How can architects and designers challenge our understanding of memorial design in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic?
Memorial art has long served as a tool to shape and preserve memory. These structures hold a unique position in cultural memory, given their ability to pay tribute to the most difficult periods in human history. As we emerge from a pandemic that took millions of lives, it is essential to consider how we should challenge ideas about remembrance and social solidarity.
“Memorial art is an important act of un-forgetting.”
— David Adjaye
How should we approach the un-forgetting of the COVID pandemic? There is a wealth of information surrounding the history of memorial design, but the challenges of the 21st century may require us to develop new approaches to memorialization. This global public health crisis has encouraged many to rethink spatial storytelling.
In the early 21st century, abstraction and minimalism began to dominate memorial art. From David Adjaye’s Gwangju Pavilion to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, there are countless examples of abstraction being used to help viewers think critically about the form and function of memorial art. A growing number of architects and designers have used this approach to generate critical questions about the purpose of memorialization. The COVID Memory Research Group aims to investigate the architectural and design approaches that are well-suited to spatial storytelling in the aftermath of a global mass-trauma event.
The memorial as a device for spatial storytelling
and social solidarity in the aftermath of COVID-19.
