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Using examples from different countries and historical periods,
Memorials as Spaces of Engagement explores how the design, use and meaning of memorials, both formal and informal ones, generate different physical, cognitive and emotional relationships between commemorative sites and their visitors.
List of contents
1. Introduction
Part I: Memorials as Objects and Spaces 2. From Viewing to Engaging 3: From Straightforward To Challenging 4. From General To Particular
Part II: Memorials as Used and Understood 5. Commemorating 6. Occupying 7. Interpreting
Part III: Memorials As Responsibilities 8. Managing 9. Planning 10. A Special Kind Of Public Space
About the author
Quentin Stevens is Associate Professor of Urban Design at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, and previously worked at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, UK. He is author of
The Ludic City and co-editor of
Loose Space,
The Uses of Art in Public Space and
Transforming Urban Waterfronts.
Karen A. Franck is Professor in the College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA.
Memorials as Spaces of Engagement addresses two topics she has explored previously: uses of public space in
Loose Space and intentions and consequences of design decisions in
Design through Dialogue and
Architecture from the Inside Out.
Summary
Memorials are more diverse in design and subject matter than ever before. No longer limited to statues of heroes placed high on pedestals, contemporary memorials engage visitors in new, often surprising ways, contributing to the liveliness of public space. In Memorials as Spaces of Engagement Quentin Stevens and Karen A. Franck explore how changes in memorial design and use have helped forge closer, richer relationships between commemorative sites and their visitors. The authors combine first hand analysis of key examples with material drawn from existing scholarship. Examples from the US, Canada, Australia and Europe include official, formally designed memorials and informal ones, those created by the public without official sanction. Memorials as Spaces of Engagement discusses important issues for the design, management and planning of memorials and public space in general.
The book is organized around three topics: how the physical design of memorial objects and spaces has evolved since the 19th century; how people experience and understand memorials through the activities of commemorating, occupying and interpreting; and the issues memorials raise for management and planning.
Memorials as Spaces of Engagement will be of interest to architects, landscape architects and artists; historians of art, architecture and culture; urban sociologists and geographers; planners, policymakers and memorial sponsors; and all those concerned with the design and use of public space.
