World Trade Center Memorial To Be Redesigned

At an estimated cost of $1 billion dollars, the September 11th memorial is being sent back for a more cost-efficient design.

1 minute read

June 13, 2006, 9:00 AM PDT

By David Gest

"When a jury chose a Sept. 11 memorial design from more than 5,000 entries, the panel praised it for the 'powerful, yet simple' use of reflecting pools to represent the destroyed World Trade Center. More than two years later, nothing is simple about the memorial, called 'Reflecting Absence,' which was sent back for a redesign after contractors concluded that it could cost nearly $1 billion.

A builder appointed by Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg is due to present new options Thursday that would cut the memorial's cost to $500 million. Officials hope to open the memorial in three years; preliminary construction that began in March has stopped.

'There's no reason that this memorial should be $1 billion. Absolutely none,' said Daniel Libeskind, the architect who created the master plan for the 16-acre site known as ground zero."

Read the full story: Sept. 11 Memorial to Be Redesigned

Monday, June 12, 2006 in The New York Times

History / Preservation Landscape Architecture New York

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