this is the remaining sketch drawing that was watercolored/
painted using software (Painter 7 program by corel/procreate,
using a digital Wacom drawing tablet). this drawing shows
'footprint 1' (WTC 1 memorial) which is a cube that rises
into the park, and has a complex access on a sloping axis.
the rendering seeks to show its embeddedness in the park,
as a footprint, primarily (though it is actually its own
separate building in the site, a pure form in relation to
the larger construction, an independent structure, etc.
it is entirely made for circulation and navigation and
egress, vertical, horizontal, across, over, and through.
it would be at the highest point of the site, maybe some five or
more stories above ground and possibly several below grade also,
to achieve some proportional cubic volume in proportion to the
original towers, though not identical in size (in proportion).
the reflecting pool would let light into the memorial site,
the sky and clouds would be visible directly above when inside.
geometric m.c. escher-like inside/outside perspective shifts
around the footprint and changes in elevation would enable
complex meditative experiences of the footprint and volume,
in the complex of a 'park' as site plan. the geometry would
also directly tie-into the Freedom Tower designed by SOM's
David Childs for developer Larry Silverstein. the origami
folding and volumetric space similarly shift dimensions.
each memorial would relate to the new Freedom Tower in its
own way, if geometric or iconic, as footprint and volume
and through ideas. the essence of the purely modern would
be accessed as a context yet not the only meaning of the
memorial. human forms, sculptures, would be critical to
humanize the coldness of steel, glass, and concrete, as
would the parkland, light, air, wind, birds and flowers.
benches and other park features of highest quality from
the heritage of the .US park system and its landscape
design could create several zones for small performances,
say a violin performance at noon at a small series of
amphitheater seats merged into the landscape that could
function as low-rising, long and curving seating while
also functioning as a type of platform and stairways.
bridges would connect the site on all its sides into
the surrounding buildings and their tiered terraced
roofgardens, with business, housing, and other access.
if the Freedom Tower were moved to its original siting
it would be easier to connect via bridge with the site.
some ideas.
resource for studying seasonal/daily lighting
on site plan from different perspectives:
time-elapsed WTC site documentary webcams
http://www.projectrebirth.org/