"Well, I didn't want to have the reminder sort of in the sky, so that people would forever look at it. I wanted to have - really to create a city from the bottom up. From that foundation, which held, from the democratic power of what the site really is"
- Daniel Libeskind
About this Quote
In this quote, designer Daniel Libeskind is discussing his technique to developing a memorial on the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City. He discusses that instead of producing a monolith that would constantly remind people of the tragedy that happened there, he wanted to build a city that would rise from the foundation of the website itself. By emphasizing the democratic power of the area and building from the ground up, he intended to develop a sense of renewal and growth, signifying the durability of the human spirit in the face of disaster. His goal was to create a space that could serve as a homage to the past while likewise wanting to the future.
"The opportunity to create a small world between two pieces of cardboard, where time exists yet stands still, where people talk and I tell them what to say, is exciting and rewarding"
"We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people - history has made us all South Africans"
"Creating the kind of connections between people that lead to collective civic action, political expression, community dialogue, shared cultural experiences"
