Finally the moment has arrived. As new terrorist warnings are daily delivered from the various governmental offices of the USA, as Wall Street holds its breath over the fragile economy, and as Osama Bin Laden remains presumed in hiding, now, at last, the excavation has finished. 'Ground Zero', the site where the World Trade Centre once stood, is clear.
Now comes the big question. What to do with it? In typical New York fashion, various developers are already touting the site as a 'fantastic opportunity'. Others pale at the idea of the scene of so much carnage, and emotional trauma, being thought of in terms of expensive square feet. New York needs the office space (The World Trade Centre used to house an acre of office space per floor), but many would rather the glass boxes were stationed elsewhere now.
PC monument?
What kind of monument, though, could you place at the former site of the World Trade Center? In Washington DC Maya Lin designed a large granite 'V' as a commemoration of the suffering in Vietnam. It was controversial at the time but is now the most visited tourist site in that city. What would you have in New York?