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HOUSE OF M EMORI ES
garden of hope
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Our proposal seeks to change the perception of memorial dialectic from object-spectator to space-participant. Instead of a singular object as an altar of memory, we propose a garden wall as a reflective and protective space of remembrance, hope, and spirituality. The garden wall runs the entire lenght of the park perimeter both at park- and basement level, and contains all functions necessary for the park and memorial centre: private niches, benches, calm corners, storage, restrooms, reception, and access to the basement level. Special light shafts embedded in the wall bring daylight to the lower level, and enable small pocket gardens, drawing on the garden motif of the park above. The programmatic gesture of wall-as-function preserves as much space as possible in both levels, allowing for flexible, continous exhibition spaces in the basement, and a densely green garden space above. The openings and rhytms in the garden wall are inspired by the low brick buildings in the West Village. The choice of brick as building material is both a pragmatic and a metaphorical one. Pragmatic because its inherent plasticity, tactility and durability lends it authority and a robustness necessary for a tough urban environment. Metaporical because building with brick means building with unique pieces to make a collective whole. Thus, any brick building is an image of people working together, embodied. Using reclaimed brick from the St. Vincent conversion, and allowing donors to �sponsor� each of the necessary bricks of the project, the memory of St. Vincent’s lives on in the memorial, while the type of funding gives many people a sense of participation in the project. ENTRY NUMBER 4827