Infinite Spire WTC Memorial

I'd like to thank Andy Oram for pointing out Brian McConnell's Infinite Spire design proposal for the World Trade Center Memorial in this post (O'Reilly Network).

Although I didn't connect much with the Fallen Headstones idea, I really loved the Infinite Spire concept. It is very elegant both from an aesthetics and a mathematics point of view. I think the simplicity of the monument would have beautifully conveyed its solemn but hopeful message.
The site has lots of details on how to implement the optical illusion, using geometry and texture. The references to antic Greek architecture are also very interesting.

Thank you for linking to our design.

About the headstones, one of the program requirements for the memorial was to recognize each individual who died in the attacks. This was widely interpreted to mean that the design should include a name or object of some sort for each person.

The headstones in our design are intended to work on two levels. Individually, each headstone recalls the life, death and actions of a person. As a group, they form an image of the collapse. In this context, they are intended as a physical memory of the destruction that took occurred there.

Not a pretty image, but it is true to what happened.