Healing through Architecture

I found an interesting parallel between our discussions in class Thursday and Michael Murphy’s lecture, especially his project in Alabama: The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. He mentions countries like Germany and South Africa who find it necessary to build memorials to reflect on their past in order to “heal their national psyche.” He also mentioned that the United States didn’t have such memorials [until this project].

I think that this ties very well into our discussion about how beautiful buildings and spaces can pop up after the devastation of an area, culture, or way of living. We accept and love these shiny new buildings but unless we are familiar with the place, the gruesome history is lost on us. We were debating the pros and cons of this in class and what’s the right thing to do in this moment – move forward and gloss over these uglier parts or cling to the past and have this moment define the rest of their history? To me, this idea of using building as a tool to remember is the best way. Acknowledge those who were oppressed and the wrong that was done. Do this in a permanent, meaningful way, and then use that as a platform to rebuild, not only for those in power, but for all parties. In this way, I believe we can move forward.