Selected Entry of Note, National AIDS Memorial Grove Competition

Our proposal for the National AIDS Memorial Grove is intended to be simple and direct, with no overt appeals to the emotions. It seeks to honor those affected by a disease that is still very present in our lives: 3 million people around the globe contracted HIV/AIDS in the year 2000, and now 20 million of us live with the disease. The proposal is about a living encounter, a continuum of experience that changes depending on where you view it from. It is meant to symbolize the fact that AIDS is an illness that affects all of us, globally.

The memorial is comprised of a boundary of mirrored planes in which you see yourself reflected in your surroundings, among trees and other people. As you pass through the boundary, the inverse side of each plane is cast red glass, which refracts red light on both visitors and surroundings.

TEAM: Matt Johnson, Brent Linden