United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial
In collaboration with Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread London, United Kingdom 2016–2017
Client: United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation Competition
This competition entry for the UK memorial to the Holocaust was made in collaboration with the artists Rachel Whiteread and Marcus Taylor. The memorial will be located in Victoria Tower Gardens, adjacent to the Houses of Parliament, and is intended to be both a monument and a place of education about the Holocaust.
The catastrophic events of the Holocaust took place outside the UK; the mass graves, remnants of atrocity, and concentration camps found in mainland Europe, do not exist on British soil. Therefore, the design does not give emphasis to the commemoration of particular places. Instead, it embraces universal themes, and it foregrounds the first-hand testimony of the survivors.
The proposal consisted of two parts: a cast translucent sculpture of lanterns above ground; and a series of large chambers below ground. The lanterns would be castings of the Victorian monument to the abolition of slavery, which also stands in the park, but the formal qualities of the lanterns would connect the work to the wider context of Westminster Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, and to the light of the river. The sculpture would bring a filtered light into the largest of the underground spaces – the ‘Hall of Voices’ – where visitors would hear the accounts of Holocaust survivors and discover directly the network of lives, places, and emotional bonds that were destroyed.







Competition entry






Maquette




Related news
Designs by the 10 shortlisted teams in the contest to design a £40 million national Holocaust memorial next to the Palace of Westminster have gone on public display. Caruso St John, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread’s proposal consists of two parts – a cast, translucent sculpture above ground and a series of large chambers below ground.
Credits
Location
London, United Kingdom
Date
2016–2017
Client
United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation
Heritage
Grade II* listed setting
Area
4,000 m²
Status
Competition
Collaborating artists
Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread
Caruso St John Architects
Adam Caruso, Peter St John
Project architect
Rod Heyes
Project team
Thomas Back, Gregory Bon, Amy Perkins, Will Pirkis
Landscape architect
Vogt Landscape Ltd.
Access consultant
David Bonnett Associates Ltd.
Lighting design
Arup
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