In our entry for the invited competition to create the Hoboken 9/11 Memorial we sought to bring back the moment of intense connection between the Hoboken pier and the Manhattan skyline. We proposed that a narrow stream of water would flow along the southern edge of the pier from the city of Hoboken towards the Hudson. The handrail gradually widens as the water traverses the length of the pier, guiding the visitor to the waterfront edge. At the end of the pier, the stream fans out into a still reflecting pool. The Manhattan skyline is reflected on the surface of the water, conveying both the glory of the human endeavor and the place of the fallen towers. The memorial acts as a symbolic object and a device for personal visual and emotional reflection.

Engraved on the stone beneath the shallow water are the names of the September 11th victims who lived in Hoboken. As the viewer turns toward the site of the World Trade Center, the names gradually blend with the reflection of the skyline. The water, flush with the edge of the pool, slowly flows over the pool’s edge passing over the victims’ names, symbolizing the cycle of life and renewal. As the sky darkens and the skyline lights up at sunset, a series of computer-controlled lights placed under the water illuminate. The lights pulsate according to specific patterns to commemorate special moments. They change in intensity and pace and are organized on a matrix bounded by the names of the victims and the years of their births. As the process of mourning is not limited to the daytime, neither is the public’s encounter with the memorial.

2003