Stories of Pillars Fan Yang 杨凡 National Slavery Memorial in Washington D.C.
In this project, the cubic stone pillars are applied as the symbolic representation of the individual characters involved in the history of slavery, which was most inspired by the similar type of metaphor from the National Me morial of Peace & Justice in Montgomory, where metal boxes are related to the victim of lynching.
Pillars as Souls
If we are to write a poetry of suffering, besides learning about the toppic of suffering, equally important is to learn about poetry writing method in the first place. According ly, the investigation on design method and on slavery are equally important for me. Therefore, this journey for me is more like a part of ongoing investigation to explore the dimension & potential of de signing these types of experience, and a lot of process works also feel like the resource database of typology or taxonomy for future reference, like the “vocab” and “grammar” of the poetry.
Premises & Disclaimers
Different from a typical project in architecture school, this project has 3 distinct features: it ties to very specific nar rative, involves more landscape than ever, and locates on a very large site. If this memorial is a real project, 3 months might just be the equivalence of the pre-design stage.
4 Scale Time Local Globalscalescale Pre-midterm Post-midterm PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III Sculptures for narrative expression Landscape elements for reflection & commemoration Site strategies Site 3 Gorge scheme Site 2 Linear scheme Site 1 Island(mid-term)scheme Process Mapping
Phase
Fetter Family Separation Twisted Destiny I - Themes of Slavery
Two perspectives can be identified when discussing the issue of slavery, that of observer, through textbook. vs. that from engaging witnesses, through some first hand narration. In this regard I was most inspired by “The Narration of Life of an American Slave” by Frederic .Dou glass, which has inspired me to depiect some of suffering experience such as fetter, forced separation, and twisted life, exemplified in the next few pages.
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MenInequalityandwomenare born equal (hence the identical foot print), yet some of them could grow much better at the expense of exploting and supressing others. The “interior ecperience” convey a sense of suppresion.
7 Scale Time Local Globalscalescale Pre-midterm Post-midterm PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III Sculptures for narrative expression Landscape elements for reflection & commemoration Site strategies Site 3 Gorge scheme Site 2 Linear scheme Site 1 Island(mid-term)scheme Phase II - Remediation
8 The narrative is more text & image based, and more for reflection & commemoration (similar to FDR Memorial) The medium involve much more landscape, including water, vege tation, topography. The spatial order ties more to the definition of path and place. Phase II - Remediation
9 Vertical Aspects With Withoutcanopycanopy FullFullaccessibilityvisibility Limited accessibility Full visibility LimitedPartialaccessibilityvisibility LimitedLimitedaccessibilityvisibility LimitedPartialaccessibilityvisibility LimitedPartialaccessibilityvisibility 4/5 transparent 6/7 transparent 3/5 transparent 0/3 transparent 4.5/6 transparent 3/5 transparent 5/5 transparent 7/7 transparent 5/6 transparent 3/5 transparent transparent 4/5 transparent One of the key subject in phase II is the vertical aspects. This self study illustrate that the degree of enclosure + accessibility could convey different types of intensity or emotion, which is something to look at in next few studies.
10 Meditation platformWater Wall Transitional experiences
Isolating 3 orders
Comparing the massing cut at different height, the isolation be tween the 3 orders can be identified: the formal order defined by the canopies, the spatial order defined by the walls, and the circula tion order defined by the distribution of path and water within.
11 Courtyard
12 Basin Theater Dealing with waterfront
13 TunnelsTerraces Climbing hills
14 Scale Time Local Globalscalescale Pre-midterm Post-midterm PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III Sculptures for narrative expression Landscape elements for reflection & commemoration Site strategies Site 3 Gorge scheme Site 2 Linear scheme Site 1 Island(mid-term)scheme PHASE III - Site Strategies
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The issue of design sequence emerge very early: should we start from the Local scale or global scale? Or can they be simultaneous?
PHASE III - Site Strategies
At the begining I started with the local and there’s inevitably conflict with the global, end ing up with some kind of unilateral dominance of one scale. This dilemma is probably caused by the due nature any large scale design, and I believe that there’s not linear solu tion, and my goal is to create some form of resonance between the two scales, or at least they should mutually inform and interact.
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Site1 - Island scheme (Mid-review)
BecauseDownsidesfor this one I start from the local scale, is a bot tom up method, the three parts are in some way equally intense, and disconnected like a campus and the site and landscape serve mostly as frame/ platform.
ThisProgressscheme setup the basic site formal stragy, by extend ing this existing path and define multiple barriers along path. And this is the begining of landscape’s involve ment: water and the creation of the Island.
Site1 - Island Scheme Site3 is what I chose to develop eventually, but site1 & site2 will also be briefly introduced, mostly regarding the parts inherited by the site3, as if I’m peeling the onion to see the different layers of site design ideas.
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18 Site2 - Linear Scheme BeginProgressto apply toppography and create a holistic basin zone at the center. SectionDownsidesbased design, everything on the same line. Also too mixed and dense. Global site strategy still did not create enough meaning on its own.
20 Site3 - Gorge Scheme A gorge is cut right into the middle of the site, aligning to the obelisk, with topography piles up on both sides
The gorge can be seems as a scar/wound/sin of the nation, as a chal lenge to overcome, overcome by the remidial axis, which start from the lincoln memorial. In terms of relation with the local scales, the gorge ties more to the themes of witnessing slavery from phase I, and the other axis relates more to the reflection and remediation part. Therefore the emotional gravity on these two axis are very different.
Site Narrative
This diagram illustrate the recommended circulation, and the at tempt to control the rhythm & flow. The intensity and gravity alter nate as the spatial enclosure and darkness change. Flow & Rhythm
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26 Sequence
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Referring to the two perspectives mentioned earlier, the observer vs. the engaging witness, this site scheme allow the visitor to observe this gorge from the from high ground first, then go down into the gorge to experience the concealed & forgotten stories.
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When proceeding within the gorge, the gradual increase and decrease of gorge height and changing darkness symbolize the journey and struggle of the victims.
The butresses and trees along the edges also following the same datum and are part of this metaphor of souls. Small amount of water stream down along each buttress, and here’s come the name of this gorge: the valley of tear.
The fields distant from the two main axis are filled with landscape features, almost like the group monument for countless specific individual floating in the endless ocean, both symbolically and literally, serving the backdrop of this stories of pillars.
