The two finalists are Studio Daniel Libeskind, of Berlin, and THINK Design, whose principals are based in New York and Tokyo. We believe that when a final design is selected at the end of this month, it should be the idealistic, graceful yet powerful entry from THINK.

Whichever design is selected, it will only represent a starting point—there will be an intricate political dance of many years' duration among the entities involved, which include LMDC, the Port Authority, the governors of New York and New Jersey, the mayor of New York, major leaseholders, relatives of the 9/11 victims and the general public. All the more reason, then, to start with the best design possible.

We believe the THINK proposal offers the best synthesis of memorializing September 11 and building for the future. This dual mission is evident in every element of THINK's overall design, beginning with its most prominent component, the World Cultural Center (pictured above).

The evocation of the World Trade Center's twin towers is of course deliberate, but the proposed World Cultural Center is no mere copy. The new twin towers would rise in nearly the same location as the old, but would not touch the original footprints (which would be part of the memorial). The towers would be constructed of steel latticework and, at 2,100 feet, would be the tallest buildings in the world. Yet they would not be conventional buildings at all—the Eiffel Tower is a closer parallel.

Even that comparison is inexact, though. The World Cultural Center would actually contain complete structures within its latticework structure, a structure which would be actively designed to resist various types of attack. The two towers would be joined by special-purpose structures at various points, including a museum and a performing arts center. For all their bravura ingenuity, though, what these buildings would do best is reestablish the New York skyline—and do so in a dynamic, optimistic way that we feel is appropriate for our troubled new century. THINK's design is basically apolitical, but we think its impact would invoke the best sort of patriotism by offering a compelling new symbol of America's soaring aspirations to the world.

The other major components in the THINK design are also innovative: there would be a glass-enclosed outdoor Great Room and a ten-story-high Sky Park, with expansive lawns; both would link to the 9/11 memorial. The THINK proposal also encompasses space for lower Manhattan's rebuilt transportation and commercial facilities, and places a strong emphasis on renewable energy.

The competing Daniel Libeskind proposal is visually arresting, at first glance, although it is in many ways a more conventional (and even somewhat gimmicky) design. We actually preferred the plan put forth by Foster & Partners of London, but that design didn't make the final cut. The Libeskind proposal got this far, we suspect, because of its overt appeals to American nostalgia and history. There would be a Park of Heroes, a Heroes Matrix, and a memorial based on the very foundations of the World Trade Center, which are equated with the U.S. Constitution. The design's centerpiece tower, the Gardens of the World, would be exactly 1,776 feet high. We suggest you visit the Web site LMDC has set up to showcase these designs and draw your own conclusions.

Whichever design is selected, and whatever is eventually constructed, we can only hope the process marks a restatement of American purpose and America's ideals.

(Reviewed February 10, 2003)

Postscript, February 27, 2003: The design from Studio Daniel Libeskind has been selected. Although the LMDC's site committee had endorsed the THINK proposal earlier in the week, the site committee was overridden by the steering committee, which had support from the governor's office, the mayor's office and the Port Authority for the Libeskind plan.

Today's Washington Post quoted an explanation from a source close to those in the Libeskind camp: "Libeskind's design is cheaper, and it has a memorial space that makes the victims' families happy."

The political battle to determine the future of the World Trade Center site is far from over. "There's a real concern that the Port [Authority] will wrap an underground mall, millions of square feet of office space and a bunch of parking garages around this great new civic and memorial space," said Robert D. Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association and a leader of the Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York. "It's the worst kind of 1960's planning."