In Wake of Destruction, MIT Builds

Down the river, students and faculty at MIT have responded to the attack on the World Trade Center in a way that comes naturally to them—construction. The Reflecting Wall at MIT, a 12-foot by 25-foot life-size wooden replica of a section of the World Trade Center now stands behind the MIT chapel. The monument was created as a temporary space where members of the community could reflect on the national tragedy that has left close to 6,000 people missing. Last Friday, the site was dedicated by ministers representing all faiths. According to the MIT press office, approximately 400 people attended the ceremony, laying roses, notes and lighted candles at the foot of the wall.

The idea for a place for reflection was first proposed at an all-campus meeting on Wednesday, September 12. The project was then turned over to a committee who solicited the help of Assistant Professor of Architecture John Fernandez. Fernandez had been studying the World Trade Center at the time of the attack.

It was Fernandez’ idea to reproduce a full-scale replica of the wall. At the ceremony, the MIT news office reports that he recalled visiting the Twin Towers multiple times and now being haunted by the images of people clinging to the outside of the building in an attempt to escape the heat caused by the fire. He called the World Trade Center an “icon of New York and thinks of the wall as a reminder “of the last thing that many people saw before dying.”