National September 11 Memorial Museum
New York, NY
2011
This newly formed and evolving museum is dedicated to recounting and interpreting the tragic 1993 and September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The 125,000 square foot museum occupies the authentic site of the attacks, which is both historical and hallowed ground.
The Museum’s architecture incorporates in-situ artifacts of the original buildings including box beam column bases of both towers, along with the Slurry Wall that survived the attacks.
Most poignantly, the Museum will be the repository for the unidentified human remains from the tragedy.
Positioned directly below the Memorial plaza, the Museum is bounded by the Freedom Tower to the north, PATH train tracks and new HUB Transit Station to the east, Port Authority chiller plant to the south, and a portion of the site’s perimeter "bath tub" slurry wall construction to the west.
The volumes of the north and south fountain pools, located directly above the footprints of the original towers, penetrate the Museum space from above.
The Museum’s architectural design reinforces the tower volumes as primary physical and referential elements.
They serve to organize the museum spaces and their presence is subtly articulated through skillful lighting of the recycled aluminum that wraps the tower forms. Between the north and south tower volumes, visitors will descend seventy feet from the plaza to the lowest "bedrock" level along a carefully crafted internal landscape called the "ribbon."
Along this journey, a variety of interpretive exhibits will explore different aspects of the attacks and their impact on both those who perished and those who survived. The architectural design has developed simultaneously with the creation of the Museum.
The Design Team has worked in close association with Museum staff, their consultants and exhibition designers to ensure an integrated design.
The project has posed a series of technical challenges that the designers have incorporated into the project including: Security and blast criteria Preservation and public access to historic resources Reinforcement of existing slurry wall LEED® Gold certification Museum space located below fountains and pools of water
Adjacent sites under design and construction The Museum’s interpretation of the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers will serve to complement the commemoration of the thousands of people who perished and are honored at the National September 11 Memorial.
Images here
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