Sites of Memory

I found that this weeks readings covered a very broad range of memory sites. From Moore’s essay examining Disney Land and freeway intersections as monuments and Davis’ excerpt on discriminating intentional monuments in Lange’s Searching For A Center in Writing About Architecture, to Jone’s sociological and political examination of the Ground Zero memorial and Violi’s analysis of the Tuol Sleng Museum of the Crimes of Genocide. Fabrice Fouillet’s Colosses photo essay of enormous monumental statues from around the world was a refreshing finale compared to the heavy and emotional readings.

Collectively, all of the readings offered different insight into the many facets of memory architecture. The decision to erect a memorial museum, trauma site, or memorial is much more intertwined then I had previously thought. Issues of social context, politics, nature of the trauma, discrimination, authentication, and attraction are just a few of the many pieces that must be carefully considered when creating (or maintaining) a site of memory. 

Violi poses two questions early on in her article, Trauma Site Museums and Politics of Memory, that resonated with me. “What aspects of that past should be re-presented, and how? And more than anything else: ‘are all these authentic?” and “Is it possible to maintain the ‘authenticity’ of such places, or does their conversion into a museum inevitably transform them into something other than themselves?” (both pg. 42) These questions keep churning in my mind, yet, I still am unable to answer them. 

Trenches at Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Site

Caribou Statue and Index of Fallen Soldiers (added post battle) - Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Site

It was by chance that I stumbled upon this memory site; Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel, France. It is a memorial site commemorating all of the Newfoundlanders who fought in the Battle of the Somme on 1 July, 1916. An estimated 820 soldiers lost their lives, many of which have no grave. A bronze statue of a Caribou, the emblem of the Newfoundland regiment, was erected shortly after the memorial opened in 1925 and sits  atop a mound overlooking the landscape that was once war ground and trenches. The memorial also includes a visitors center, opened in 2001, that provides historical information and memorabilia about the battle. What caught my interest of this site was a photograph (below) of the trenches which still remain within the landscape. The trenches also still hold remnants of battle. Looking at this site from the context of Violi's article, this would be considered a Trauma Site. Although the trenches have been maintained and untouched, the incorporation of the statue and visitors center were added to the site years after the actual battle. Do these incorporations to the trauma site enhance the memorialization process, or do the transform this site into something else? 

The focus of Lange’s Searching For A Center, specifically Moore’s essay and Davis’ point of view reminded me of readings from Robert’s Theory class last semester. One reading in particular, from Architectural Theory Volume 2, discusses the dynamics of city squares. A Pattern Language1977) by Christopher Alexander discusses his theory based on empirical study on and anthropological investigation of social interaction within public space. He touches upon the size of the site, occupancy, and anthropometry of the visitors. I think that Alexanders research and writings are the answer to the questions posed by Moore and Davis; creating intentional monumental spaces that will be utilized by the surrounding public.