"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"
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"Creating the kind of connections between people that lead to collective civic action, political expression, community dialogue, shared cultural experiences"