Reflecting Absence - World Trade Center Site Memorial

The design of the 9/11 Memorial was selected through an international design competition that attracted over 5,200 entrants from 63 nations. Michael Arad won the competition in 2004, and joined Handel Architects as a Partner shortly after. The Memorial site is a public space for meditation and contemplation, centered around two reflecting pools that sit in the footprints of the original World Trade Center Towers. Lining the perimeter of each fountain is a parapet of victims’ names, arranged and inscribed according to a system of “meaningful adjacencies.” The pools are clad in Jet Mist granite, and the names panels are made of bronze that has been treated with a ferric based patina. At night, the names are illuminated from within. The fountains rest within a new plaza that acts as a sacred ground for those coming to honor the victims, while also integrating the Memorial into the surrounding city.