The winning designers, Paul and Milena Murdoch of Los Angeles, called being selected "an incredible honor."Since that time, he has made vague references to changing the name, but not the intent, of the design.
"There's a huge emotional investment," said Paul Murdoch, 48, his voice choking.
After months of excitement surrounding the design competition, which drew more than 1,000 entries, the project will now move into intense fund-raising and logistical work. No cost estimate or timetable has been set for construction of the memorial, but it will take years.
For the Murdochs, their design evolved all at once, they said, and nothing in it is more important than anything else.
"The idea of the Crescent of Embrace", Murdoch said, "is to be a gesture of healing and bonding. The crescent marks the edge of the land, which will remain largely untouched."
"It's simple and yet it's complex," said Dorothy Garcia, whose husband, Andy, died in the crash. "The void that's there speaks so loudly to the heroism of these 40 souls."
One of the important attributes of the winning design, Murdoch said, is that it allows the memorial to continually grow and change. The maple trees that create the crescent will be planted at just 15 or 20 feet tall. They won't reach maturity for 40 or 50 years.
"It will be open and evolving as long as it's there," he said. "Our memorial is not about offering explanation for what happened, but to allow people to come to terms with it." - From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Sorry, for me, that's not good enough. Any red crescent is unacceptable. Close it off into a full circle...make another symbol.
The fact is, the designer himself recognized it as a crescent and called it that. It will go red in the fall of the year, every year, surrounding that hallowed ground. Our enemies will be emboldened by that symbology...and in my estimation, we will be shamed.
Others may feel differently...so be it, I will continue to do all I can to fight it.
But let's make no mistake, when announced, the symbol was called and meant to be a "crescent". If completed, that's what it will look like and be...a cresent of maple trees that turns a rich red each fall.
If the dude gave it the name "Crescent of Embrace" he is a moron and it was more than accidental that the place had a Muslim look to it. He knew exactly what he was aiming for. The stories about it just being about the topography were nonsense.
He should have just finished the "crescent" and made it a circle.