The architect of the Flight 93 memorial said he is willing to consider criticism about his design -- specifically that the use of a crescent-shaped pathway of red maple trees could be seen as a tribute to Islam that would honor the terrorists that crashed the plane.

	Paul Murdoch Architects A crescent of maple trees is one aspect of the 2,000 acre "Crescent of Embrace" memorial site. Click photo for larger image.

I t appears to be a step back for Paul Murdoch, who just last week said he would be willing to change the name of that element, "Crescent of Embrace," to something else, but not the design itself.

Murdoch appreciates the fact that the design competition, from the very beginning, has been an open process with much public participation. Just because a design has been chosen, he said, public involvement should not end.

"We were open to that to develop the design before, and we're open to that now," he said.

Murdoch did not say if the design should change or how. What he did say, though, is that there are three main qualities of that part of the design that must remain: that the tribute is seen as coming from the land -- using the topography of the site; that the flight path cutting through the bowl-shaped piece of land is still represented; and that there is still an embracing gesture of the crash site.

"Those are the qualities the families and I feel are important," Murdoch said. "There's a certain degree of flexibility in how that is achieved."

Overseers of the project say the design will not change dramatically. Instead, they said it's always been the case that the design would change as work on the memorial progressed.

"It would be an evolution of the design, not a wholesale scrapping of it," said Jeff Reinbold, project manager with the National Park Service.

The winner was chosen from among 1,011 entries that were pared to five finalists.

Those five final submissions were on display for more than a month for public comment before a second jury -- including eight family members -- met in August to choose the winner.

During their deliberations, the use of the term "crescent," did come up. It was raised in the written comments of one person -- out of 400 -- who viewed the five finalists on display. In addition, Tom Burnett Sr., whose son died in the crash, said he made an impassioned speech to his fellow jurors about what he felt the crescent represented.

"I explained this goes back centuries as an old-time Islamic symbol," Burnett said. "I told them we'd be a laughing stock if we did this."

But his fellow jurors -- and it turns out, many of the other family members -- disagree with his interpretation.

"I got blown off."

But not entirely. The jurors, in their final report, suggested the name of Murdoch's design be changed from crescent to something with less religious significance, like an arc or circle.

Jack Nasar, who teaches landscape architecture at Ohio State University, believes changing the name of the element should be enough to satisfy the design's critics.

In almost every memorial project, Nasar said, some aspects of the winning design will change simply to make it fit the site.

"The competition is sort of a draft version of it," Nasar said. "It should change afterward to be a good project."

And the second-stage jurors on the Flight 93 memorial knew that would be the case.

"It's a concept," said Charles Fox, a memorial juror and museum director for the Somerset Historical Center. "It's expected that this is going to change somewhat. Hopefully, we'll be able to maintain the spirit of the original design and address the concerns."

Gordon Felt, whose brother, Edward, died in the crash, agrees.

"If this one component seems to be a flashpoint, it could be modified, as long it would not change the overall intent of the design," he said.

Dorothy Garcia, whose husband, Andy, died on the flight, was one of the Stage II jurors. She lamented the lack of public input before the winner was chosen.

"There was ample time for public comment," Garcia said. "I don't know why this has become such an issue now."

But for Murdoch, he believes the public has a right to submit its input, even if he feels it's a misinterpretation of the design.

"There's still an element out there that's offended by it, and we will try to take that concern into consideration," he said. "We're not going to be blind to it."