UIA

DESIGN OF THE GORÉE MEMORIAL (Senegal)

Mention : Torsen Brecht (Weimar, Germany), in collaboration with Gabi Hultsch, architect, Stephan Hahn sculptor, Peter Bringt, designer, Philipp Koch, sociologist

Anti-memorial in its dedication, the Memorial is presented as a place of absence rather than of presence, of movement rather than stability. It is a labyrinth that lies next to an empty space in the rock engulfing the sea and as an extension of the main urban axis. The volumes are organised abstractly along this cleave leading to a westward facing platform on the water which is periodically submerged by the tide. The building itself is a made up of ramps, and inner streets from the city to the sea.