WTC Memorials To Be Announced Today

The finalists for the WTC Memorial competition will be announced today at 10:30AM. Families of September 11 victims viewed the finalists privately last night; one said, "I'm emotionally overwhelmed by what I've seen. The ideas are incredible." Some design elements, as reported by the Post and Daily News:

* Some designs put big portions of the Ground Zero pit at street level.
* Proposals vary for displaying victims' names - grouping them by age, by where they were from, where they died in the complex, or listing them as rescuers and civilians.
* Some designs represent each of the 2,752 victims with a light.
* At least two designs get rid of the museum master planner Daniel Libeskind would hang over the pits. One design places the museum in the pit area.
* Only one preserves virtually all of the north tower's footprint and some of the south tower's footprint down to the bedrock.
* All the designs are multilevel and all provide a space where unidentified remains can be entombed and a way for the families to descend to the bedrock.

The finalists will be on view in the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center. The Times has a piece about the 13 jurors for the WTC Memorial, including designer Maya Lin, Public Art Fund president Susan Freedman, Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris, and architect Enrique Norten.

Watch NY1 for the announcement. Take a look at Imagine New York and LMDC for more details. Imagine New York is also holding workshops November 20-22 to discuss the designs, go to their site for more details.