{"69933":{"#nid":"69933","#data":{"type":"news","title":"World Spotlight on Alumnus as World Trade Center Memorial Designer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech architecture alumnus Michael Arad\u2019s memorial to those killed in the attacks on September 11, 2001, opened to virtually unanimous rave reviews this month. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cReflecting Absence\u201d is a serene, public space for collective contemplation and remembrance. Two 30-feet deep reflecting pools create footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. The names of the 2,983 people whose lives were lost are etched across bronze panels surrounding the two pools. The placement of each name was determined through family requests and a complex algorithm in order to recognize personal connections among the departed. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.handelarchitects.com\/projects\/location\/new-york\/memorial-special.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERead the project case study and view a time-lapse video of the construction at HandelArchitects.com. \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.charlierose.com\/view\/interview\/11890\u0022\u003EView the one-on-one interview with broadcast journalist Charlie Rose.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe memorial was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in September 2011. An accompanying Memorial Museum and pavilion are expected to open in September 2012.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the eight years since his vision was selected out of 5,201 entries from 63 nations, Arad has revisited Georgia Tech on multiple occasions to share his experiences with students, faculty and alumni. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, Arad spoke to the \u003Cem\u003EGeorgia Tech Alumni Magazine\u003C\/em\u003E about the intense journey and the underpinnings he received in his Georgia Tech experience\u2014here is an excerpt of the forthcoming feature article in the November, 2011 issue:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESneak Preview: A Memorial to the Unthinkable:\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EExcerpt from forthcoming article in the \u003C\/em\u003EGeorgia Tech Alumni Magazine\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cAs I walked about the eerily empty and quiet streets of lower Manhattan, I was drawn to the fountain at the center of this public space,\u201d he said. \u201cThere I found a few other people standing in silent contemplation. As I joined this circle\u2014strangers both to me and to each other\u2014I felt a sense of kinship and belonging. I was no longer confronting the horrors I had seen alone.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI could not articulate it clearly at that moment, but I felt a bond form as I understood that I was a New Yorker now in a way I had never been before.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArad\u2019s vision was no longer of a lonely memorial in the Hudson River, out of reach, but of one incorporated into the city. A memorial that would be a shared space, a continuing site for remembrance and bonding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArad came to Tech with no architecture background, and so he entered the intensive three-year graduate program. He recalled it as an \u201cexcellent\u201d if challenging experience, one that gave him a thorough foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech\u2019s College of Architecture doesn\u2019t hew to a single ideology, and Arad soaked up the distinct voices of his professors. He recalled classes with professor Douglas Allen as putting architecture into the context of history and the surrounding urban form. He learned he needed to bring his own voice to a project while collaborating with others. It was advice that would serve him well in the hard years ahead.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E[Allen, a landscape architect and longtime fixture in the college, would become a sounding board for Arad on several occasions as he prepared his submission for the international competition.]\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWord came back in January of 2004. Their design was the winner. Vartan Gregorian, who chaired the 13-member jury, said, \u201cthe result is a memorial that expresses both the incalculable loss of life, and regeneration.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPreviously an unknown architect, Arad knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime. But he didn\u2019t know that the selection would come with so many challenges. He didn\u2019t know how much work and stress and uncertainty and media scrutiny would fill the next eight years as he fought to bring his vision to life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cThis project in many ways is like this long journey, and I feel like I\u2019m about to reach its end,\u201d he said. \u201cI very much welcome that moment. I think it\u2019s going to be a difficult and sad day. But there will also be a sense of pride and achievement. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve certainly grown as a person. I\u2019m just very glad I\u2019ve had a part in this undertaking. It meant so much to me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichael Arad\u0027s vision for a place of quiet contemplation comes to fruition.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27213","created_gmt":"2011-09-09 12:53:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:09","author":"Teri Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"69938":{"id":"69938","type":"image","title":"World Trade Center Memorial","body":null,"created":"1449177275","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:35","changed":"1475894614","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:34","alt":"World Trade Center Memorial","file":{"fid":"192867","name":"reflecting-absence_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/reflecting-absence_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/reflecting-absence_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":134756,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/reflecting-absence_0_0.jpg?itok=fYS-t7PT"}},"41583":{"id":"41583","type":"image","title":"Michael Arad","body":null,"created":"1449174325","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:25:25","changed":"1475894375","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:35"}},"media_ids":["69938","41583"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"}],"keywords":[{"id":"926","name":"College of Architecture"},{"id":"167177","name":"School of Architecture"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:teri.nagel@coa.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETeri Nagel\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech College of Architecture\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}