Memorial Promises To Open Up WTC Foundations

Above ground will be an understated glass and steel pavilion with an atrium that will house two of the original but now-rusted 21.3 metre tall structural tridents, one from tower, that started at the bottom of the WTC buildings and ran up it from there dictating the vertical nature of the cladding. Each of them weighs a total of 90 tonnes and are so large that they had to be removed from the original site into storage by being cut into pieces before transportation. Despite this, they are going to be faithfully restored as to make their dismemberment invisible. This area will also contain an auditorium, a refreshment area, and a private suite that will be reserved for the use of the victim's families meaning they can visit without the crowds around them. From the atrium visitors will go down an escalator past the base of the tridents before heading down a ramp that's been designed to symbolise a ramp of similar proportions that was used in cleaning up the site by construction workers after the attacks. From here there will be sweeping views of the cavernous site with the foundations of the buildings clearly visible - recent history is turned into an archaelogical public experience like the ruins of Jorvik in York. From the ramp, visitors will be able to stream down the so-called "Survivors Stairs" that saw hundreds of people pass during the attacks saving their lives in the process. The column bases and foundations of the tower will be there for people to walk around and they should be able to stand between what's left of the two towers. The real aim of this is to try and communicate the sheer scale of destruction on September the 11th that saw several blocks of New York reduced rubble. From here the only way is up back towards the daylight, the memorial garden and the waterfalls that mark the footprints of the twin towers above ground. The scheme has been designed by Davis Brody Bong Aedas and Snøhetta with the fountains set to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks and the full museum to be completed in 2013.