I have not closely followed the controversies surrounding the 9/11 memorial and the fate of Ground Zero.
Not to sound cold, but it’s clear that the urban space is important for many reasons and that all those who lost loved ones will one day be gone too. A century from now, New Yorkers will be in that urban space, so what we do with it now matters to a lot more people than just those who were directly affected by the attacks.
In my English classes at Armstrong right now, there are students who were in 3rd grade when the towers fell. Our communal memory of events changes and fades over time.
All that said, I kind of like the plans that one can see here. Will those pools and fountains seem unduly large a century from now? Maybe. But all the elements that I can envision from this rendering seem pretty good to me.
This is embedded from The Atlantic, which notes:
The master plan for the site was designed by Daniel Libeskind, and the memorial was designed by architect Michael Arad in collaboration with landscape architecture firm Peter Walker and Partners. One World Trade Center, the tallest skyscraper on the site, was designed by David Childs, and will become the tallest building in the U.S.