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Thursday, 14 September 2006 | Senay
Massport Unveils Boston Logan Airport 9/11 Memorial Design
The winning scheme in an international design competition, the memorial consists of two paths that wind up a wooded slope to "The Place of Reflection". The paths symbolize the flight patterns of American Airlines 11 and United Airlines 175. The place of reflection focuses the visitor's view towards a fractured sky - Image Courtesy of Moskow Architects
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) today unveiled the design for the future Boston Logan International Airport 9/11 Memorial. The Airport 9/11 Memorial will honor the passengers and crew of American Flight 11 and United Flight 175, recognize the compassion and professionalism of Logan employees during that difficult time, and serve as a place of reflection for all those who were touched by the events of 9/11. The idea to create the Memorial began with the airport's employees, who were seeking a way to honor those lost and a place to reflect on the events of 9/11.
"Logan Airport and the lives of the people who work here were forever changed by the tragic events of 9/11,"said Massport CEO Thomas J. Kinton, Jr. "They feel the loss of their friends, colleagues and customers every day. The Airport 9/11 Memorial will provide a place for the airport community to honor those who we have lost but never forgotten, and remember how the airport community came together in the days following 9/11."
Massport selected the design concept for the Airport's 9/11 Memorial in consultation with a 9/11 Memorial Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from the airlines, families of crew members, the City of Boston, and design professionals from the local architecture and landscape architecture communities.
Image Courtesy of Moskow Architects
"The experience of working with the committee, especially those touched directly by the events of 9/11, was extraordinary," said David Dixon, Co-Chair of the 9/11 Memorial Advisory Committee. "The process allowed us to go on a journey together that ultimately shaped this Memorial."
The two-acre Airport 9/11 Memorial site provides visibility, pedestrian access, and proximity to the Logan Hilton Hotel - the headquarters for Massport's family-assistance CARE Team in the aftermath of 9/11. CARE Team volunteers worked around the clock providing assistance to the family members and friends of the crew and passengers of Flights175 and 11. The Logan Hilton Hotel donated a portion of the land to allow the Memorial to be constructed on the selected site, centrally located within Logan. Hilton also redesigned the hotel's building frontage to complement the Memorial.
The design selection process for the Memorial began in 2003. The winning design by Boston-based Moskow Architects Inc. will be a pastoral setting for personal reflection and remembrance that acknowledges the profound impact of 9/11 on the Logan Airport community.
Visitors will enter the Memorial and follow one of two gently winding paths through a grove of Ginkgo trees. The paths will converge at a large glass sculpture - the place of remembrance - that will contain two glass panels inscribed with the names of the passengers and crew of the two flights and their departure times from Logan Airport. When visitors gaze upward, the sky will appear fractured through a prism of reflective panels. At night, the sculpture will become an illuminated beacon. Visitors will exit the Memorial by returning to the point of origin, where the words "Remember this day" will be etched in granite paving.
"We saw the Airport 9/11 Memorial as an opportunity to give solace and hope to all those whose lives were forever changed on September 11. The design is intended to be both a timeless reminder of what has happened and a symbol of renewal, " said Robert Linn, Partner, Moskow Architects, Inc. "Working on this project with Massport and the 9/11 Design Advisory Committee has been a highly successful and positive collaboration. We look forward to working with this group through construction of the Airport 9/11 Memorial."
Construction of the Airport 9/11 Memorial is anticipated to begin in Summer 2007 with completion by Fall 2008. Once completed, the Airport 9/11 Memorial will be open to all the Logan Airport community and the general public.
For more information please visit Moskow Architects at http://www.moskowarchitects.com and The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) at http://www.massport.com
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