Frederic Schwartz, AIA, on July 6 was named the architect for the New Jersey September 11 Memorial, to be located at the water’s edge in Liberty State Park opposite the World Trade Center site. A design jury of 11 family members and New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey announced the decision at Victory Theater of New Jersey Performing Arts Center in downtown Newark. McGreevey spoke of the “common purpose” arising from the legacies of the nearly 700 New Jersey residents lost and introduced Schwartz as “an architect of incredible vision, thought, and majesty.” Schwartz described the design, called “Empty Sky,” as “remembering those lost while simply and powerfully connecting the New Jersey community to Ground Zero.”

Two parallel brushed stainless steel walls define the memorial, both 30-feet-high by 200-feet long, with the length of each wall exactly equal to one side of the Twin Towers. The architects note that the design calls for a grid of ¼-inch-thick, marine-grade stainless-steel plates, set 16 feet apart. The highly-reflective stainless steel will recall how the World Trade Center captured constantly changing light. “When experiencing this dramatic space,” the architect notes, “visitors see reflections in the brushed stainless steel walls, Ground Zero, and the Empty Sky.”

Individual names, in 3 ¾-inch-high type, will be engraved deep enough on each wall for hand rubbing. A two-foot-high space at the base of each wall offers an area in which visitors can leave items of remembrance.

The pathway created between the two walls is level with the adjoining Liberty State Park esplanade but cuts through a gently sloping berm, planted with dogwoods and violets, New Jersey’s state flower. Dogwood groves help screen tall buildings, a southern grove sets the site apart from the train station, and the eastern grove shields the memorial from the parking area. A northern grove shelters the two steel beams from the World Trade Center site and provides a contemplative environment. The sculpted landscape is ADA compliant.

Along with Jessica Jamroz of Frederic Schwartz Architects, the project team included Landscape Architect Ken Smith, Lighting Consultant Kenneth Douglas of Illumination Arts, ARUP for structural and electrical engineering, and Frank J. Sciame Construction for cost and construction consultation. Jury professional advisors included Nikki Stern, director of Families of September 11th, and AIA New York Chapter Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA.

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