[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/200...how_index.html


As part of the Brooklyn mockup, a shallow peripheral pool was constructed that would, in essence, serve as the barrier between visitors and the edge of the great waterfalls beyond. A test panel in bronze showed how raised letters would look if they were slightly submerged, just breaking the water's surface.


Another test panel showed what would happen if the letters were cut out and slightly submerged. The surface tension of the water actually created its own soft form around the letters, which -- like the enormous pools beyond them -- were voids.


During design development, one theme that emerged forcefully was that many visitors would want to be able to make rubbings of the names to take with them as tangible and personal mementos. Memorial officials have given thought to creating kits especially for that purpose.


It turned out that cut-out letters offered the best and clearest form for rubbing -- as anyone would know who has done so in an old cemetery. They can also be illuminated from within so that they glow at night. The capital C is just over an inch and a half high. The typeface is Optima, designed by Hermann Zapf in 1958.


The typeface used for the categories -- Flight 93, North Tower, Engine Company 10 and the like -- is also Optima. But it is raised on almost sculptural ridges, rather than being cut out. The bronze gives it an especially appealing tactile quality. Many hands are sure to pass over it.