Architect Jifat Windmiller Recounts 9/11 Aftermath and Wall Street Project in Newly Published Essay

Architect Jifat Windmiller, founding principal of Penta Windmiller Architecture, PC, has published a previously unpublished essay written in 2001 about her experiences during the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. The essay, which appears in The Architect's Newspaper, details her perspective from her home in Brooklyn Heights, where she witnessed the towers collapse and her neighborhood blanketed in debris and smoke. As an architect, Windmiller was responsible for the renovation of 40,000 square feet across three floors at 48 Wall Street—the original Bank of New York Building—as the New York headquarters for GMAC. Days after the attacks, she navigated military checkpoints and climbed 17 flights of stairs to inspect the project, finding it largely intact except for some broken windows. The essay also recounts acts of solidarity, including a subway ride where strangers comforted each other by singing "Let It Be," and a trip to the Hamptons International Film Festival arranged by a friend. The publication includes two previously unpublished analog photographs of the twin towers taken by Natalie Farsi a year or two before 9/11, which she describes as capturing the buildings dissolving into light and atmosphere. Windmiller's design for GMAC received an AIA Design Award. The essay reflects on how the meaning of architecture evolves through history and memory, particularly as the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaches.