Ground Zero plans unveiled

The Memorial Plaza, one of six alternative designs

The first official plans for redeveloping the site where the World Trade Center stood have been made public by authorities in New York.

Six proposals were unveiled, each of which include a memorial to the victims of the 11 September attacks. The plans are rough drafts and will be narrowed down to one final design by December.

The new World Trade Center shouldn't be a mere replica of the old, but something soaring and lofty.
Brian Patrick Keane, USA

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About 5,000 people will be given an opportunity to comment on the plans at a public meeting on Saturday.

The debate about what should replace the Twin Towers has been highly charged, with many victims' relatives demanding that an area be left untouched out of respect to the nearly 3,000 people who died.

The publication of the plans comes a day after forensic teams officially ended searching through debris from the site for human remains.

Place of remembrance

The six concepts were commissioned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), an umbrella body set up by New York Governor George Pataki.

The six options are:

• Memorial Square: A 10-acre square framed by 10-storey buildings. Rooftop gardens of the low buildings are connected by a continuous public walkway that surrounds and overlooks the square.

  

  The Memorial Triangle option, incorporating an open space
  

• Memorial Triangle: A five-acre triangular public open space with memorial, cultural and commercial facilities. An elevated pedestrian deck spans West Street to the Winter Garden, leading to the waterfront.

• Memorial Plaza: An eight-acre plaza with sites for memorials and buildings for museum and cultural uses. A tall, freestanding mixed-use tower is located to the north-west, which could have an antenna or sculptural top.

• Memorial Garden: A four-acre open space. Memorial or cultural uses occupy the south-west corner. A multi-level pedestrian concourse connects to the Winter Garden.

• Memorial Promenade: A large oval park on a deck above West Street, as well as new public squares and memorial sites. A grand promenade extends south, lined with trees or plants to remember each of the victims. The skyline is marked by two 63-storey towers.

• Memorial Park: A memorial site within a six-acre park partially situated on a deck over West Street. Two buildings for museum or cultural uses and a new public square.

Public debate

The LMDC said the plans were aimed at "respecting the site as a place of remembrance facilitating continued revitalisation of Lower Manhattan".

None of the six proposals include buildings as high as the former 110-storey twin towers.

Schedule

July 2002: Six options unveiled

September 2002: Three designs retained

December 2002: Final draft released for site and adjacent areas

Groups representing victims' families led the drive for a permanent memorial.

"Where Tower One and Tower Two stood is sacred ground," said Joseph Maurer, whose daughter, Jill Campbell, died in the suicide attacks.

"It's the same as Gettysburg or Pearl Harbour," he said.

The proposals will be subjected to vigorous public debate over the next few months.