CLIENT: Port Authority, NYC
DATE: September 11, 2002
LOCATION: New York City
PROJECT TYPE: Special Event, Architectural
JEREMY THOM DESIGNS ROLE: Project Designer
The main commemorations of 9/11, a year after the attacks on the World Trade Center, were planned for Ground Zero, where the families of those lost would be permitted to walk down the ramp to the bottom of the ‘Pit’ for the first time, following the reading of all of the names from a stage on the ‘Haul Road’, next to the West Side Highway.
At Ground Zero, for the centrepiece in the ‘Pit’, I designed a simple wooden ring to hold flowers, pictures and mementos. For the Haul Road stage I built a double width polished wood lectern for two readers which is still used every year for the Commemoration events.
There were simultaneous all-day gatherings at four City parks for New York area citizens with video feedback between all sites. For these City park events site plans, surveys and designs were made for the local production teams to assist their running of the events and to co-ordinate the look and feel of all sites.
That evening an Eternal Flame was lit at a new monument in Battery Park where a tiered stage for 91 Heads of State was placed just behind the eternal flame site. Liaison with Port Authority, Battery Park Conservancy and NYC Parks Dept. resolved the placement and movement of public and families, and determined the security cordon around both sites.