9/11 Memorial Case Study

Digital Restoration: 9/11 Memorial of Maryland

The Story:
Early on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 nearly 3,000 people were killed in a series of four suicide attacks coordinated to strike the areas of New York City and Washington D.C. and comprising the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Of the thousands of lives that were taken that day, 69 of them were from Maryland many of whom worked in the Pentagon.

Top to Bottom: Finished 3D Model, 9/11 Memorial of Maryland After Installation

There were Maryland natives whose lives were taken at all three sites that were struck that Tuesday morning including the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the Pentagon in Washington D.C and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where passengers on flight 93 heroically forced the hijackers to crash the plane well before they made it to Washington D.C., the assumed target of that plane.

The 9/11 Memorial of Maryland was unveiled on the 10 year Anniversary of the unforgettable attack. A 22 foot-long steel artifact, which consists of three steel beams and weighs 5,000 pounds, is the centerpiece of the memorial which is located in the plaza of Baltimore's own World Trade Center. The beams were originally a part of the New York World Trade Center's North Tower and are an eerie reminder of the terrible destruction caused by the attacks. They sit atop a large marble base that features the names of all of the Marylanders whose lives were lost that day.

The Ziger/Snead Architecture Team also incorporated three damaged limestone blocks from the Pentagon, which once again show the amazing destruction that resulted, while the site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania is represented by three large pieces of polished black granite from a quarry near the site. A smaller fragment of the steel beams is located on the observation level of the nearby World Trade Center along with limestone from the Pentagon and limestone rocks from the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville. Each Marylander who was lost that day is represented in the exhibit by their name and photograph.
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The Challenge:
Ziger/Snead contacted Direct Dimensions to capture the amalgamated steel beams and the smaller steel fragment in their exact current state, without jeopardizing the state of the artifacts, for a number of uses including site placement, analysis and fabrication. return to full slide show

The Solution:

3D scan the memorial on-site using the Surphaser Spherical Scanner
Capture the inside and undercut areas using the Mantis Vision F5 Scanner
Combine the scan data to create an accurate 3D model from the scan data
Create a low-resolution CAD model using the scan data as a guide
Ziger/Snead was given both high and low resolution models each for different purposes return to full slide show

Applications

Digital Molds
3D Archiving
Digital Sculpting
Restoration
Replicas and Editions
Enlargements and Reductions
Crating and Exhibits
Research and Analysis
Fundraising

Services

3D Imaging
3D Modeling
Visualization
Fabrication
Project Management