© Tsunami Memorial Design Competition

The memorial is built around the exceptional natural environment of the site. It gives people a chance to learn and participate, it is not designed to concretize the disaster, but to symbolize rebuilding and hope. People make a personal act and create the memorial together. This ritual, similar to the traditions of the Mokan people, is a way to express sympathy and at the same time thank, respect and feed the sea.

First thing you see approaching the site is a corner of the bamboo covered building peeping out through bamboo groves. The site is entered through a memorial building. Already crossing the bridge surrounded by slender bamboo trunks you here purl of the small brook flowing through the site. The water symbolizes the flow of life. You enter an open wooden veranda as in the traditional Thai architecture. The two wings of the building crop a beautiful view to the brook valley.

As you descend a ramp leading to the memorial path you can pick a leaf of bamboo and fold it into a memorial boat, a symbolic ephemeral object. The path meanders by the river. You can leave your boat to be carried by the stream. The bridges crossing the brook provide a place for rest and contemplation and have benches to sit on.

Having arrived on the beach you can rest on benches and watch as the boats sail from the brook to the open sea. Or you can pick your boat from the groves surrounding the beach and wade in the sea to leave your boat and watch it slowly sail away and disappear in the horizon.

The architecture is inspired by the location: its form follows the brook valley and its narrow section the steep slopes of the hills. Bamboo as building material connects the architecture to the memorial act. As in traditional Thai spatial structure, separate pavilion like building masses linked by an open terrace are under an all embracing roof. The pitched roof has long eaves to protect the building from sunshine and rain. Semi outdoor areas act as intermediary spaces between inside and outside. There is a sharp contrast between dimly lit interiors and bright sunlight outside.

The two wings of the building are connected by an open semi outdoor timber veranda that is always open to the public. The outdoor amphitheatre descends to the brook valley natural landscape acting as a stage setting.

The south wing houses gallery spaces and serving areas for the museum. The roof of the gallery is semitransparent providing diffused illumination. The large space is divided into smaller entities by outdoor exhibition spaces with views to surrounding landscape.

The constructions are light as in the tropical architecture. The load bearing frame is of steel. The façade is glass covered by prefabricated bamboo elements acting as sunshade. All materials used are environmentally friendly and analogous to traditional building materials.

Note: Original text as submitted by Finalist A