Lower Manhattan Development Corporation

NOV. 19, 2003 Michael Arad's preliminary design for "Reflecting Absence" is unveiled as a finalist. Two pools in the footprints of the towers are surrounded by an open plaza that includes pine trees planted in a random pattern and a cultural building shielding the site from West Street.

JAN. 5, 2004 "Reflecting Absence" is announced as the winning design after undergoing significant changes. A redesign by the landscape architect Peter Walker adds trees and granite to the plaza.

MAY 2005 A recent rendering shows a new entrance and exit ramp configuration.

# A Memorial With Many Rooms

Final details are still taking shape, but the memorial will include many more elements than Michael Arad originally proposed. A current version includes underground levels (right), with a large memorial hall and information center, and a private room for relatives of the victims.

## Memorial Hall and Reflecting Pool Level

Descending on ramps from the memorial park, visitors enter a large memorial hall. Galleries allow passage around the pools, but visitors are also free to exit the hall.

The center of the pool is open to the contemplation room below.

The lowest level of the complex in the footprint of the North Tower includes a public contemplation room and a private room for victims' families. Unidentified remains are also on this level.

## Bedrock Level

A 100,000-square-foot memorial center extending to a section of the slurry wall contains relics of Sept. 11 and tells the story of both the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the Sept. 11 attack.

The World Trade Center memorial is two voids with pools in the footprints of the two towers. But the voids may not be the same size as the towers.

One possible design, shown below, would place space on the south and east sides within the footprint, which would result in a void 9 percent smaller than the actual tower footprint.

The New York Times