Mount Pleasant residents want awe-inspiring National Medal of Honor Museum

The Post and Courier, Dave Munday, 6/28/2018
The first round of community feedback on a new design for a National Medal of Honor Museum on the Mount Pleasant waterfront is expected to give the architect enough information to present some sketches at the next meeting.
About 100 people climbed aboard the Yorktown at Patriots Point on Wednesday night for the first of several forums on the design of the building planned on state-owned land nearby.
Architect Moshe Safdie of Boston, who has designed iconic structures all over the world, was on hand to try to get a better sense of what the community wants.
What they want most is “a national monument of significance that inspires awe” and also fits into the environment, according to poll of the audience taken by moderator and consultant David McNair.
Most people texted their preferences, which were projected in real time onto a screen and recorded in a database. Others wrote down their answers, which will also be included.
“This is what community collaboration is all about,” McNair said between questions.
Safdie’s previous design by the water near the Ravenel Bridge was rejected because it was much taller than any other building in Mount Pleasant, and a lot of people didn’t care for the modernistic star-shaped concept. It was developed with little to no input from residents or town officials.

 Joe Daniels, who raised the money to build the September 11 Museum and Memorial in New York City, was brought in to restart the process and promised to work with the community.Safdie gave a presentation of some of his projects, which include the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem and the United States Institute of Peace on the Washington Mall. He said many of his projects involved controversy and compromise, and that’s why it’s important to find out what the community wants.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” he said after the meeting. “It was very informative.”
The next meeting is set for July 26 at Alhambra Hall.

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