flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Libeskind wins competition to design Canadian National Holocaust Monument

Libeskind wins competition to design Canadian National Holocaust Monument

The plan came out ahead of David Adjaye and four others in the competition.


By BD+C Staff | May 13, 2014
Renderings: courtesy the Department of Canadian Heritage
Renderings: courtesy the Department of Canadian Heritage

A design team featuring Daniel Libeskind and Gail Dexter-Lord has won a competition with its design for the Canadian National Holocaust Monument in Toronto.

The winning design, called "Landscape of Loss, Memory and Survival," is based on the Star of David. It beat out five competing submissions from the likes of David Adjaye, Julian Bonder, and Gilles Saucier.

"We are deeply honoured to be entrusted with designing the monument to Holocaust victims and survivors, and we are committed to creating a place of meaning and value for all Canadians in our country's capital," said Gail Dexter-Lord, Dezeen reports.

The monument is set to open in the autumn of 2015. Check out the original entry below.

Team Lord


 
Team Members
Gail Lord (museum planner)
Daniel Libeskind (architect)
Edward Burtynsky (artist)
Claude Cormier (landscape architect)
Dr. Doris Berger (Holocaust scholar)
 
Essay
The star that the Nazis forced millions of Jews to wear throughout Europe, in ghettos and in camps, to exclude them from humanity and to mark them for extermination, remains the visual symbol of the Holocaust. The Nazis and their collaborators also?used the triangles that comprise the star to label homosexuals, Roma, Sinti, Jehovah’s Witnesses and political and religious prisoners for murder. People with disabilities were the first targets of mass killing. When the Monument is seen from the green roof of the War Museum, the symbol of the star becomes clear.
 
“The Journey Through the Star” as designed by architect Daniel Libeskind is organized with two physical ground planes: the ascending landscape that points to the future and the descending plane into the Memorial.
 
People enter the Monument from Booth Street and descend between two tilted geometric structures: one polished concrete; the other a mesh screen that references incarceration behind fences of often electrified barbed wire through which a landscape is still visible.
 
At the bottom of the descending landscape we arrive at the “Gathering Place” which can accommodate up to 1,000 people for events such as National Holocaust Remembrance Day (in April), International Holocaust Remembrance Day (in January) and Human Rights Day (in December).
 
The space is traversed by a railway track embedded in the ground reminding us of the trains that transported people to their death. Surrounding the Gathering Space are tilted geometric concrete and mesh structures that create six triangular thematic spaces for contemplation and reflection.
 
 

Related Stories

Student Housing | Dec 7, 2022

Cornell University builds massive student housing complex to accommodate planned enrollment growth

In Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University has completed its North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE) project. Designed by ikon.5 architects, the 776,000-sf project provides 1,200 beds for first-year students and 800 beds for sophomore students. The NCRE project aimed to accommodate the university’s planned growth in student enrollment while meeting its green infrastructure standards. Cornell University plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.

Office Buildings | Dec 6, 2022

‘Chicago’s healthiest office tower’ achieves LEED Gold, WELL Platinum, and WiredScore Platinum

Goettsch Partners (GP) recently completed 320 South Canal, billed as “Chicago’s healthiest office tower,” according to the architecture firm. Located across the street from Chicago Union Station and close to major expressways, the 51-story tower totals 1,740,000 sf. It includes a conference center, fitness center, restaurant, to-go market, branch bank, and a cocktail lounge in an adjacent structure, as well as parking for 324 cars/electric vehicles and 114 bicycles.

Multifamily Housing | Dec 6, 2022

Austin's new 80-story multifamily tower will be the tallest building in Texas

Recently announced plans for Wilson Tower, a high-rise multifamily building in downtown Austin, Texas, indicate that it will be the state’s tallest building when completed. The 80-floor structure will rise 1,035 feet in height at 410 East 5th Street, close to the 6th Street Entertainment District, Austin Convention Center, and a new downtown light rail station.

Geothermal Technology | Dec 6, 2022

Google spinoff uses pay-as-you-go business model to spur growth in geothermal systems

Dandelion Energy is turning to a pay-as-you-go plan similar to rooftop solar panel leasing to help property owners afford geothermal heat pump systems.

Contractors | Dec 6, 2022

Slow payments cost the construction industry $208 billion in 2022

The cost of floating payments for wages and invoices represents $208 billion in excess cost to the construction industry, a 53% increase from 2021, according to a survey by Rabbet, a provider of construction finance software.

Mixed-Use | Dec 6, 2022

Houston developer plans to convert Kevin Roche-designed ConocoPhillips HQ to mixed-use destination

Houston-based Midway, a real estate investment, development, and management firm, plans to redevelop the former ConocoPhillips corporate headquarters site into a mixed-use destination called Watermark District at Woodcreek.

Office Buildings | Dec 5, 2022

How to foster collaboration and inspiration for a workplace culture that does not exist (yet)

A building might not be able to “hack” innovation, but it can create the right conditions to foster connection and innovation, write GBBN's Chad Burke and Zachary Zettler.

University Buildings | Dec 5, 2022

Florida Polytechnic University unveils its Applied Research Center, furthering its mission to provide STEM education

In Lakeland, Fla., located between Orlando and Tampa, Florida Polytechnic University unveiled its new Applied Research Center (ARC). Designed by HOK and built by Skanska, the 90,000-sf academic building houses research and teaching laboratories, student design spaces, conference rooms, and faculty offices—furthering the school’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mission.

Mass Timber | Dec 1, 2022

Cross laminated timber market forecast to more than triple by end of decade

Cross laminated timber (CLT) is gaining acceptance as an eco-friendly building material, a trend that will propel its growth through the end of the 2020s. The CLT market is projected to more than triple from $1.11 billion in 2021 to $3.72 billion by 2030, according to a report from Polaris Market Research.

Giants 400 | Dec 1, 2022

Top 50 Parking Structure Architecture + AE Firms for 2022

Choate Parking Consultants, Gensler, Clark Nexsen, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz top the ranking of the nation's largest parking structure architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021