Snøhetta designed the September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center site in New York City. The memorial opened in May 2014 at a cost of $700 million.
The crystaline form is the only surviving remnant of Daniel Libeskind’s exciting original design for the overall complex. The desconstructed glass and metal is dramatic, though $24 per ticket might be too much to ask. An entry pavilion descends down a grand staircase, with twin cross-shaped WTC in the middle. The procession 70 ft down into the hole is a stark departure from the bustling city. This huge underground space showcases parts of the original buildings and important memorials.
While architecture critics remark on the resilience and literalism, it can’t rightly be said that this memorial went far enough. It mourns loss but is all rather conflicted and unresolved, almost inching toward defeatism. The legal squabbles surrounding the World Trade Center have been embarrassing.
(Tanenhaus– flickr/creative commons license)
(Tanenhaus– flickr/creative commons license)
(akasped– flickr/creative commons license)
 (akasped– flickr/creative commons license) |
 (akasped– flickr/creative commons license) |
(akasped– flickr/creative commons license)
(akasped– flickr/creative commons license)
