Recently, I visited the ‘Perelman Art Center’.
White box-shaped building, 680 billion won invested… Equipped with a 1,000-seat performance hall and restaurant
“It shouldn’t just remain a sad space.”
‘Ground Zero’ reconstruction project is not yet complete
On the 25th (local time), as I walked from the 9/11 Memorial Pool in Manhattan, New York, USA, towards the direction of the World Trade Center (WTC), an 8-story translucent white marble box-shaped building caught my eye. This is the Perelman Arts Center (PAC), a performing arts center that opened last month to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The state of New York, New York City, bereaved family groups, real estate developers, and land owners worked together to build it on Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, at a cost of $500 million (approximately KRW 680 billion).
On September 11, 2001, the Islamic extremist terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four civilian airliners and attacked the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon building, killing more than 3,000 people, including Americans. Senior Director Cady Kamira, whom we met at Pack, said, “Ever since we were drawing up the reconstruction plan 22 years ago, we have considered that a culture and arts center meant for restoration must be built in the space of tragedy.” He added, “This place, filled with memories of pain, is now a place where citizens can live.” “It will be an amazing community, like this living room, where you can come in and out, relax, eat food, and watch a performance.”
When I climbed the entrance stairs under the box-shaped building covered with about 5,000 marble tiles and entered the first floor, I saw a sofa and a table, just like a living room. It is a space where you can come and go freely during pack opening hours. Inside, I could see the restaurant ‘Metropolis’ opening next month.
Inside the pack on the 25th, officials are setting up a stage for a performance. New York = Metropolis Chef Marcus Samuelson said, “22 years ago, I served food at the Ground Zero site. “It means a lot to me to come back and open a restaurant,” he said. “We chose the name Metropolis to symbolize returning to New York, the home of culture and art, and the menu also contains the characteristics of each region of the city.” He served as the chef for the first state dinner under the Barack Obama administration and runs restaurants in Canada and Europe, including ‘Red Rooster’ in New York.
PACK officials emphasized several times that from the early stages of planning the Ground Zero reconstruction project, the performing arts center was promoted under the leadership of then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the goal that “(Pac) should not remain only a space of sadness.”
Architect Joshua Ramus, who designed the Pack architecture through a contest, said of the 1,000-seat performance hall where the stage is being installed, “It can shine brightly like a lantern at night without interfering with the remembrance of those visiting the 9/11 Terrorist Memorial Park right next door.” “It was designed to be so,” he said. He, who is famous as the designer of the Seattle Public Library, said, “Considering that it had to be built on top of the subway (where vibrations are high), I used a box within a box to enhance the acoustics.”
Due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both WTC twin towers collapsed, making the area of 16 acres (approximately 66,000㎡, approximately 20,000 pyeong) become ground zero. Originally a term referring to an explosive point, it means ‘land with nothing’. New York State, New York City, bereaved family groups, real estate developers, and land owners agreed that this place should be a place of remembrance as well as a gathering place for new generations and carried out a reconstruction project.
In 2011, the site where the Twin Towers were was replaced with a pond called ‘Memorial Pool’. This is a memorial space where a waterfall flows like tears down a panel with the names of the victims written on it. Afterwards, One WTC, the tallest in the United States with a height of 541m, and WTCs 3 and 4 were built. Last year, the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was rebuilt with donations from Greek businessmen.
The obstacle to the reconstruction project was funding. Pack plans often fell apart as they progressed. In 2016, businessman Ronald Perelman donated $75 million (about 102 billion won) to start the project, and it was named the Perelman Art Center. Former Mayor Bloomberg, who led the donation drive, donated $130 million (approximately 177 billion won) to complete the project. The reconstruction project is still incomplete. 2 The WTC building has not yet been able to start because a major tenant company has not been found. 5 WTC is scheduled to be reborn as a residential-commercial complex.
New York =
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.