The 9/11 design proposal that still shapes me, 24 years on

Today marks 24 years since September 11th, 2001. The tragic events of that day continue to shape my world—as I imagine they do for anyone who was living here and through that time.

Each year, I spend portions of this day reflecting on what I witnessed, what I experienced, how the city responded, and how a new era was ushered into existence. In some ways, we live today with greater freedom; in others, greater restriction.

Staying true to the theme of this publication, I’ll center this reflection on real estate.

In the aftermath of September 11th, the public was invited to participate in a contest to redesign the World Trade Center (WTC). As a commercial artist and designer, I partnered with two immensely talented people—Brent Lagerman and Katherine Guttman—to submit an offering for consideration.

Here is what the full site looked like:

Had our vision been the winner, I might not be in the place I am today (so I’ll spare the dramatic drum roll, as we were not among the 8 finalists).

Yet the experience of that collaboration remains vivid for me, and some of our ideas are still captured in the final design plans that were ultimately implemented.

Here are some additional images from our submission (and bonus points if you can spot me):

The design features:

• Gardens of tranquility where people could pause and reflect.

• Walkways and paths for strolling, thinking, and being together.

• Poetry to help frame the mind—to appreciate the lives lost, to acknowledge the enormity of what happened on the site, and to prompt reflection on one’s own life.

• Memorial spaces recalling the specific people whose lives were tragically taken too soon that day.

Although I have passed through and by the new WTC, I’ll admit I have never entered the hallowed ground of the memorial itself.

Nevertheless, the World Trade Center is among the most valuable pieces of real estate in New York—not just in a financial sense, but symbolically.

The Twin Towers once stood as a global emblem of New York, and to some, of America and its ideals. Today, the Freedom Tower, which I acknowledge daily from our Lower East Side living room, rises as a new visual symbol of the city.

Real estate is never just buildings—it is spaces, uses, and meanings—places that silently witness the human experience.