The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced last week that it received 5,200 submissions from 62 nations and 49 states for the World Trade Center Memorial Competition, making it the largest design competition in history. The competition, which the LMDC is administering, was created to select a memorial to honor the victims of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"We had expected significant interest in the memorial competition, but this response has been extraordinary. It underscores the strong feelings of not only artists, designers, and architects, but, more importantly, men and women of all ages around the globe who may not be professionals but wished to participate in this most important undertaking,” says LMDC Chairman John C. Whitehead. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin, held the previous record, attracting 1,421 entries in 1981. Applicants were required to mail their designs to a warehouse where they were checked for anthrax, chemical agents, and explosives before being shipped to a second, undisclosed location where the jury will review them, Newsday reported. The only state that was not represented was Alaska.

Proposals will now be evaluated by a 13-member memorial jury, composed of Lin; Enrique Norton, Assoc. AIA; Michael Van Valkenburgh, AIA; other artists; a family member; a Lower Manhattan resident and business owner; representatives of New York Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and other arts and cultural professionals. The jury will evaluate the proposals in a two-stage process based on how well each design expresses the mission statement and program of the competition guidelines, according to the LMDC. During the first stage, members of the jury will review anonymous submissions. For the second stage, finalists will be asked to develop their design proposals further, which the LMDC will reveal to the public while the jury continues deliberations. A final design is expected by this fall.

New agreement on downtown rebuilding
While the memorial competition continues, rebuilding officials entered talks with architect and World Trade Center site planner Daniel Libeskind and developer Larry Silverstein to determine how much control each will have over the details of the design as the projects go forward. After a nearly eight-hour meeting, Libeskind and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Silverstein’s architect, agreed to collaborate on the design and construction of the 1,776-foot “Freedom Tower” that was a signature element of Libeskind’s original site plan. David M. Childs, FAIA, a consulting partner with SOM and Silverstein’s architect for other trade center office space, including 7 World Trade Center, will lead the collaboration, according to a statement issued by Childs, Silverstein, and Libeskind and released through the LMDC.

Childs and SOM will serve as the design architect and project manager, leading a team that will design Libeskind’s signature tower, which will be the first commercial building to be constructed at the site. Libeskind will serve as a collaborating architect during the concept- and schematic-design phases of the project and will act as a member of the project team.

“This collaboration will facilitate the development of the Freedom Tower in a manner consistent with the Libeskind vision,” according to the statement. “We are confident that SOM and SDL [Studio Daniel Libeskind] will produce a world-class icon in the Lower Manhattan skyline and a powerful symbol of out nation’s resilience in the aftermath of tragedy,” it said.

Libeskind is under contract with the LMDC to develop space for the memorial and under contract with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the train station. CNN reported that he will now enter into a third contract with Silverstein Properties for the tower.

“It is a historic development that two architects at this level are willing to work together in this way,” Kevin Rampe, LMDC president, told The New York Times. Not all the details have been hammered out, including the final look and site of the tower and other buildings on the site.

Arts groups seek space in new downtown venue
In the meantime, a variety of arts and cultural groups has answered the LMDC’s call to occupy a new cultural center that the agency plans to build at Ground Zero. Crain’s New York Business reports that the proposals, “from institutions ranging from off-Broadway theaters to museums, have responded to the LMDC’s recent request for formal expressions of interest from cultural groups that wish to be a part of the site.” Crain’s says that more than 10 well-known New York arts and cultural institutions are working on submissions, as are a number of startups, such as an international children’s center.

—Tracy F. Ostroff

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