In 2002 there was a design competition, which called for ideas to build a place of memorial for those who lost their lives, on Flight 77 and in the Pentagon, September 11, 2001. The winning design was submitted by Keith Kaseman and Julie Beckman of KBAS Architects. The site which is located to the southwest of the US Pentagon is 1.4 acres in size.
The idea was to create a place of person memorial. Every person who passed away has an individual bench commemorating their life. The location of each bench represents the age of the one that lost their life that day, which range South to North in age of 3 to 71. The orientation of the rows of benches is parallel to the path of the airplane took. At the end of each bench is a name plate for the individual, and the orientation of the bench lets visitors know that the individual was on Flight 77 or in the US Pentagon. The benches are made from reflective titanium, which illuminates of the grounds at night as light shines upwards, out of the water below. The grounds are covered in decomposed gravel, as the visitor walks through the memorial they can hear their footsteps which provides a natural audio environment, it also provides a permeable surface to provide favorable watering and growing conditions for the trees located next to each bench.
"We wanted a design that would invite and provoke personal interpretation and allow people to think, but not tell them what to think and how to feel," says Kaseman. "This is a very personal memorial; one that from the beginning we wanted for the family members first and foremost to feel a closeness to."
