Memorial: The Latest Architecture and News

The United Kingdom Government has announced the shortlisted design teams for the national memorial dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II, following the first stage of a two-stage open competition that attracted creative talent from the UK and beyond. The five teams moving forward in the competition are Foster + Partners with Yinka Shonibare and Michel Desvigne Paysagiste; Heatherwick Studio with Halima Cassell, MRG Studio, Webb Yates, and Arup; J&L Gibbons with Michael Levine RDI, William Matthews Associates, Structure Workshop, and Arup; Tom Stuart-Smith with Jamie Fobert Architects, Adam Lowe (Factum Arte), and Structure Workshop; and WilkinsonEyre with Lisa Vandy, Fiona Clark, Andy Sturgeon Design, Atelier One, and Hilson Moran.

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.

After over two decades in the making, the Perelman Performing Arts Center opened to the public on September 19, 2023. The luminous cube-shaped building was designed by the architecture firm REX, led by Joshua Ramus, to become one of New York City’s cultural keystones and the final piece in the 2023 Master Plan for the rebuilding of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. The inaugural season will feature commissions, world premieres, co-productions, and collaborative work across theater, dance, music, opera, film, and more. While only eight stories high, the venue stands out due to its monolithic façade composed of translucent veined Portuguese marble.

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Chilean architect Cazu Zegers has been chosen to design a memorial garden at the Red Cross headquarters. In the architect's own words, this project "aims to showcase the selfless efforts of those who have become martyrs of the Red Cross."

Pedrógão Grande, a Portuguese municipality located approximately 55 kilometers from Coimbra, inaugurated the Memorial in Homage to the Victims of the 2017 Forest Fires last week. This tragic event resulted in the loss of 66 lives and left 253 injured. The monument was designed by architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, winner of the 2011 Pritzker Prize.

The work, initiated by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) two years ago, cost approximately 1.8 million Euros. According to IP, the monument features a framing lake spanning about 2,500 square meters in area. The lake is supplied by a 60-meter-long gargoyle and bordered by a strip of plants, including white water lilies, lilies, and ranunculus. Additionally, the project incorporates a wall with the name of each victim inscribed on it, according to IP.

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The city of Los Angeles has selected six finalists for the competition to design a new memorial dedicated to the victims of the 1871 Chinese Massacre. In one of the darkest chapters in the city’s history, on 21 October 24, roughly ten percent of the city’s Chinese population at the time, at least 18 residents, were murdered by a mob of rioters. The memorial seeks to raise public awareness of the 1871 racially motivated mass killing while simultaneously addressing contemporary concerns regarding race, intolerance, and violence. The memorial was first announced in April 2021, and it is set to be built near the site of the massacre and the Chinese American Museum.

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After being granted planning permission for UK’s Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre designed by Adjaye Associates, together with Ron Arad Architects and Gustafson Porter + Bowman, the UK court has decided to halt the project following a legal dispute. The decision comes after an appeal made by the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, local community groups, Jewish leaders, and Holocaust survivors, who all argued the project is being built in the wrong location.

The Pritzker Military Museum & Library has selected Los Angeles-based Oyler Wu Collaborative as the winner of an international design competition that aims to honor members of the United States Armed Forces who served during the Cold War. The winning design, titled Orbits, embodies the "dedication, optimism, and hope that is emblematic of the veterans' enduring spirit", as the structure emerges from the ground to become an architectural tribute to the war veterans.

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To honor the losses caused by the pandemic over the past two years, a temporary national memorial will be built in Bedworth’s Miners' Welfare Park in England on May 21st until May 28th. Designed by artist David Best, Sanctuary will serve as a powerful symbol of catharsis and rebirth for the whole community, giving them the chance to grieve the losses caused by the pandemic by writing messages or leaving mementos on the walls of the installation, which will then be burned on its last day.

David Adjaye was announced as the lead designer of the Barbados Heritage District, dedicated to documenting and recounting the impact of slavery on Barbados as well as cultures and nations in the Western hemisphere. The project will comprise a memorial, a museum and a research institute, the latter in charge of presenting Barbados’s pivotal role within the slave trade history as the place of departure for millions of enslaved Africans towards the Americas. The Heritage District, whose announcement closely follows Barbados’ transition to a parliamentary republic, marks a cornerstone in the development of the country’s identity more than five decades after declaring its independence from Britain.

After four years since its reveal, planning permission has been granted for UK’s Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre designed by Adjaye Associates, together with Ron Arad Architects and Gustafson Porter + Bowman. First developed in 2017, the project has been stalled by public opposition concerning the chosen site and the loss of green space. A revised design has been revealed in 2019 and was given the go-ahead last week after a public inquiry. To be built within Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament, the project features a series of bronze fins marking the entrance pavilion, paired with an underground educational centre.

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Matt Hickman reports on San Francisco's latest inclusive memorial, for the Architect's Newspaper, designed by SWA, a firm that operates two Bay Area studios (San Francisco and Sausalito) as well as offices in Texas, Southern California, New York City, and Shanghai. Selected by FHMP from a shortlist of four firms that submitted proposals, out of 17 invited offices, SWA shared their winning conceptual design for the memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza.

Going out twice per month, our curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture submitted by our readers highlights inventive conceptual approaches and designs. Showcasing projects from all over the world, this article puts together several programs, from houses to master plans. Moreover, it presents winning proposals from international competitions, buildings in progress, and creative concepts.

In the housing category, the roundup features an underground bunker-like house plan in Ukraine, a suspended glass structure cabin in Portugal, a complex of residential units in France, and a site-less, style-inclusive reinterpretation of the vertical housing block. In addition, a playful commercial building in Iran, a WWI memorial in Serbia, and an extension for the Glasgow School of Art join the selection, with their imaginative architecture and out of the box ideas.

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