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Historic Gardens

9/11 Memorial NYC: A Photo Essay

9/11 Memorial © Alice Joyce

The 9/11 Memorial has opened in New York City … … on the site where the World Trade Center Twin Towers once rose skyward. Two vast pools now occupy the footprints of the two buildings. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker designed the memorial to incorporate thirty-foot waterfalls, cascading into pools that culminate in a central void. Bronze parapets outline the uppermost ledge of each pool. Here, inscriptions of the victims’ names can be seen. The reflection of One World Trade Center heightens the impact of the new Museum Pavilion’s glass facade – the museum is not yet completed. One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the United States when construction concludes.

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Historic Gardens

Irish Hunger Memorial

Irish Hunger Memorial wall brickwork Photo © Alice Joyce

Not far from Ground Zero, the Battery Park City neighborhood in lower Manhattan has greatly changed in the years since 9/11. I stepped off a shuttle bus at an unexpected stop, catching sight of a poignantly composed green sward. The Irish Hunger Memorial, designed by artist Brian Tolle, with landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird among the project’s team, commemorates the famine of the mid-1880s, at the same time, raising awareness for all who face hunger in the world today.

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Landscape Architecture

The High Line - New York City

Planting is under way for section 2 of The High Line, set to open on June 2, 2011.

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