Breaking of Michael Arad: The World Trade Center memorial battle between architects and sculptors

New York Magazine ^ | 5/15/06 | Joe Hagan

[Republicanprofessor]

When the then-34-year-old architect won the ground-zero-memorial competition, he looked like the Maya Lin of 9/11—a bright, shining star out of nowhere who would build a breathtaking new landmark. Two years later, all we’ve got is a pile of dirt, a price estimate nearing $1 billion, and a nasty, behind-the-scenes war of wills.

When Michael Arad unveiled his winning design for the World Trade Center Memorial, the last person New York wanted to hear from was another architect. It was January 2004, by which point the ground-zero rebuilding effort had devolved into a grating public spectacle of political bullying and grief-mongering. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the city-state agency charged with rebuilding the site, had abjectly failed to control the process, and the fierce bickering over Daniel Libeskind’s Freedom Tower looked certain to result in an epic compromise that nobody would be satisfied with. Design, it seemed, couldn’t create unity; it led only to intractable differences of taste.

[Republicanprofessor]

I keep wondering what is holding up the rebuilding of the WTC, and I guess this (long) article answers the question in part.

Here are some pictures of what Arad envisions.

[Darkwolf377]

Is it just me or has every one of these designs, for the memorial and the new buildings, been completely uninspiring?

[Republicanprofessor]

I like Liebeskind's model. I think it was interesting and the plan for the light to fall on the underground memorial at the exact hours that the planes hit was interesting.

It is too bad that there is so much back-biting. There should be a pulling together to get the memorial and new WTC built; not selfish in-fighting on who gets the credit for what.

[Republicanprofessor]

Art ping.

Let Sam Cree, Woofie, or me know if you want on or off this art ping list.

[Dallas59]

I'm tired of it. Where's the Mc Donalds?

[Sam Cree]

I like Arad's concept. A shame it all seems to be coming undone.