Dezeen Screen: here’s an animation of how the two memorial fountains on the World Trade Centre site in New York will look when they open in three weeks time. Watch the movie »
Dezeen Screen: here’s an animation of how the two memorial fountains on the World Trade Centre site in New York will look when they open in three weeks time. Watch the movie »
this link, it does not work
anyway watching the video, the renders look all shiny, but i think the concept is bad, and that when realised, the lack of shininess in the real world will make that clear.
the 'footprint' + park idea is fine. what I object to is the fountains disappearing into oblivion below, or even hell. it is not a hopeful or nuanced message. it just says "woe unto us!". here are two holes that will never be filled… i.e. the loss of the towers will never be overcome, it seems overdramatic, depressing and almost macabre.
though this may have accurately reflected american sentiment at the time, to make this the message for the future seems wrong. "if you hurt america, we will never be fully healed" is wrong.
why couldn't the memorial be something more respectful and optimistic?
Well I don't think this is a pessimistic memorial at all?
True, the central hole could remind you in some portal to the underworld, which in some way reflects the dramatic component of the momorial. But it just represents a minor part of the memorial, in which the mayor part is the surface of the basin, which obviously is reflecting the sky; and there is no doubt, this is a symbol of hope. Besides I really like the idea of the waterfalls refering to the colapsing twintowers. It's just the museumsbuilding, that looks a lil strange in my eyes, as its architecture doesn't refer to the tragedy pretty much.
will flowing water reflect the sky? you need still water to do this.
because the entire point of having a memorial is not to pretend that everything is going to be just fine, but to remember what has taken place, so that the future generations make sure that it will never happen again.
Everything will be fine after enough time passes. The real pretenders are those who claim 9-11 will never be forgotten. Maybe the holes fill up with water.
It is not the hollowness that needs to be looked upon but the sheet of reflection that is the key to optimism in this design….earlier the towers were soaring high physically towards teh sky…but now the grounded sheet of water reflects the sky, saying being tall is not jus about soaring high, but bringing the sky down through reflection…i really admire the concept…and i think it works jus perfect for the context…
after looking at it a bit I realised this. but flowing water won't reflect the sky. it needs to be still to do this.
As much as I like the design, I can't help but marvel at the quality of the animation rendering itself.
My first reaction was the same as Felix.
Behold…
two portentous holes where once stood two architectural landmarks; 'You win!'.
Yes, its incredibly attractive, but given this particular historical context, a defeatist message.
… and to a degree I'm one of those who 'understood' the motives of those who flew the planes.
water endlessly flowing into a dark pit….. hmmmm
well its goth as f*&k, Ill give it that.
My main criticism is that it's a mechanical memorial. What other memorials are mechanical? Machinery breaks, and anyone that's been to Versailles when the fountains aren't running knows how bleak a non-functioning fountain can be.