The two bases of the twin towers of the World Trade Center have become twin memorial reflecting pools. Enormous curtains of water flow through carefully spaced weirs into the footprints of the original twin towers, and the names of all those killed by terrorist attacks in 1993 and 2001 are engraved on the bronze parapets surrounding the pools.
The architects, Michael Arad and Peter Parker, have named their 9/11 Memorial “Reflecting Absence”. Indeed, the constant flow of water into these two voids will help visitors reflect on the huge loss and the great absence that resulted from the collapse of the towers ten years ago today.
Hope Fellowship has a small but unique connection with this Memorial. The consulting firm that advised the architects about the mechanical, structural, aesthetic and maintenance aspects of the waterfalls is Dan Euser Waterarchitecture Inc (DEW Inc). Dan Euser is an expert on water behaviour whose water features have won awards in major cities in Canada and the U.S. The huge man-made waterfalls in New York City’s harbour, for example, were also engineered by him.
Dan Euser is a graduate of Toronto District Christian High School and a member of the Richmond Hill Christian Reformed Church. I remember riding on the same Christian School bus with him when we both lived in Willowdale and attended TDCH in Woodbridge.
When I learned that he had become an international water feature design consultant, I called him up and asked if he was willing to advise us on Hope Fellowship’s water feature. At the time his backyard was filled with a twenty-seven foot high mock-up of one of the corners of the water walls that ring the 9/11 Memorial. But he took time out of his busy schedule to come to our church and share his expertise for free. Now, whenever I see or hear the water flowing in our lobby, I remember the “Danny” connection between New York’s Memorial Plaza and our comparatively small water feature, a connection that seems especially meaningful today. As part of your 9/11 anniversary reflections, take a moment to read Jesus’ words on our water feature.
- Pastor Peter
The architects, Michael Arad and Peter Parker, have named their 9/11 Memorial “Reflecting Absence”. Indeed, the constant flow of water into these two voids will help visitors reflect on the huge loss and the great absence that resulted from the collapse of the towers ten years ago today.
Hope Fellowship has a small but unique connection with this Memorial. The consulting firm that advised the architects about the mechanical, structural, aesthetic and maintenance aspects of the waterfalls is Dan Euser Waterarchitecture Inc (DEW Inc). Dan Euser is an expert on water behaviour whose water features have won awards in major cities in Canada and the U.S. The huge man-made waterfalls in New York City’s harbour, for example, were also engineered by him.
Dan Euser is a graduate of Toronto District Christian High School and a member of the Richmond Hill Christian Reformed Church. I remember riding on the same Christian School bus with him when we both lived in Willowdale and attended TDCH in Woodbridge.
When I learned that he had become an international water feature design consultant, I called him up and asked if he was willing to advise us on Hope Fellowship’s water feature. At the time his backyard was filled with a twenty-seven foot high mock-up of one of the corners of the water walls that ring the 9/11 Memorial. But he took time out of his busy schedule to come to our church and share his expertise for free. Now, whenever I see or hear the water flowing in our lobby, I remember the “Danny” connection between New York’s Memorial Plaza and our comparatively small water feature, a connection that seems especially meaningful today. As part of your 9/11 anniversary reflections, take a moment to read Jesus’ words on our water feature.
- Pastor Peter
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