The Architecture of Tragedy

How do we use architecture to express loss and hope for renewal? Does it make sense to spend millions of dollars building September 11 memorials when so many war survivors are in need of housing and other necessities? Back in 2005 we talked about "The Architecture of Tragedy" when architects Peter Eisenman and Michael Arad, the CEO of Berlin's Jewish Museum, Michael W. Blumenthal, and scholar James Young met to discuss these issues. For a summary, see How Architecture Commemorates Tragedy in Metropolis magazine.

Architecture, including memorials and monuments, is an expressive tool. Design can show prosperity, whimsy, solemnity, or a combination of qualities. Shown here is a modest 9/11 memorial in Front Royal, Virginia. It's a long way from the vast National 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, yet it shares the same message:

In Memory of the People
Who Lost Their Lives On
September 11, 2001
Dedicated
September 11, 2002
^{County of Warren
Warren County Chapter of Izaak Walton League of America}

^{Photo of 9/11 memorial stone at the Warren County Court House, Front Royal, Virginia © S. Carroll Jewell}