Redesign of a memorial to the fallen

In 1945, SS soldiers who had fallen shortly before the end of the war were buried in a collective grave at this site. In the 1960s, a memorial was erected over the grave, its design quoted formal elements of Nazi architectural form language. Our brief was to contextualize the gravesite with two large text panels. The redesign had to be carried out within the grave area, which was only 3.6 x 3.6 meters in size, as the surrounding land was not owned by the client. We initially attempted to locate the text panels within the existing structure. This did not lead to a satisfactory result, as there was either a spatial competition between the text elements and the monument, or – if the texts were arranged horizontally – their perception was made too relative. The client finally decided in favour of a redesign.

The German-language text was integrated into a low, 1.5 m high wall, the center of which is formed by a gravestone. The CorTen steel wall was provided with a grid of vertical slits, giving it a permeable appearance. The English-language text was placed horizontally. The floor area was re-edged and paved with white gravel.

The architecture integrates into the natural environment and does not tower over the surrounding vegetation.