A group designated by Congress to build a memorial honoring service members who supported global counterterrorism operations after 9/11 revealed their initial design for the memorial Wednesday.
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation held a live stream Wednesday to show their initial design concept for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial, proposed to be built diagonally across from the Lincoln Memorial and adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, near Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street, NW. The proposal comes after Congress passed the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Act in 2017—which President Donald Trump signed—tasking the foundation with designing the memorial.
The proposed design, the product of lead designer Kengo Kuma, consists of an arch shaped structure of reclaimed war steel covered with vegetation. The foundation’s website describes the shape as an “embrace” that will allow light to flicker through to the people walking through.
The design also includes a marble Path of Honor, which will connect the memorial to surrounding monuments and consist of footprints to carry the “lived experience of warriors” and their family members. A shallow reflecting pool will also welcome guests in, allowing them to step in the water and leave their own footprints alongside those that represent the service members.
The memorial will be oriented toward Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, which primarily serves as a resting place for those who died during the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Japanese architect Kuma also designed the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He made Time’s 2021 list of 100 most influential people. The design is also a product of public input, as the foundation launched the “Help Design History” campaign in 2018 to gather design data and solicited input from 20,000 Americans from every state and veterans from every conflict dating back to World War II, according to the foundation.
Congress in 2021 passed the The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, which then-President Joe Biden signed into law, to authorize the construction of the memorial on the Reserve area of the National Mall. In 2023 the National Capital Planning Commission granted the foundation approval to construct the monument on the site located at 23rd Street, Constitution Avenue, and Henry Bacon Drive, NW.
The foundation will meet with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts to gain conceptual approval in the coming months with the hope to start construction in 2027, per their website. The website states the project is on track for completion by 2028.
