Regenerate

The planting of trees to honor the human lives and to replace the trees lost in the 1999 bonfire will initiate the creation of a healing environment. The new trees serve a symbolic function by creating a threshold between the secular world and the sacred realm of the memorial. They introduce a means of regenerating the earth by providing physical and spiritual nourishment to the university community; physically they produce oxygen for the student population and spiritually they establish a contemplative place for the visitor.

The radial geometries and spatial limits of the memorial are derived from the physical structure of the 1999 bonfire. A radial pattern of trees and water collection troughs focus views towards an inner ring of twelve trees. The twelve trees demarcate the sacred area, which orients the visitor to the cardinal directions and to the sky above. Within the circle of trees lies a sunken water retention pond that reconnects the visitor to the bounded earth. A raised central core surrounds a water holding tank that acts as the symbolic altar and hearth of the memorial.