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A design consisting of two reflecting pools and a paved stone field was chosen Tuesday for the World Trade Center memorial after an eight-month competition that drew more than 5,000 entries from around the world.

The "Reflecting Absence" memorial, created by city designer Michael Arad, was chosen by a 13-member jury of artists, architects and civic and cultural leaders. The winning memorial was announced by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency overseeing the rebuilding of the site.

The memorial drew an icy reception from victims' families, who accused the jury of ignoring their input during a hasty deliberation and said the design failed to convey the horror of the attack.

Anthony Gardner, who lost his brother in the Sept. 11 attack and is a member of a coalition for family groups, said the design is "unacceptable."


(AP) "Reflecting Absence: A Memorial at the World Trade Center Site" by Michael Arad, is shown...
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"This is minimalism, and you can't minimalize the impact and the enormity of Sept. 11," Gardner said. "You can't minimalize the deaths. You can't minimalize the response of New Yorkers."

The memorial will remember all of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, including those killed at the Pentagon, in Pennsylvania and aboard the hijacked airliners. It also will honor the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The memorial will be one of two focal points at the trade center site, along with the 1,776-foot glass skyscraper known as the Freedom Tower. Four other buildings are planned where the trade center once stood.

The jury reviewed 5,201 submissions from around the world beginning last summer, narrowing the field to eight in November. By the time the jury convened on Monday, it had chosen three finalists: "Garden of Lights,""Passages of Light: the Memorial Cloud" and "Reflecting Absence."

The reflecting pools that are the centerpiece of the winning memorial mark the footprints of the World Trade Center towers. Pine trees and the stone field lead to the pools.

A jubilant Arad said he was surrounded by well-wishers after learning his plan was chosen. "I just have so many people in the room right now," he said by telephone.

The jury's decision came after a lengthy meeting Monday at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence. The jury toasted its decision with champagne.

"The most important thing is we come up with the right memorial and this process had thousands of people who had suggestions," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who noted that the number of submissions was unprecedented for such a contest. "They whittled it down from thousands to one. You're not going to please everybody."

"Garden of Lights" featured a public area filled with lights, one for each victim. The three-level memorial had a garden on the top and a private area for families of the victims at the twin towers' footprints, connected by a path and a stream of water.

"Passages of Light," by three New York designers, included an open-air structure with cathedral-like vaults and a glass walkway and would have an altar for each victim.