A memorial to the victims of the Pulse shooting. (Getty)
Six designs for a memorial and museum at the site of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting have been revealed, and it is up to the public to choose one.
The onePULSE Foundation is the charity established to honour and preserve the legacy of the 49 people killed and all of the others affected by the June 12 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
The concepts for the memorial and museum will be available for the public to view in person at the Orange County Regional History Center or digitally on the onePULSE Foundation website, where comments on the designs can be submitted.
Siclaly Santiago-Leon, whose cousin Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon was killed in the attack, said: “I encourage the community to view the concept designs and give their thoughts because everyone has a voice in this.
“The National Pulse Memorial and Museum will be a sacred place to honour the 49 angels who were killed in the tragedy, including my cousin.”
Comments on the concepts and project narratives from the six design teams below will be accepted until October 10.
Coldefy and Associés with RDAI
“Water is the connecting element, from the existing fountain, it becomes a shallow reflecting pool encircling the club. In memory of theAngels, a palette of 49 colours lines the basin and radiates towards the public spaces
“An opulent garden planted with 49 trees, the memorial site provides a protective and colourful canopy. At the centre of the garden, the nightclub is preserved; a generous adjacent space is dedicated to gathering and celebration.
“In this haven of peace and tranquility, we discover the transformed nightclub, opening to the light and air, inviting us to traverse an intimate path; opening our consciousness.
“The renewed West Kaley street provides a shaded connection to the Museum, which rises like a budding flower, reaching towards the sky and signalling the entrance to the Pulse district.”
Diller, Scofidio and Renfro and Rene Gonzalez Architects
“We propose a memorial with a garden and sanctuary that is both solemn and celebratory.
“The sanctuary sits within a contemplative sound garden of cypress trees, natural ponds and 268 reflective columns, each of which honours the life of someone who was affected but survived the shooting. A sound installation integrated into the columns will create a symphony of music when visitors approach them.
“A delicately draped, beaded shroud protects the walls of the original club. Ascending above the original structure, one enters the sanctuary, which is suspended on 49 rainbow-coloured ceramic tile columns commemorating the 49 lives taken.
“A future museum that promotes acceptance and tolerance is proposed in order to spread knowledge in the hope that one day this new centre will prevent hateful events such as those that happened at Pulse Nightclub from ever happening again.”
Heneghan Peng architects
“The memorial’s form shelters visitors in an intimate embrace, revealing only a single wall of the nightclub.
“Each face of the memorial is divided into seven sections, the number of colours in a rainbow. These seven by seven intersections intertwine as a shared space, honouring and protecting the 49 angels.
“On the west, the angels’ names are inscribed in colourful vertical bands, looking towards a tranquil garden.
“Facing east, the date of the shooting declares: We will never forget.
“The museum resonates with the energy of the nightclub… At its heart is a matrix of flexible chambers that display PULSE artefacts and mementos. Within these folds of history and memory is a mixture of sound emerging from recording studios, conversations and community spaces.
“These sounds spread further through the PULSE Music Label, which releases music that amplifies the strength of the PULSE and LGBTQ+ communities.
“From one person’s headphones to a nightclub halfway around the world, this is a people’s memorial that is enacted everywhere the music is heard.”
MASS Design Group
“This ground, it is sacred ground. Violence and injury and lives lost have permeated here.
“They deserve and we need to give their lives space and their sacrifice meaning. And yet, also while pain was here, joy was there too; and beyond joy, there was transcendence, liberty, freedom, sweat, ritual, and hope to be whoever we want to be.
“Our museum proposal is positioned to put the Pulse massacre in a global context of the fight for equality, and we are proposing naming the Museum, the Museum for Equality.
“Our Museum proposal would begin broadly, including the history of oppression and the fight for equality embedded in Central Florida.
“We bring together the global response and acts of solidarity in the wake of the tragedy, which can serve as a talisman of possibility, and the activism that can be inspired and nurtured here in the pursuit of equality.”
MVRDV
“Renewal begins in the public realm. A comprehensive urban ‘seeding’ strategy connects all key sites and includes visually vibrant planting, lighting, parasol shading with bench seating, in addition to integrated smart and sustainable water and energy systems.
“In contrast, the National Pulse Memorial is calm and stoic. Its black volume communicates a midnight quality, even in brilliant Florida sunshine, while gold accentuates the façade fractures.
“Seemingly levitating atop a carved landscape of 49 trees chosen by victims’ families, atmospheric lighting enhances its spatial experience.
“The Pulse Museum… will draw visitors from all over to its world-class educational program.
“By creating opportunities to consolidate new understanding through memorial and reinvention, and enhancing inclusivity, we will not let hate win.”
Studio Libeskind
“The Memorial is a place that first and foremost celebrates the lives of those who were taken, and communicates the values of Pulse—diversity, unity and acceptance.
“The heart-shaped design is contoured by 366 rainbow gates, each for a day of the 2016 calendar year. The Memorial is an active and deeply intimate experience for families, survivors and first-responders.
“We preserve the existing nightclub site as the Broken Heart and it is the scared space of the project—where we illuminate the words of love and loss.
“The Museum proclaims our humanity by embodying the human form as an iconic landmark for the Pulse district. It is a figure of hope that connects the terrestrial to the celestial as the tower ascends upward.
“It culminates in a pulsating rainbow beacon of 49 coloured columns of light, activated by human touch. The observation deck is a place to take in the entirety of the district and feel the eternal pulse of humanity.”