NEW YORK | World Trade Center Memorial & Transit Hub

[The Grand Architect]

Some rendering I made this morning:

[animatedmartian]

The entire sunrise was beautiful. At 7 AM there was a blade of sunlight over Park Row that none of the stations kept on their websites. It was beautiful to see and I don't even have HD.

These are the shots from an hour after that.


http://www.c-span.org/Events/Tenth-A...10737423980-1/




http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...of-silence.cnn

Even if the "wedge of light" thing doesn't work from 8:46 to 10:28, it's still beautiful for the sun to illuminate the site with that morning glow. (Otherwise I'd suggest making the Millenium Hotel shorter. )

[CarlosV]

DSC_2779 by Ceva321, on Flickr

[Patapsco]

September 10, 2011

[J.M.]

It's beautiful!

[Servo]

May God bless America.

[animatedmartian]

September 11 memorial opens to public
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/12/wor...html?hpt=hp_c1


Eathcam also put up a bunch of new cams.
One in particular is a straight down view into the east bathtub.


http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/...er/?cam=tower1

[marshall]

Moby Dick could swim laps in that bathtub! Anyone know when they are expected to reach the all-important 1,000 feet mark? Seems like it should be pretty soon. Given that there are still several months before NY winter sets in, hopefully those guys will make some serious progress

[IntoTheLens827]

This is cool! Whoever filmed this, THANK YOU FOR FILMING! :-) I just saw this on yotube! AWSOME

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWy4rz4kd78" target="_blank">Video Link

[Otie]

Photos by dfhdez

[WTCguy]

Great pics! Does anybody know what will happen to the actual lights that make up the tribute in light?

[Pbellamy]

Here's a few from my visit today:

[Pbellamy]

duplicate deleted

[Troubadour]

So, how would folks who've been to the memorial describe the energy of the place? Is it positive and affirming, or depressing like a sepulchre?

[dwntwnr]

This is my first post (though I've been following since 2003!)

I went to the memorial at sunset last night. I think it strikes a very interesting balance between hope & loss. The first thing I noticed was the quality of materials used for every element of it. I had often wondered during construction whether elements would look cheap or unfinished (ventilation structures, the splotchiness of the bottom of the pool that resolved a few days ago, etc), but my worries are completely put to rest.

The fountains are definitely immense in person. Most wide angle photos skew the scale making the pools look shallower than they are. The scale of the personal experience is what keeps them from feeling like mall food court fountains. I was also happy to see that the flow from the weirs was consistent and didn't feel anemic. A surprise element of the voids which i didn't grasp until I saw it first hand was the difference between the external and internal voids. The weir from the external voids create a consistent, mesmerizing flow that mimic the lines of the former towers. The inner void was special to me and really captured the sense of loss that I think Arad was going for (especially since it reflects his original idea for the two voids carved in the Hudson). Whereas the first waterfall is clearly visible and beautiful in its way, the inner voids are always bottomless, always dark, and the water slips over the edge in erratic splashes. I hope it doesn't offend, but it evoked what I felt seeing videos of people jumping. At night its just a black void in the otherwise lit pool. I found the contrast between the two quite effective and resonant. It underscored the idea that some things are impossible to get back, but that everything keeps going regardless.

One final note: I thought I was going to prefer the pools at night because the lighting effect on the water is so nice with its shimmery effect, but I actually preferred the sober quality of the pools in daylight. My only small gripe is that the line of lights at the bottom of the pools become quite stark and slightly distracting. They look like exactly what they are: a square of fluorescent lights.

[dwntwnr]

Also, to clarify a reply to Troubadour, the memorial didn't feel depressing to me because a vital part of is how people interact with it. The minimal starkness of it is broken up with the mementos people leave or the tactile feeling of running fingers over the names. There is a nice layered quality of being able to touch the names of the individuals and then see beyond them to grasp the immensity of the falls. Perhaps if one were all alone it would feel like a sepulchre, though I don't think that's a necessarily a bad thing.

Through all of these years of competitions, revisions & quarreling, the falls felt naturally appropriate. Understated and elegant in a way that doesn't try to be too showy. Now that I think back at all the memorial entries that I preferred to this one, they feel overbuilt and too design-y. I'm glad we got what we did.

[xnyr]

^ Dwntnr - Thanks for the eloquent and descriptive account of your experience at the Memorial. I know for those of us unable to visit it in person, your story helps us get a feel for the place as no picture or webcam could. I'm disappointed that the lights are fluorescent tubes - IMO fluorescents should only be used in utility areas.

Your description brought up a couple of questions I have.

1. I had thought the inner voids would be lit as well - I thought I had seen lighting fixtures installed in them. Does anyone know if these inner voids will be lit eventually?

2. Perhaps this is trivial, but I have not noticed any trash receptacles in the images I have seen Did you notice any in the Plaza and if you did, are they consistent with the design quality of the rest of the Plaza?

[Traynor]

I would also like to know what the policy is on tributes left at the memorial such as flowers and flags. How long are they allowed to stay in place? In order for everyone to get a fair chance to see the names as they were designed, does the maintenance staff remove the tributes each night? Or are the flowers allowed to age and wither away?

As I predicted months ago, we have already seen a picture of maintenance staff wearing hip-waders, cleaning the flotsam from the pools. I imagine plenty of stuff gets blown in from tributes left by visitors.

[Pbellamy]

I was also there yesterday around sunset. I'd agree completely with the comments made by dwntwnr on the feel of the memorial. One thing that concerned me was the impact of the ongoing development around the public space, however the size of the open areas is much larger than you can grasp from the webcams. I didn't feel constrained into a fenced in area and obviously the work is ongoing but it really didn't seem to intrude.

The pools are amazing. The size needs to be experienced. I could not see down to the bottom of the inner pool so it does feel bottomless. The bronze is so tactile you have to touch it. Your fingerprints fade over 30 seconds, it's eerie and melancholy when you notice that.

There were no waste bins (I didn't think there would be as security is tight and you have limited bags allowed in). Security were incredibly friendly (We had a stroller with us that had to go through x-ray - those guys were just great). I've been to other 'attractions' around the City and security were just rude - not here!

Finally as I left I noticed a police officer (there are many) touching a name on the pool. It really brings a lump to your throat... these names are in many cases all the physical connection available to real people, full lives lost. You do go from marveling at the spectacle to sadness in a heartbeat.

[dwntwnr]