July 22nd Memorial Proposal
Our proposal for the July 22nd Memorials consist of three unique, yet coherent memorial places permanently placed at Utøya, Regjeringskvartalet, and Sørbråten, in addition to a temporary memorial place.
The project has been developed in cooperation with Goksøyr & Martens.
We have chosen to include a specific piece of land from Utøya in the creation of the memorial places from July 22nd 2011. The attacks at Utøya and Regjeringskvartalet are indivisible, and in our opinion the memorials’ designs and concepts should reflect this.
The memorial at Utøya will be a quiet room for contemplation and grief, as well as a place for political conversations. By removing a 650m3 piece of Kjærlighetsstien, a crater shaped as an immersed amphitheater will make up the memorial place.
The piece removed from Kjærlighetsstien will be moved to Regjeringskvartalet. A beautiful piece of nature contrasting the surrounding urban areas, inviting people for a quiet walk through tall pine trees, rose-hip, and heather.
At Sørbråten, a simple path will lead out to the cape. The concrete footpath hurls through the trees, and is broadened at chosen places to create different views. You can sit down on a bench to look out over the fjord or into the lush forest, or you can rest your eyes on the sky peeking through the treetops.
The victims’ names will be engraved on the top of the paths’ steel rail.
Until the permanent memorial is opened, high school students will be responsible for maintaining the memorial in front of Deichmanske library.
The temporary memorial will be a rich garden made up from plants, herbs, and flowers from Utøya.
July 22nd 2015 a group of teenagers and people directly affected by the attacks will go on a silent walk from Sørbråten to Oslo. With them they will have seeds and plants collected by biologists on Utøya, that in an opening ceremony on the same evening will be planted in the temporary memorial garden.
