During the Summer of 2002, a unique opportunity was given to designers and architects from around the world. A two-stage design competition was held, seeking to identify an artistic concept for a memorial to the victims of the September 11th attacks on the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. It was with great enthusiasm that SANDBOX went to work on a concept entry for the competition. Overall view sketch of the SANDBOX concept for the Pentagon Memorial (above).
The deadline for Stage One was September 11, 2002. The results of this stage were announced in early October, with the top eighty-five entries placed on exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. The top five finishers continued on to the final stage for the ultimate selection of one winner. While SANDBOX did not make the final five, we were honored to be selected in the final group of eighty five and to have our entry on display at the Smithsonian — out of a group of over 1,100 who entered! Sketch of the landscaped Entry Court and the Wall of Introduction (above), which greets visitors to the park with a history of the attacks inscribed into the stone wall.
The SANDBOX concept was very park-like, with varied zones of landscaping emanating out from a large reflecting pool. The reflecting pool contains inscripted memorial stones, one in remembrance of each victim. SANDBOX invited an Australian landscape architect to join the design team to ensure that every landscaped element of the memorial would be planted with vegetation that would bloom and give “life” every month of the year. The idea was that, despite the loss of physical life, those lost would continue to live on through the Memorial, touching lives and impacting visitors for years to come. View of the Wall of Introduction leading to the Walk of Remembrance along the reflecting pool (above).
The memorial needed to pay tribute to those killed in the building, as well as the innocent people who died aboard the plane, American Airlines Flight 77, as it was crashed into the building. The memorial needed to represent all Americans and capture the principals of freedom and liberty that were re-awakened by the terrible events that day. The challenge was to create a memorial that turned the deep tragedy into peace and healing. In the SANDBOX concept, as visitors walk through the Memorial and the Garden of Inspiration, the hope is that they will be uplifted and not saddened. The sculptural stone elements of the Garden (above) are positioned to be symbolic of this uplifting process.
The memorial site is a 1.93 acre parcel located in close proximity to the Pentagon building, lying directly underneath the path of the ill-fated flight, and within clear view of the point of impact. A preliminary budget of $2 million was given. There were no specific requirements governing the size, materials or form of the building. With only 165 feet separating the site from the Pentagon, security was going to need to be a consideration. In the sketch above, the SANDBOX concept culminates in a sheltered Observation Platform which focuses viewers on the point of impact. It is designed to be a place where visitors feel the impact and come to terms with the events of September 11th, 2001.
All entries in Stage One were initially anonymous. This was done to ensure that individual designers and architects, small and large firms alike, would all have an equal chance of being selected. The submittal format was limited to one presentation board, 30x40” in size. The jury was comprised of a former Secretary of Defense, family members of victims, landscape architects, architects, artists, the Chief Curator of the Museum of Modern Art and more! In the SANDBOX sketch above, a large, curved stone wall loosely defines the border to the Memorial. The idea was to offer visitors some shelter from the hustle and bustle of the outside world, yet by leaving periodic perforations in the wall, SANDBOX allows those outside of the Memorial a constant view inside — a reminder of how the events of September 11th, will forever impact life as we know it. View of large, perforated, curving stone wall from outside (above).
