The first is from David Pires who was an integral member of the team that worked on the memorial in Acushnet, Massachusetts which we first highlighted in December 2012.  Mr. Pires is a LEED AP Lighting Designer at TRO Jung|Brannen.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive exterior lighting isn't about eliminating darkness; it’s about creating scenes that have limits forming narratives. “On our initial meeting, the artists, the Fire Chief and I agreed that the lighting should highlight the Memorial but that it should also be modest and respectful,” Pires said.

Acushnet’s 1.4 ton WTC girder is impossible to resist; visitors feel the need to touch it, connecting them physically to the tragedy.  Pires wanted to be sure that the Acushnet project extended an invitation to take part in this sacrosanct rite. He was especially aware not to interfere with this experience by a jarring lighting scheme.  Pires recalled,

I remember one evening the artists had created a full size foam core mock up of the beam on its base and brought it to the site. The five of us spent over an hour with flashlight apps on our cell phones trying to get just the right effect. It sounds kind of makeshift but what we discovered is that we didn't need to blast the structure with light and that grazing it from different angles really accentuated the steel beam’s shape. 

Click here to see a detail view of the Starlite glass panel. Images courtesy of David Pires.

The neighboring lights, including those from the Fire Station and Police Department, starkly contrast the delicate lighting on the memorial. Pires added, “I also wanted light to fall around the relic’s plinth.  I liked what had been done on the new scheme at the Bunker Memorial in 2007 and wanted a similar effect.” The encircling Adjustable Well Star™ Solid State (BKSSL®) fixtures form a sanctified perimeter around the plinth base, reiterating its pentagon shape.

Pires needed a clean yet powerful way to illuminate the Starlite etched glass monolith panel that bore the names of victims, first responders and the memorial’s dedication. Pires continues,

We also used 4 Mini Micro™ Recessed Uplight Solid State (BKSSL®) fixtures.  I needed to maximize the output along the glass edge so that it was evenly illuminated; the fixtures were semi-recessed into the mounting plate leaving the stainless steel pour collars exposed.  This made for simpler installation with paver stones and allowed us to get the source closer to the glass.

It’s a moving experience to visit the site in the early evening and read the memorial while the massive scarred beam sits in the distance, slightly out of focus, pointing towards its former home…

Our second designer perspective stems from the Flight 93 Memorial located in Union City, California. Flight 93 was on its way home to the San Francisco Bay Area when it was hijacked by terrorists and was intentionally downed over Shanksville, PA. The catchphrase "Let's Roll" by Todd Beamer heard just before all contact was lost with the jet has since become an example of America's resolve following 9/11.

The Flight 93 project was completed over several years with major contributions made by U.S. Marine vet, Michael L. Emerson and Robert Mowat ASLA, landscape architect and principal of Robert Mowat Associates.

Image courtesy of Michael L. Emerson.  Fixtures shown are HP2 Halogen MR16  &  Glow Star Halogen MR16.

The Flight 93 Union City memorial gently curves along an "S" path, what Robert refers to as a 'line of beauty', originating from the Circle of Remembrance. The circle features three massive Blue Robin granite monoliths from Elberton, GA (10' tall x 30" wide, 3000 lbs. each) that describe the event, the memorial, donors and sponsors. The monoliths' large mass acknowledges the totality 9/11 attacks. A Remembrance Tree is installed in the center of the circle, planted with soil from the actual Flight 93 crash site in Pennsylvania.

The path winds past forty Remembrance Stones (one for each passenger) made of Wausau Red granite sourced from Brownsville, WI. They are approximately five to six feet in height. The sizing was intentional; they are representations of the human form. Each remembrance stone is engraved with the name, age and hometown of a passenger. The stones feature a polished stainless steel mirror and when peered into reflects visitors' faces; a reminder on the universality of the attacks. The sides of the stones are left roughly hewn symbolizing the lives that were left incomplete by the attacks. The backs of the stones are matte with another stainless steel mirror that is also matte in finish. These elements, unclear and opaque, represent the potential the passengers of Flight 93 sacrificed.

The path ends at the Circle of Hope which includes the American flag set upon a cone shaped mound which is tiled. The tiles were decorated by local schoolchildren ranging from elementary to high school. The students were intentionally uninformed on the tiles' final location so that their depictions would not be influenced by the September event.

Even the benches locations are symbolic gestures having been placed relative to the sun's path; sitters face sunlight rather than oppose it with their backs. They literally look forward to the new day. The memorial also contains ornamental grasses and flowers living symbols of renewal and growth. Like the Ascushnet Memorial, Flight 93 calls us to reflect on our Nation's loss and to appreciate the gift of life.

Michael recalled,

When I started, I didn't know how to do this or even what materials would be best but I had a vision of what this memorial could be. It took a tremendous amount of energy and time to connect all the various people to complete the project. This was the first 9/11 memorial for me and for the nation. It was the first project of its kind to completely done out of private funds, donated materials and hundreds if not thousands of volunteers.

I learned a lot about lighting and the importance of the ambience good lighting can provide. I started to think about quality of life lighting can provide but not just for projects like this. I started thinking about lighting in terms of my own personal life and in my own home.

Robert adds,

The memorial takes on an ethereal atmosphere at night. The lighting turns the stones into something living and breathing due to the humanist scale and the distribution of light on the stones' different types of finishes. The lighting scheme helps keep visitors focused inward and contained in the space. The groves of redwood trees, which were preexisting and incorporated into the site plan, almost give the memorial a cathedral-like feeling. The experience is visceral.

The Flight 93 project for Mr. Emerson has been a catalyst and he has been involved in a host of other memorial and patriotic projects located in Hayward, CA, Washington D.C., Charleston, NV and more still in planning. He is a board member for several organizations including Veterans Support Foundation and Veterans Tickets Foundation.

Mr. Mowat continues to expand his clientele throughout the Bay Area and Napa Valley through his firm Robert Mowat Associates.

B-K Lighting + TEKA Illumination wholeheartedly thank the individuals involved in these projects that have or continue to honor those lost on that fateful day in 2001.