A new exhibit at the Max Protetch Gallery in New York City featuring architects' visions of what type of memorial should rise from Ground Zero illustrates that there are as many notions about the future of the World Trade Center site as there are designers, community and government officials, and, of course, victims of terrorism to divine them.

In New York City, an official panel, the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation, is charged with helping rebuild the areas devastated by the attacks. That doesn't however, preclude others from harboring strong opinions of the shape of new development in the financial district.

Many groups, many emotions
Many different groups with varying priorities are seeking to ensure that their emotions are represented in the dialogue. Architects, through the New York New Visions coalition and individual efforts, are lending their skills and knowledge to build consensus and ensure that all voices are considered as the memorial and redevelopment process progresses. They will also help ensure that the memorials go forward in a way that is consistent with other development efforts at the site.

"We can't just go on as we are, saying people should put out whatever designs they want and hopefully one of them will resonate with someone," Frederic Bell, FAIA, executive director of the AIA New York, told the New York Times last month.

The Times reports that there are "hundreds of people in roughly a dozen ad hoc groups" who have already started "gathering in small numbers and discussing plans for a memorial." Many have complained in the press that there is no formal process, such as public hearings or events, during which they can express their preferences for the development of memorials to the victims of terrorism.

In the meantime, architecture firms across New York City are serving as gathering places for several action committees that are meeting on topics including:
• The memorial process and uses (Van Alen Institute)
• Connections (Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn Architects)
• Growth strategies, quality of life, and sustainability (Fox & Fowle)
• Cultural and historic resources (Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates)
• Liaison and communication (HLW).

New York New Visions report
The New York New Visions report is the result of the work of more than 350 architecture, engineering, planning, and design organizations and offers a series of design and planning principles for rebuilding Lower Manhattan. The organizations stress that these are recommendations and "not intended to replace the broader deliberation that will and must occur." They are solely a starting point for public decision makers and other stakeholders. The group is also working with other civic and professional organizations in New York.

The New York New Visions coalition, which acknowledges "the great urgency of the situation, recognizing that speed must be balanced with well thought-out solutions and sensitivity to many constituencies and issues," unveiled seven recommendations related to the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. The first of these proposals urges the organization of a "formal, transparent, and open" process to establish the "nature and location" of memorials as soon as possible. The recommendations urge decision-makers to "prepare for a lengthy and comprehensive memorial effort" and "establish temporary memorials during the intervening period."

Specifically, the coalition concluded that the memorials should:
• Have a mission established through a broad and inclusive process
• Offer a profound experience and significant site for remembrance, recovery, and healing
• Not be an afterthought, and a permanent memorial should be integrated into the planning and design of the entire site
• Be conceived in the context of a vital community.

City members are already planning for more temporary ways to commemorate the tragic events. For example, one of the memorial proposals from the Manhattan exhibit at the Max Protetch Gallery is two steady beams of light directed upward into the sky. This design may be incorporated as a short-term solution. Other temporary platforms have been erected for viewing areas, and about 3,000 trees—about one for every victim—will be planted in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Pentagon memorial
Efforts to remember the people who perished and the survivors of terrorism at the Pentagon are continuing down much of the same path. A temporary memorial will be erected this month, while planning for a permanent memorial, which will be spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is ongoing. Even with a smaller, more homogeneous community, memorial organizers recognize that there is a wide range of emotions on how the victims of terrorism—including hostages on American Airlines flight 77 and rescue workers—should be remembered.

A temporary memorial is proposed for inside the Pentagon, probably limiting access only to persons authorized to enter the complex. It will have windows etched with the Purple Heart and the Defense of Freedom Medals, excerpts from addresses by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and President Bush delivered at an October 11 memorial service, and a roll call of victims, including the 59 from the jetliner that crashed into the Pentagon and the 125 who perished on the ground.

Other efforts
There are of course, many individuals and organizations that will have their say in the planning process. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York Governor George E. Pataki, developer Larry Silverstein, area business leaders and residents, and victims of the terrorism are among those who have authority over the area. Prominent architects, too: MacArthur Genius Samuel Mockbee, FAIA, who died in December shortly after completing his World Trade Center proposal, imagined a deep pit into which people could descend by using a ramp. And 2002 AIA Gold Medalist Tadeo Ando, Hon. FAIA, would like to see a memorial take the form of a "circular mound covered with grass to resemble the Earth," according to the Daily Yomiuri, a Japanese publication.

An example of the way in which a dialogue is being developed in different venues and media includes the work of The Van Alen Institute, a not-for-profit architecture organization that cosponsored a poster campaign, "Time to Consider: The Arts Respond to 9.11." The organization solicited submissions by artists, poets, designers, and architects, and four ideas were selected for printing and posting around New York City. Eric Liftin of MESH Architectures, New York City, was selected for his design, "Contribute a Memory," which, the Institute says "offers an empty space where passersby can make public a private experience by writing their own memories on the posters."

Lessons for the future
Each building conceived in the aftermath of September 11 is in some ways a memorial to the fortitude of New Yorkers and to a city that could not be toppled by an unthinkable act of violence. The dialogue that develops for the memorial process may very well serve as a model for other discussions about the future of architecture design as it relates to security and urban planning. The same stakeholders who are involved in the memorial planning process will also be responsible for the design of safe and secure buildings in the future.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.