The Oculus, The Way of Light

NEW YORK CITY—Every year, the World Trade Center hub opens its skylight on September 11, at exactly 10:28 AM. This observes the time when the North Tower fell due to the terrorist attack on the US. Sunlight comes in, extending light across the floor of the Oculus in the shape of the tower.

The Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava designed the structure for this moment, The Way of Light, to occur each year based on the sun in the sky. At this time, the light falls exactly along the axis of the building. Looking up, the sky is visible in the spine of the skylight. Looking down, the sunlight stretches across the white floor creating a pathway inside the main hall. The Oculus notes that it symbolizes the light that continues to shine through the darkness of tragedy.

The building was designed to be not exactly perpendicular to Church Street. It was erected such that this once a year monument of daylight could honor and remember the people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.