| Governor McGreevey Announces Winner of the September 11th Memorial Competition |
Jersey City, NJ, June 30, 2004 -- Governor James E. McGreevey joined members from the September 11th Families and Survivor Jury and Professional Advisory Committee today in announcing Frederic Schwartz of Frederic SCHWARTZ Architects as the New Jersey September 11th Memorial Competition winner.
“Today we unveil a world-class design that will provide the families, survivors and the State with a New Jersey September 11th memorial that will be a meaningful place for contemplation and remembrance,” said Governor McGreevey. “It will be a powerful place where families, friends, and survivors can gather together to reflect upon the many ways those lost touched our lives.”
Frederic Schwartz, who has worked on projects in Lower Manhattan for over twenty-two years, designed a memorial that remembers those lost while simply and powerfully connecting the New Jersey community to Ground Zero. The memorial’s strength lies in its simplicity and ability to resonate as it honors not only those individuals lost, but also New Jersey’s witnesses, survivors and volunteers. As community members visit the site, they will become a part of the memorial as they look across the river to Ground Zero and the “Empty Sky”.
“ The ‘Empty Sky’ design honors both the memory of those lost and the special place that they called home,” said Frederic Schwartz. “My design connects two communities forever linked by the river that unites them: New Jersey and Lower Manhattan.”
Located at the northeast end of Liberty State Park, the memorial will stand 30-feet high and 200-feet long. Composed of twin brushed stainless steel, two steel walls will face one another -- reflecting the constantly changing light of day. When experiencing the dramatic reflective space, visitors will see the brushed stainless steel walls, ground Zero and the “Empty Sky”. The memorial will invite the visitors to literally and metaphorically look to the empty sky in memory as they look forward together as a community.
The memorial’s walls will be flanked by a 16-foot wide paved path of bluestone and will be dedicated to the nearly the 700 men, woman and children who were lost. The walls, bearing engraved names of each individual lost, will also provide a 2-foot base at each wall so that visitors will be able to leave items to leave items of remembrance.
The memorial will channel through a gently sloped mound directing individuals sightline to Ground Zero – revealing a powerful perspective. Groves of dogwood trees that distinctly reflect the seasons through their lush green foliage in the summer, red leaves in the fall, sturdy silhouette and rich-brown bark in the winter, and beautiful blossoms in the spring will buffer the site. The north grove of the site will provide shelter for the two steel beams from the World Trade Center and quiet place for contemplation that will also offer a view of Ground Zero. Violets, New Jersey’s State flower, will also scatter the site’s grass.
At dusk two types of lighting will illuminate the memorial – lighting the base and washing the walls with a soft upward glow. The vertical beams will generate cool white beams that will extend into the sky the night sky.
New Jersey’s September 11th Memorial competition was launched in December. It was a world-class, two- stage design competition, designed to select an inspiring memorial design. The Professional Advisory Committee reviewed all proposals received during the stage one and they helped to narrow the selection process down from three hundred and twenty received proposals to six finalists. The Families and Survivors Memorial Jury then thoroughly reviewed the six finalists – unanimously designating a first winner.
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