COVID-19 Memorial Park in Ho Chi Minh City: A place to remember, share, and connect

Ho Chi Minh City, which has suffered heavy losses, now has the opportunity to create a true spiritual symbol, not ostentatious, not tragic but full of weight. A park where people come not only to remember but to live better.

People in small alleys in Ward 10, old District 4 light candles to commemorate victims after the pandemic ended - Photo: TU TRUNG

The Covid-19 Memorial Park in Ho Chi Minh City is not just a place to remember. It will be a space for healing, connecting the community, fostering gratitude, and inspiring kindness.

Memorial space: profound, not heavy on formality

Mr. Phan Thanh Binh (Associate Professor, PhD, former Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education , Youth, Adolescents and Children; former Director of Ho Chi Minh City National University)

The Covid-19 pandemic has passed, but its memories remain. For Ho Chi Minh City, it was not only a difficult period but also a spiritual scar, a fierce historical moment.

A properly constructed Covid-19 memorial park should not only be a place of remembrance but also a living space of memory and resurrection. A place where people can quietly remember the deceased but also move forward with gratitude, strength and hope.

The core spirit of the project does not lie in the massiveness or ostentation but in the depth of emotions and subtle suggestions. A space that does not impose emotions, is not overly embellished but is quiet enough, so that everyone can touch their own memories and join the common flow of emotions of the city.

In harmony with nature - respecting urban memory

Land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To with its central location, ancient trees and French architectural villas is a piece of urban memory, very suitable to form a memorial park.

I propose to keep the current land boundaries and area, minimizing the disruption of the landscape. Old villas can be lightly renovated to become "memory houses", "future houses" or community spaces, where the pandemic story is preserved through photos, handwritten letters, artifacts or to organize activities related to health, education and sharing.

The existing ancient tree garden will form an ecological belt surrounding the park, not only preserving the precious green color in the heart of the city but also making the space more quiet, cool and enhancing the experience value for people.

More importantly, the park should take advantage of natural spaces, green areas, and old paths, maintaining familiarity and simplicity, in line with the spirit of "openness, not much intervention".

Invite people nationwide to contribute ideas for the COVID-19 Victims Memorial Project in Ho Chi Minh City

Parks - green spaces for Ho Chi Minh City residents

A memorial park should not be a place of silence. On the contrary, it should be designed as a real public park, where people can come to walk, rest, read, play, meditate as a way of living with memories, not being haunted by them.

Parks should have a harmonious balance of static and dynamic areas: places for children to run and jump, benches under the trees for the elderly to sit and reflect, small courtyards for community activities, and art spaces for people to enjoy.

Some design suggestions

- Memorial axis - connecting symbols: From the gate of Ly Thai To street, create a main axis leading deep inside, where the main sculpture is located. It is proposed that this is a modern sculpture, highly artistic, abstract symbol, not specifically illustrated. Each person coming here can interpret according to their own feelings.

- Emotional lake: The space should have an overflowing lake, reflecting the clouds and light, creating a feeling of purification, tranquility, both gentle and profound.

- Sound - light - silence: Use instrumental music , healing sounds played softly at rest stops. Combine sunlight during the day and artistic lighting at night.

- Meditation space: Simple sitting corners, small paths, white gravel patches... enough for people to sit, breathe, remember and be grateful.

- Community Square: An open space large enough to hold periodic memorial events, exhibitions or community activities.

Park name - concept overview

The park should have a suggestive name, neither too specific nor as cold as a record of the past. It could be as short as “Remembrance Park”, or “Love Park”, expressing the spirit: both for the deceased and for the living.

A simple, everyday name but profound enough for people to mention every day without being too heavy-hearted, but making life more precious.

Socialization - the work of the human heart

A park with such spiritual value should be considered a community project and can be implemented through socialization.

Not only reducing the burden on the state budget, calling for voluntary contributions from businesses, people... will also help increase people's attachment, companionship and sympathy for this memorial project.

A simple but solemn plaque can be placed in the park, listing the names of groups and individuals who have "accompanied the memory", as a thank you and to preserve kindness.

Implementation divergence

- Phase 1: By Lunar New Year, the main items such as the memorial axis, lake, some renovated villas, lighting system, meditation seats... will be completed. This is a very meaningful time for the park to open when families reunite, and the city will have an additional green memorial area.

- Phase 2: 2026 completes the remaining space. This is also a five-year milestone from the peak of the pandemic, enough to look back and deeply acknowledge what we have gone through together.

Mr. Doan Hoai Trung (Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Photography Association):

Monument of resilience

Mr. Doan Hoai Trung

Building a memorial for COVID-19 victims is the right thing to do to remember and show gratitude to those who have sacrificed their lives in the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable among them are the brave doctors and nurses who sacrificed their lives to save patients and then passed away.

In addition to the medical staff, other members of the community also participated in supporting those who unfortunately contracted the disease and sacrificed their lives. These were people who did not care about danger and only devoted themselves to saving people.

Personally, I think the monument should not be too sad but should reflect the spirit and resilience of the people of Ho Chi Minh City during the great disaster. The monument should gather all classes of people as a low but also full of spirit note of the people of the city, persistently overcoming the pandemic without sadness.

Although these were painful years, they left behind a great lesson in national unity. It was this unity that helped us join hands to overcome terrible challenges.

Architect Nguyen Truong Luu (Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Literature and Arts Associations, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Architects):

Should organize an architectural ideas competition?

Architect Nguyen Truong Luu

Regarding the idea of ​​building a monument, memorial or architectural symbol to commemorate the victims of COVID-19, I think it is a very meaningful thing to do. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City suffered the most human and economic losses in the country. Having a memorial here is even more meaningful.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's leaders raised the issue of building a symbol and a memorial house for the victims of the pandemic. Building a memorial at land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To is reasonable.

The problem is how do we design statues and memorials? Personally, I think the city should build a multi-functional green park, including a memorial for COVID-19 victims (this park is not a thematic park).

It is also advisable to design a memorial space including a cluster of buildings: a monument or memorial; a memorial house (with a stele); a ceremony space and a park... This is a very meaningful thing, the city should organize an architectural competition to get the best ideas.

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PHAN THANH BINH - DAU DUNG - LINH DOAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cong-vien-tuong-niem-nan-nhan-covid-19-tai-tp-hcm-noi-tuong-nho-se-chia-ket-noi-20251105083814266.htm