Rebuilding Roundup for Friday, January 9
Reflecting Absence, a scheme envisioning two sunken pools on the footprints of the
Twin Towers, was chosen this week as the memorial for Ground Zero. Fans of the design
have called it clear, simple, and respectful, while its critics have described it as
bleak, brutal, and bland. The plan is being revised, and a new version will be presented
to the public next week.
In its current form, Reflecting Absence changes the existing site plan more than any
of the other finalist designs did, by bringing the memorial site to ground level and eliminating
cultural buildings present in Daniel Libeskind's site plan. But modifications may change the
design significantly. Access to a portion of the bedrock of the footprints and to the
slurry wall, plantings supplementing the design.s stark plaza, and changes to the wall-like
building on the west side of the site are reportedly being incorporated into the plan.
In his state of the state address, Governor George Pataki announced that another
design for Ground Zero will be made public on January 22 -- the design for a new transportation
hub. Pataki added that four proposals for a rail link between JFK airport and Lower Manhattan
are also to be made public in January. The next day, in his state of the city address,
Mayor Michael Bloomberg barely mentioned the rebuilding effort, saying only that "every
element" of the process was moving forward.
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