Memorial Design

Creating spaces and places that commemorate people or events is probably the highest calling there is for artists, architects and landscape architects. To be given the privilege of designing places that honor the fallen, mark an historic event, and offer healing and reflection for today’s visitors as well as future generations is a mighty responsibility. On this Memorial Day, I’d like to highlight a few of my favorite memorial designs.

When it comes to precedent, the first memorial in the bible is an amazing example of achieving depth in design by using subtle layers of symbolism to tell a story. In Joshua 3 and 4, we are told of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. This crossing was made possible by the hand of God holding back the rushing waters of the flooded river. Joshua 3:15-16 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing… 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. Joshua 4:1-3 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." Joshua called together 12 men, one from each tribe, and gave them the Lord’s orders to take a stone from where the priests stood, and they did. The twelve men brought the stones to the place they would stay and Joshua set them up. Joshua 4:21-24 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up…He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

The richness of this memorial is great. First, the material is so interesting. It isn’t rare or imported, it isn’t beautifully carved, it isn’t written upon, it’s simply part of the river bed being brought out to dry ground. It is completely contextual. The stones are specifically from where the priests stood holding the ark. Stone, which will hold up well over time, is used to mark the place of this event and to remind future generations of the power of God. Secondly, the number of stones, which represent the 12 tribes of Israel, is significant. Not only is the number important, but the process by which they were collected is also. That in itself was ceremonial. Twelve men, one from each tribe, were invited to become a part of the creation of the memorial. Finally, this memorial serves to not only mark this event, but to also bring to mind Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea. To some this would be a pile of worthless rocks. To others it signifies the mighty hand of God. It offers something to touch that their ancestors touched. This pile of rocks brings glory not to an artist or a shiny metal or jewel, but to God, who the memorial is intended for. The beauty of great memorial design is the subtle layering of meaning.

Here are a few of my favorite memorials that successfully layer symbolism and meaning which allows for personal interpretation and experience.

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

It’s all about unity, honor, sacrifice, and equal value of life.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/

The Pentagon Memorial, Washington DC by KBAS Studio

I have not experienced this one myself, but I hope to someday. This memorial serves to honor the lives lost on 9/11 when a hijacked passenger plane was purposely crashed into the Pentagon. The memorial uses design elements to recognize the life of each victim lost that day, their age on the day of the tragedy, their location (on board or in the Pentagon), and even their height. Please read here to discover more about the many levels of thought that make up this memorial.

MKJACOBS.WIX.COM

The Vietnam Memorial, Washington DC by Maya Lin

I know, this one is almost too cliché to mention as a favorite memorial, but I have experienced it, and it is very powerful. Please click here to learn about the process and meaning in the design from Maya herself. The design is sort of a V shape, cut into the land so you actually ramp down, with the memorial acting as a retaining wall. The material is polished, dark granite. The names of over 58,000 fallen US soldiers are etched into the stone wall. I visited this memorial in college, with a group of classmates. The further we got “into” the memorial, the quieter we became. The distractions of the Washington Mall fall away as you go deeper down the path, and the wall with the names of the fallen grows larger. The reflections of other visitors that can be seen in the polished granite are almost ghostly, while the names of the dead can be felt by fingertip. It is simple and bold. One cannot visit this memorial without a humbling understanding of the sacrifice of American soldiers in the Vietnam War.

studyblue.com

The Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington DC by Don Leon, John Paul Lucas, Veronica Burns Lucas and Eliza Pennypacker Oberholtzer and Cooper-Lecky Architects (it’s confusing)

This memorial is a tribute to all of the military that served during the Korean War. There is a lot of symbolism in this memorial, but when I visited it much was lost on me. Visit here for information about its design. Even though I am not typically moved by realistic statues, this one drew me right in. What is significant and very successful about this design is its ability to take me to the place of the war. As soon as I passed through the grove of trees that are part of the design, I was making eye contact with a soldier, his head turned, looking right at me. He was larger than life, about 7 feet tall. His face shows danger, seriousness, like he is the lookout in the back of his squad as they move forward. His poncho over his pack recalls a wet, humid climate. The greenery he is stepping over told me they are tromping through a landscape, not on a road or path. This memorial invited me into the place and experience of the soldier like no other has.

washingtondcstockimages.com

Memorial Loss Garden (Garden of Little Angels) Franklin Square Hospital Center, Baltimore Maryland, by Krol’s Nursery

I find this memorial significant not because of its slick and symbolic design, but because of its purpose and process.

“Most people think of Labor and Delivery as a happy place in a hospital, and most of the time it is. But when it’s sad, it’s really sad. Of the thousands of births at our hospital each year, about forty families experience the loss of a baby-through miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death. It’s devastating because they not only lose the baby; they lose their dreams and hopes for the child’s future.”….”One of the hardest things about a perinatal loss is the lack of tangible memories from the child’s life.”…”I believe that one of the roles of health-care professionals in helping parents whose babies have died is to make the experience real. That was one of the strong motivations for creating a remembrance garden – a physical place that is always there as witness to the baby’s life, however short it was.” (Open Spaces Sacred Places, 2008, Stoner and Rapp)

This text is from an excellent book, Open Spaces Sacred Places.

Not only has a garden been developed with the help of the TKF Foundation, there are ceremonies in place as well. A path has been created for an annual walk to remember, so families can come together and find community. With the parents’ permission, the hospital will prepare a memory box that contains as many baby items as possible. A photo, hair sample, newborn cap, blanket, armband, handprints and footprints are assembled for the parents with a note of sympathy from the delivery nurse.

“Our Garden of Little Angels is a soothing place for parents and siblings to sort through their feelings. Nestled against the walls of the Women’s Pavilion, the garden has a thirty-foot-tall waterfall, meandering walkways, a pond filled with lily pads, and a number of quiet spaces for reflection. It has a children’s area with a miniature labyrinth where children can walk or run in circles to their hearts’ content and have the space they need at this difficult time. Central to the garden is the blue spruce tree that is the focus of our annual ceremony honoring the lost babies.” (Open Spaces Sacred Places, 2008, Stoner and Rapp)

What a beautiful purpose! To heal, to honor, to remember, to bring together.

click here for more information