by: Murrye Bernard Assoc. AIA LEED AP
Event: Design Press Tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum
Location: World Trade Center site, 08.09.10
Tour Leaders: Steven Davis, FAIA — Partner, Davis Brody Bond Aedas; Mark Wagner, AIA — Associate Partner, Davis Brody Bond Aedas; Alice M. Greenwald — Director, 9/11 Memorial Museum
Organizer: Davis Brody Bond Aedas
Designing a memorial and museum to commemorate an event that has touched the lives of so many is no easy feat. However, the team behind the 9/11 Memorial Museum, designed by Davis Brody Bond Aedas, has created spaces for reflection and education that also instill a sense of hope. It may not seem like much is happening at Ground Zero, but that’s because the progress is beneath the surface.
The granite cladding in the Memorial Pools, designed by Michael Arad, AIA, and Peter Walker, FASLA, is partially complete.
Kristen Richards
Water will cascade down the sides of the voids, which are the exact sizes and in the same locations as the original towers.
Murrye Bernard
Exhibits will line this ramp, which leads visitors two stories beneath the ground to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Wood floors and railings on the ramp will contrast the rough concrete and steel of this gigantic space, making visitors feel protected and enclosed. Glass rails will expose views at controlled points.
Murrye Bernard
From the ramp, the recycled aluminum-clad pool enclosures appear as objects instead of voids. They will seem to float due to cantilevering and lighting, as revealed seven stories below on the main exhibition level.
Murrye Bernard
After passing through the South Tower Archaeological Walkway, which will contain exhibition and education spaces, as well as box column remnants meeting bedrock, visitors will encounter a remnant of the Vesey Street Staircase, known as the “Survivor’s Stairs.” An escalator will run alongside to provide a closer look.
Kristen Richards
In the West Hall visitors will be able to view a portion of the original slurry wall and the Last Column, which is protected by a temporary enclosure during construction.
Murrye Bernard
The slurry wall from below.
Kristen Richards
The Memorial pools are projected to open on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in 2011, and the Museum is scheduled to open on the 11th anniversary in 2012.
Murrye Bernard, LEED AP, is a freelance architectural writer and a contributing editor to e-Oculus.