My first impression was that it bore a striking resemblance to the Vietnam Memorial in DC, with the sweeping black triangles, and then I read this in the story:
"The jury, which included Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer Maya Lin and the widow of a trade center victim, took eight months to pick the winning design from 5,201 submissions."
Hmmmm...
Otherwise, I think it's a good design. And I think the people protesting it would protest anything. I know the lost of loved ones makes for an emotionally raw state, but their statements were really uncalled for. It is more important to have a memorial soon rather than fight over making the memorial perfect for forever.
Back to the Vietnam connection -- when that memorial was proposed, it was pretty roundly damned by veterans groups on the same basis. I don't think anyone who has actually been there would still maintain that it is sterile. I watched otherwise stoic middle aged men fall to their knees weeping there. I suspect that the Trade Center memorial will be similar.
