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Kids Build Their Own World Trade Center Models
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FEBRUARY 06TH, 2003
Even though the proposals for the World Trade Center site
have been narrowed down to two, there's an exhibition
downtown of new plans designed by some local middle school
students. NY1’s Paul Messina has the story.
An old adage says that children should be seen, but not
heard.
But for some New York students, their visions for the World
Trade Center site are being seen and heard at 75 Broad St.
Downtown.
“I have five monuments; the Pyramid of Intelligence,
mini-Twin Towers, Tower of Remembrance, Ms. Liberty and the
Balance of Life,” said seventh-grader Linda Goe, who worked
on her design with several other students at Junior High
School 56 on the Lower East Side.
The kids are among about 50 students who teamed up to create
their own plans. The Renaissance Charter School in Jackson
Heights also was involved in the project, run by the
Salvadori Center, which uses project-based learning to teach
lessons on the built environment.
“I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, and I
understand,” said Robert Selsam of the Salvadori Center,
quoting a Chinese proverb. “And so what we try to do is get
kids to do – to use their hands and do fun things and debunk
learning science and math.”
The models are not an art project. They were created after
weeks of studying, sketching and teamwork, with an eye
toward detail and symbolism.
“The fountain in the middle is like our main attraction,”
said JHS 56 seventh-grader Pei Xiong Liu, showing off a
model. “And it has the World Trade Center on top to signify
something. And it's kind of like a fountain of life.”
Flynn Francisco, an eighth-grader from The Renaissance
Charter School proposed the world's tallest building in his
plans.
“Because lots of people lost their jobs, so I wanted to
build up the economy again,” Francisco said.
“Good ideas can come from anywhere,” said
Thomas S. Johnson of the Lower Manhattan Development
Corporation. “And we must be willing to look to all sources
for solutions to problems and for ways to take advantages of
opportunities.”
And although these plans may not influence the actual
buildings that rise on the site, they serve an important
purpose.
“By doing and by understanding, this collaborative project
has allowed them to express themselves creatively and just
as importantly, emotionally,” said Frank Lombardi of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The student's designs will be on display throughout February
in the lobby of 75 Broad St. in Lower Manhattan.
--Paul Messina
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Copyright © 2003 NY1 News
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