A new design for 9.11

Can you use the word “brand” to describe the latest design for the 9/11 museum?

The proposed visitor center will contain two massive shaped steel columns, original to the towers that survived the attack. Their shape evokes the silhouette of the building and, according to architect, Craig Dykers, “ in their re-erection at the site, will convey strength, fortitude, resilience, survival and hope.”

Can strength, survival and hope be a brand? Certainly Obama would agree on the later. Many designers have gone to great length in the seven years since the attack, to create a place that would both speak to and leave silent what millions experienced on that day. “Because 9/11 was so much a lived experience,” said the museum director, “they will bring their own interpretations to the site. And that’s very powerful.”

In every feature and facility, there is a nod to its delicate task and design challenge – for instance on the second floor there is a private room in which relatives of 9/11 victims may gather, an overlook from which visitors can take in a sweeping view of the memorial, and, a small cafe. (”For sustenance,” Mr. Dykers said, “not a restaurant per se.”)