memories of space - spaces of memory
"The basis for choosing this topic was the question: Can the memory of dark chapters in world history protect us from similar events in the future? Historians often mention the words of George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Considering diverse contexts and the image of contemporary reality, we can see how much society has underestimated such a perspective in recent decades. Current events in the world evoke the context of war, the lack of respect for individual life, and emphasize how important it is to preserve a living image of past events. Therefore, it is crucial to nurture places that bear witness to them.
The project attempts to address this topic by focusing on the area of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Gross-Rosen in Rogoźnica. The terrain, due to various processes that have devastated its historical fabric, has become a place of marginal importance and requires special attention. Much of the evidence of its functioning has been erased, and over time, further transformations have taken place. The question arises: how to deal with the existing space so that it becomes a place of memory, serving both respect for what has passed and contemporary visitors? The project responds to the search for relations between memory of past events and spaces that witnessed them. By focusing on the mutual impact of these two concepts, attempts were made to penetrate the essence of martyrdom sites. The accelerating pace of life, consumerism, overstimulation, and a decrease in social sensitivity lead to the clear conclusion that physical contact with space becomes a necessity because the ability to experience difficult emotions requires creating an appropriate environment. Therefore, it is important to convey memory as something that can be experienced, detached from what we are accustomed to.
The desire to recreate communion with memory in the context of World War II events directed the research towards the emotional experiences of the recipients. It was concluded that some emotions experienced at martyrdom sites coincide with those perceived in broadly understood architectural spaces. By focusing on different types of emotions, a database of feelings accompanying them was created. The overarching goal and, at the same time, the project's idea was to stimulate these emotions using various architectural tools. Especially in areas where the existing material was not sufficient to achieve the desired results. The use of modern materials and forms allowed intervention in heavily processed areas to improve the perception of the place's atmosphere, without reconstructive actions, focusing on extracting the intangible and non-physical message.
The entire camp area was divided into zones defining the degree of its transformation. The project structure is based on three main parts: introduction, education - stimulus reception - culmination, tension release. The placement of individual design elements and the determination of the narrative order directly resulted from the above assumptions. The established direction of movement prepares the user for receiving stimuli and exploring the camp area with due respect.
The central axis of the project became placing the recipient at the center and focusing on their personal, internal experience. The simplicity and rawness of the materials used allow for the interpretation and understanding of the spatial interventions while facilitating the distinction between added elements and those with a historical character.
Emotions evoked by moving through the designed space revolve around the perception of scale, weight, texture, and the intensity of light. Contrast, contradiction, and the disruption of known archetypes and proportions lead to discomfort and stepping out of the comfort zone. The space specifically adapted for "experiencing memory" becomes the result of exploring the relationship between space and memory."
str. 64-65
publication no 368 _ 03/2023
publisher _ aib sp. z o.o.
editor-in-chief _ małgorzata tomczak
article editing _ olga kloc
project _ memories of space - spaces of memory
location _ rogoźnica, poland
development _ 2021
architektura & biznes
