Some thoughts about the Narratives

I was looking at Irish Hunger Memorial in NYC

So basically it is part of an Irish village, the ruins of the stone cottages after people left their homes. You go up from the street level and enter this "Disney Land"- like village to remember the Irish immigration to America. 

It's a bit too literal, but one interesting thing is the contrast between the present and the past. (in the materials maybe? and also the clean finish of the base part, it becomes messy and more natural when it goes up) I think it also tries to play with the idea of going from darkness to light, it is not that strong though.

I was also looking at the Japanese Immigration memorial in Brazil. 

To me, it is using metaphorical elements to abstract the idea of immigration. The path which is going slightly up, the formal gestures, the simple material and also water as a dividing element are all metaphors to showcase the "passing" form on place to another. 

None of these examples are buildings obviously. I'm starting to ponder about the narrative in a building. Maybe it doesn't have to be necessarily a series of ramps or stairs (the things that I'm struggling with right now). Or maybe ramps or corridors are not the best way to show the moments of the history. Maybe it doesn't have to be so powerfully present. I'm thinking about other ways to curate the experience in the building without making it imposing to the visitor. Invisible path maybe? Some kind of transitions between spaces that you are not extremely aware of the presence of it. 

I am sort of revisiting a lot of my initial thoughts, maybe it is not a really good time though!

More thoughts and design stuff coming soon... 

Memory & Moving Forward

Given that several of you have been looking at the cultural/historical layers of a site, it might be worthwhile to look at a few recent projects that have dealt with not only historical connections but also deeper social dimensions such as memory and grief. It might also be worthwhile to read a provocative article by Tom Wilkinson in a recent issue of The Architectural Review where he proposes that "perhaps the greatest act of remembrance we could perform this year would be to obliterate the [Haig] memorial and refrain from building any new ones."

Sandy Hook Elementary School 
After the tragedy of the mass shooting a couple of years ago, the residents decided to move forward and build another school atop the site of the former school.

Malaysia Airline Flight 17 Memorial Competition

After the MH17 crash at the Ukraine-Russia border, there was an incredible amount of grief felt by not only the Malaysian and Dutch populations but that of Asia in general. There are several notable project ideas that serve to draw connections to the tragedy through narrative and iconography which some of you may find useful to learn from.

Memory, Peace, and Reconciliation Center by Juan Pablo Ortiz Architects

This exemplifies a contemporary approach to solemn spaces. Though it is very successful, it also runs the risk of becoming a generic approach to this typology. For those of you interested in narrative, memory, and historicism, this might be a project worth learning from.