Studio Libeskind, working in close partnership with the Memorialization Working Group, has unveiled the preliminary design for the memorial for the 11 killed on 27 October 2018 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, United States. The design was developed in a process led by the victims’ families, communal leaders, and concretional representatives. The building’s official groundbreaking is expected in 2024.
The designs strive to offer a space for public and communal reflection. The outdoor space at the corner of Shady and Wilkins Avenues will be reimagined as a gathering space for this purpose. Inside, the redesigned building will house the Tree of Life congregation, along with spaces for education and research, as well as the nation’s first museum dedicated to the investigation of the historical roots and modern manifestations of antisemitism in the United States.
The decision to reimagine the site of the attack as both a home for worship and as a commemorative and educational site has followed months of deliberation among the Tree of Life congregation. According to the New York Times, in the months following the attack, opinions about the future of the Tree of Life building ranged from demolishing it to rebuilding it without a trace of the incident, a variety of conflicting attitudes that Mr. Libeskind says is a familiar consequence at a site of trauma.
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How Architecture Communicates the Greater Cultural Context: 4 Projects by Studio LibeskindCreating a meaningful memorial is a highly emotional and personal process, while at the same time, it must communicate to a broader audience. For the 10/27 Memorial, we worked closely with the families and the congregations throughout the design process. It was through this collaboration that we created a memorial that celebrates those we lost and brings the families and the community together in healing. - Daniel Libeskind
Renowned for memorializing historical trauma through emotion-inducing spaces, Studio Libeskind is best known for works such as the Jewish Museum in Berlin or the extension to Dresden’s Military History Museum. In a recent interview for ArchDaily, Vladimir Belogolovsky discussed with Daniel Libeskind the roles of contemporary architects, the impact of angular design, and the strive to tell stories and communicate the larger cultural context through architecture. Recently, Studio Libeskind has been commissioned to transform the Art Deco Boerentoren Tower in Antwerp into a new public cultural center.
