SITU wins the NYC Art Commission Award for Excellence in Design
July 17th 2006Honoring the city's best public projects of year, we received the award for designing the Flight 587 Memorial in Far Rockaway, Queens.
In honor those who died in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 on November 12, 2001, the memorial provide of contemplation and commemoration. The flight was traveling from Queens, New York to Santa Domingo in The Dominican Republic and crashed shortly after take-off from JFK airport.
Oriented towards the ocean beyond, an arching granite wall sits atop an elevated plinth surrounded by planters and nine pear trees. The vegetation serves as a screen separating the visitors from passersby. Voids in the wall frame views of the water and sky and provide places to leave flowers and mementos to loved ones. The names of each of the 265 victims are inscribed on the surface at various heights and a single threshold cuts the wall at its center. At exactly 9:12 a.m. each year, on the anniversary of the crash, sunlight passes through the threshold and aligns with the pattern of paving on the ground.
The memorial was among eight projects selected by the city. The award was presented by Mayor Bloomberg at a ceremony held at the Morgan Library & Museum.