On September 11, 2001, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 courageously gave their lives thwarting a planned attack on our nation’s capital. Some 500 yards from the site of their crash in Somerset County, Pa., will be built the Flight 93 National Memorial, a permanent tribute to the heroes on that plane. The Flight 93 National Memorial Project Partners (the Families of Flight 93, Flight 93 Advisory Commission, Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, and National Park Service) announced on September 8 a two-stage competition to design the permanent memorial.

The Flight 93 National Memorial will be created through a two-stage international design competition. Stage I is open to professional designers and laypersons. A jury of design professionals, family members, and partners will select finalists, who will be invited to produce detailed designs for Stage II. A second jury will review these designs and recommend a design for submittal to the Secretary of the Interior and Congress by September 2005.

The consultant team of Don Stastny and Helene Fried will administer the competition through the project Web site. Registration information was placed online September 11. Registered participants will receive by mail the printed official competition manual and other information pertaining to the competition. The manual includes the mission statement that defines the guiding principles for the memorial and describes stories that should be told through the design or in accompanying visitor facilities. The manual also provides the design principles, required programmatic elements, and rules of the competition.

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