Remembering 9/11, Healing Through Architecture and Design | 343 | Paul Murdoch and the Flight 93 Memorial

Convo By Design®

This is Convo By Design, commemorating the tragic events of September 11th the best way I know how with a conversation about remembering, honoring and healing through architecture.

It is hard for me to believe that September 11th happened 20 years ago this week. Time has a funny way of blending and bending that flexes an individual timeline. 9/11 seems like yesterday but January 2020 seems like forever ago. You know what I mean? I spoke to Paul Murdoch, of Paul Murdoch Architects. I’ll keep the preamble brief, Paul and I are talking about the Flight 93 Memorial he designed to memorialize the field in Pennsylvania where Flight 93 crashed after passengers disrupted the planned path to crash in San Francisco. This is a deep dive into the meaning and purpose of memorial design. Why and how with respect. If you don’t know the story, you are about too. If you think you already know the story, you might still learn a few things. Most importantly for me, was that this is not about designing luxury, beauty and style, but all are there. This is about a single purpose, honoring. Remembering the souls lost on a tragic day for friends, families and a country. We had no say in what happened to us, but we had total control of the narrative to follow. Much of that narrative can be told through this now iconic architectural statement.

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Thank you, Paul. It was an honor to speak with you about this. Thank you Walker Zanger and ThermaSol for your partnership. And, thank you for listening and subscribing to the podcast. Keep those emails coming convo by design at Outlook dot com. I am looking forward to seeing you again in person at a design event near you very soon. Until then, be well and remember those lost on September 11th. Remember what it felt like to join together, as Americans in a common goal. Remember that regardless of your personal beliefs on every small issue, there is something greater at stake. Remember those lost on Flight 93 20 years ago this week.