketched some of his designs. Where one of the main ingredients was water. Today, even after implementing that design, the predominance of water is more visible there. In a visitor’s mind, this monument is an excellent example of how an architect can reflect his thoughts. In Ara’s own language,
” I am deeply moved by the way people now see New York at the center of this incident. I wanted to find an answer. To me, this construction is a refinement. ”
The Memorial site is one of the most important commercial sites in New York. The memorial is even more eye-catching due to many tall buildings in the vicinity. Like a small piece of jungle in a busy city! There are about 400 oak trees covering half of the 16 acres. And the memorial is located right where the Twin Towers were located. Although there are no buildings, there are two huge quadrangular holes surrounded by black marble, and at eight o’clock, water cascades down into them. The names of each of the slain people are engraved on the bronze panel on the marble. About the thinking behind the design, Arad said:
” The two voids are the void that has been created by the disappearance of thousands of innocent people. This void will never be filled, so the void will never be filled even in the flowing water. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ To be No. ”
Architect Arad erected a model on the roof of his house according to his initial thoughts. Later, when the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation ( LMDC ) announced the design competition, he put his ideas into action and won the competition. But when he started working, he noticed that some of the designs by another architect, Daniel Liebskind, did not fit his thinking. Liebskind designed the underground part, where the entire memorial was underground. Although Arad praised the other parts of his design, he could not accept it. However, adhering to this design was one of the prerequisites for the competition.
” This part seems to me to be a place of restraint and isolation. As far as I know New York, my experience is that public place is very important in the life of the people of New York. _ _ _ The other Be able to stand side by side. Where you will feel sociality and friendship, which will make you brave. After that horrible attack came a time of unity, which was extremely beautiful. For a very short time, however, it could unite the whole world. “
Arad, therefore, changed the design of Libeskind. Keeping in mind the importance of the public place, he built a huge plaza for New Yorkers in place of the memorial, with the two holes at the heart of it. Which was once the foot of the famous ‘World Trade Center.’ Arad’s actual design includes a gallery just below these two eight-acre holes for visitors. There, the waterfall’s water will fall on the body engraved with the names of the dead, just like the life after death. Again, when the visitors come upon the ground, on the level of the road, in the language of Ara, it is like ‘getting back to new life. However, he had to face a challenge when this design part was completely canceled due to security reasons.
A difficult task for Ara was to compile, sort and engrave the victims’ names. It took several years to prepare the list with the help of the authorities and the victims’ families. Who was killed first in the face of the attack, who was next, who was where and who were relatives and acquaintances of each other – it was a difficult task to re-incorporate them into the design. According to Arad,
” Most monks had a fear of fermentation. Many were giving a lot of nonsense. But I’m grateful to the Memorial Foundation and its head and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg . “
Arad was finally able to successfully complete this difficult task with the help of the Memorial Foundation.
Another challenge for Michael Arad was to meet world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava. In the same place, Calatrava designed the ‘World Trade Center Transit Hub,’ which is scheduled to open in 2015. Calatrava designed some ‘skylights’ at his underground station, which, when built, were easily visible from the memorial and looked like part of the memorial.
To Arad, the skylight was so intense that it virtually destroyed the design of his memorial. He sought the mayor’s intervention in resolving the issue, and he met with Kalatrav in person several times. He suggested to Kalatrava that he reduce the skylight and borrows Calatrava’s design to understand and show for himself how his memory would retain its identity in the event of a change. Calatrava later changed his design at Ara’s suggestion. Although Michael Arad is no bigger architectural figure than Santiago Calatrava, and he could have ignored Arad’s offer if he had wanted to, he did not. In this regard, Calatrava said,
” I understand the importance of this special place. It’s more important to have a memorial here than the station I designed. ”
Let’s end with a part of Michael Arad’s speech at the opening ceremony of the 9/11 Memorial. He showed two pictures. One shows a man standing with his hand on the name of his loved one engraved in the memorial, and the other shows two little girls playing in the plaza.
” It’s a stage where the necessary scenes, equipment, lighting are all there, all that is needed is an actor. Visitors to the memorial are the actors who will breathe life into this dead place. These two pictures were taken on the same day, and now it’s time to move on. , These two Events happen together, just like the way two pictures are side by side. “