The mounds too serve as sound dampeners. Maya Lin used terrain to quiet the Vietnam Memorial at its heart, and the People's Plan arranges mounds, buildings and walls to make it very quiet around the mounds, but also wide open and airy.
Sky and space are the predominant features of this design, created by its long horizontal and vertical sight lines. That's why landscaping must be minimal, with the few trees or large flora placed to enhance not limit the air and ground sight lines. There are some sight lines almost a quarter mile long, and many others that are 500-700 feet. The vertical sight lines are even bigger and there is almost no place on the site where you can't look between and around the various towers and see a big sky.
