A place of memory | Albena Atanassova

We all follow a path- sometimes it's wide and trampled, sometimes it's narrow and dusty… for some the journey is longer, while for others it ends suddenly, unexpectedly, unwanted… It is in memory of all those travellers, ahead on their path or just at the begging of it, for who we propose our designs today. In hope that although their journey seems to have seized their track remains to be retaken and their journey continued, in hope that we remember them in our hearts and minds… Marked by a 600 mm wide frame structure at the west, close to the University library entrance, thought as a portal, a supposed boundary between the dynamic everyday life and the peaceful afterlife, the journey towards reminiscence begins. The path, slightly sloping to the left here and to the right there, not only directs but allows visitors time to transfer themselves in the past where they would reconnect to their beloved friends and mentors. The round shape of the memorial itself came as an inspiration from Portsmouth’s coat of arms in one way, but than also from the idea of the circle as analogy to the endless circle of life. The eight rays projecting out of its centre remind of the different directions of the world from where people came to gather at “the house of knowledge”. On both sides of the cylindrical element , which would ideally bear the names of the ones that have left us, the memorial features also a sloped installation ending in two vertical parts, to be interpreted as our endless pursuit of knowledge. The second concentric circle hosts the second part of the memorial where people could take a seat along with their thoughts. On the ground and along all the path there would be ground lights to mark the memorial’s presence also at night. The installation is envisioned in white surrounded by light to remind us of eternity and the spirits of the beloved ones that might have left us physically but will always be remembered