Designing Memory: The Architecture of Commemoration in Europe, 1914 to the Present (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare)

This innovative study of memorial architecture investigates how design can translate memories of human loss into tangible structures, creating spaces for remembering. Using approaches from history, psychology, anthropology and sociology, Sabina Tanović explores purposes behind creating contemporary memorials in a given location, their translation into architectural concepts, their materialisation in the face of social and political challenges, and their influence on the transmission of memory. Covering the period from the First World War to the present, she looks at memorials such as the Holocaust museums in Mechelen and Drancy, as well as memorials for the victims of terrorist attacks, to unravel the private and public role of memorial architecture and the possibilities of architecture as a form of agency in remembering and dealing with a difficult past. The result is a distinctive contribution to the literature on history and memory, and on architecture as a link to the past. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series information 4 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Dedication 7 Epigraph 8 Contents 9 List of Figures 11 Acknowledgements 14 Introduction 17 Monument versus Memorial? 19 Scope and Boundaries 26 Part I Scaffolding Memory 33 1 Commemorative Architecture since 1914 35 1.1 Commemorating the First World War 37 Disruption, Universality and Non-Figuration 37 War Cemeteries 39 From Social Democracy to Fascism in Germany and Italy 42 1.2 The Aftermath of the Second World War 48 Ruins, Concentration Camps, Civilian Deaths and the Search for Memorial Expression 48 Experimentation: Italy and Yugoslavia 56 Holocaust Memorials and Museums 65 1.3 After 1980: Filling and Creating Voids 70 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, DC 70 The Counter-Memory Movement 73 Deconstructivism and the Holocaust 76 1.4 Building Memory in the Twenty-First Century 82 Globalization and Spectacle 82 Participation and Recovery 86 Building for the Memory Boom: Electric Age between Amnesia and Permanence 88 2 The Dual Role of Memorial Architecture 93 2.1 Collective Traumatic Memory and How It Is Constructed 95 The Materialization of Collective Memory 95 The Problem of Contested Memory and Generic Design 99 The Destruction and Manipulation of Traumatic Memory 103 2.2 Coming to Terms with Loss and the Individual Mourning Process 107 Recent Developments in Western Mourning Practices 107 Grief, Mourning, Trauma and the Role of Materiality 112 The Importance of Public Recognition and Memorial Appropriation 115 2.3 Designing Spaces for Traumatic Memory and Mourning 121 Spatial Memory and the Identity of Place 121 Architectural Representation and Its Limits 128 Educating the Public through Memorial Design 136 2.4 Fundamental Elements of Engagement 144 Death and Architecture 144 Spaces of Transition 149 The Mnemonic Power of Landscapes 155 Part II Case Studies 161 3 Memorials to the Victims of Terrorism 163 3.1 Materializing Trauma: The 11-M Memorial 164 Context and History 164 Morphology 167 Performance 171 3.2 After Atocha 174 The 9/11 Memorial and the Berlin Wall Memorial 174 The July 22 Memorial, Oslo and Utøya 178 Memorials to Terror: Paris, Brussels, Haarlemmermeer 185 3.3 Public Sentiment and Memorial Design 189 4 Memorial Museums 193 4.1 Dossin Barracks 195 Context and History 195 Morphology 199 Performance 202 4.2 Cité de la Muette 206 Context and History 206 Morphology 209 Performance 212 4.3 Perilous Landscapes 214 5 War Memorials 219 5.1 The 'Ring of Memory' International Memorial 221 Context and History 221 Morphology 223 Performance 226 5.2 Remembrance Park 14–18 229 Context and History 229 Morphology 232 Performance 239 5.3 Contemporary Commemoration 243 Conclusion 249 Bibliography 259 Index 281 "This innovative study of memorial architecture investigates how design can translate memories of human loss into tangible structures, creating spaces for remembering. Using approaches from history, psychology, anthropology and sociology, Sabina Tanović explores purposes behind creating contemporary memorials in a given location, their translation into architectural concepts, their materialisation in the face of social and political challenges, and their influence on the transmission of memory. Covering the period from the First World War to the present, she looks at memorials such as the Holocaust museums in Mechelen and Drancy as well as memorials for the victims of terrorist attacks, to unravel the private and public role of memorial architecture and the possibilities of architecture as a form of agency in remembering and dealing with a difficult past. The result is a distinctive contribution to the literature on history and memory, and on architecture as a link to the past"-- Provided by publisher This innovative study of memorial architecture investigates how design can translate memories of human loss into tangible structures, creating spaces for remembering. Using approaches from history, psychology, anthropology and sociology, Sabina Tanovic explores purposes behind creating contemporary memorials in a given location, their translation into architectural concepts, their materialisation in the face of social and political challenges, and their influence on the transmission of memory. Covering the period from the First World War to the present, she looks at memorials such as the Holocaust museums in Mechelen and Drancy, as well as memorials for the victims of terrorist attacks, to unravel the private and public role of memorial architecture and the possibilities of architecture as a form of agency in remembering and dealing with a difficult past. The result is a distinctive contribution to the literature on history and memory, and on architecture as a link to the past. This innovative study of memorial architecture investigates how design can translate memories of human loss into tangible structures. It explores the purpose behind creating a memorial and its materialisation. The result is a distinctive contribution to the literature on history and memory, and on architecture as a space for remembering.