Something Vs. Nothing

A debate over redevelopment at Ground Zero focuses on memory, mourning, monuments, and the role of architecture.

1 minute read

October 1, 2002, 8:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"The topic was grand: 'Monument and Memory.' But the debate on Friday night turned out to be simple: Should there be something rather than nothing? Or nothing rather than something?On the side of something was Daniel Libeskind, the architect who designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin. On the side of nothing were Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of The New Republic, and Sherwin B. Nuland, the author of "How We Die" (Knopf, 1994)...the men were fighting over architecture at ground zero... In the end it boiled down to this. Mr. Wieseltier wants a void with no building in it. Mr. Libeskind...might want a building with a void in it. And Mr. Nuland wants a quiet place with some statues in it. So what will it be?"

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Read the full story: Debating Ground Zero Architecture and the Value of the Void

Monday, September 30, 2002 in The New York Times

Architecture New York

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Start Learning

Advertise with us

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.