Echoes of Penn Station: A Memorial for Lost Landmark

This project honors buildings lost to profit-driven urban development, drawing inspiration from the tragic demolition of the old Penn Station in the 1960s. The design reconciles architectural and cultural fractures, serving as both a memorial and a space for reflection.

The memorial is a freestanding, diamond-like structure clad in black granite, a material traditionally reserved for monuments. Its reflective surface visually unites Madison Square Garden and the Farley Post Office, transforming into an evolving archive of the city's changing landscape. The structure is permeable, allowing public access while bridging past and present. Beneath it, an open concourse restores lost connectivity and grandeur, with angled surfaces enhancing visual and physical links to lower levels.

A human-scale outdoor water garden aims to restore what Penn Station lost—a civic space, reimagined as an outdoor water garden. This is a new reality constructed with rough surfaces of black granite, inviting repose and contemplation. Rough granite surfaces provide a tactile counterpoint to the polished exterior, reinforcing themes of loss and renewal.

Two intertwining circulation paths define the experience. An exterior stairway allows dynamic movement, while an ADA-accessible interior ramp doubles as an exhibition space, fostering engagement and historical reflection.

This memorial reimagines the grandeur of Penn Station and other lost landmarks, preserving their memory while offering a space for urban reconciliation. It stands as a testament against the erasure of architectural heritage and a commitment to collective memory within the evolving cityscape.