Architecture Competition, 2013
The monument for the victims of Mari is interpreted not so much as a distinct and constrained construction but more as a topographical transformation that includes isolated arrangements. The architectural intervention incorporates the space in its totality and integrates all the isolated fragments remnants of the catastrophic event, embracing the whole site as a place of memory. The monument in its entirety includes three different pathways with different perceptions contingent on past experiences and the emotive affliction of each visitor.
Immersive pathway - The leading pathway towards the altar and the place of congregation and collective memory starts from the entry into the site and slowly immerses the visitor within the site, transverses an enclosed and dark passage before it reemerges into the light and concludes in a semi covered space that overlooks the cavity that has formed at the moment of the explosion.
Informative pathway - An alternative and less direct pathway that is meant to inform the visitor of the sequence of the events on the tragic day of the explosion. It begins at the parking lot and leads towards the large water tank, upon which the events of the day are inscribed. It then crosses over the immersive pathway and concludes at the scattered fragments of the destroyed fire truck.
Private pathway – A path wide enough for one or two people follows the edge of the cliff into the crater that was formed at the time of the explosion. The pathway leads to thirteen empty lookouts that even though they are oriented towards the crater, they all look up into the sky. A different one is dedicated to each of the victims and becomes a place of private remembrance for their families