The federal government has unveiled the chosen design for the National Memorial for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, to be built in Canberra.
The winning proposal, “Transparency and Truth” by architects Jessica Spresser and Peter Besley, comprises a series of catenary arches made of glass blocks with a meandering path encircling a meadow of perennial grasses and wildflowers.
“The memorial design seeks to hold in balance an acknowledgement of strength and vitality on the one hand, and recognition of trauma and loss on the other,” said the architects. “The individual pieces of cast glass carry immense loads yet together create forms of exceptional grace and lightness, representing both fragility and great resilience.”
A national memorial for victims of child sexual abuse was one of the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which handed down its final report in 2017.
The competition jury, chaired by the royal commission chairperson Peter McClellan, also included four representatives of victims and survivors, as well as five experts including architect Peter Tonkin and artist Yhonnie Scarce.
The jury unanimously agreed the proposal by Spresser and Besley was a “beautiful and sensitive response to the brief.”
‘Transparency and Truth,’ the winning design for the National Memorial for Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse by Jessica Spresser and Peter Besley.
Image:
Courtesy National Capital Authority
They especially lauded the design for its absence of hidden chamber, walls or dark corners. They found the glass catenary arches, signifying load and strength “resonated with the jury as a place of substance imbued with hope.” The garden of wildflowers and grasses had “significant potential for a child or children to be represented sympathetically with the entire work.”
The jury believe that the proposal “will make a significant contribution toward the healing for those who have suffered and provide a place that people would likely visit more than once, with each visit deepening their personal understanding.”
“The National Memorial will provide both a beautiful place for quiet reflection and an opportunity for deepening community understanding of the tragic consequences of abuse,” said Peter McClellan.
Minister for families and social services Anne Ruston added, “The National Memorial would stand as a place of truth and reflection for people with lived experience and their families and supporters, as well as an enduring reminder of the responsibility to create a safer world for our children.”
The jury also commended two other schemes: “Converging Voices” by Paul Saywer, Ben Juckes and Kieran Ward and “Remembrances, Reflection, Healing and Hope” by Morq.
The memorial will be built on Acton Peninsula overlooking Lake Burley Griffin. Construction is due to begin later in 2022.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
