COVID-19 Memorial: Not Just for Today, but for Tomorrow

COVID -19 - Ảnh 1. — Clearing weeds at No. 1 Ly Thai To to prepare for construction - Photo: TTD

Many comments at the discussion said that the memorial needs to demonstrate the spirit of solidarity, sharing and revival after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Convenient location for residents

At the seminar, Mr. Pham Binh An, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, informed that the land plot at 1 Ly Thai To has an area of about 4.4 hectares.

Briefly reviewing about 30 memorial works related to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world , Mr. An asked experts to contribute to the design to achieve the goal of commemorating victims, showing gratitude, expressing the spirit of solidarity, sharing, reviving and rising up.

According to architect Nguyen Truong Luu, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Literature and Arts Associations, location No. 1 Ly Thai To is the best and most convenient for people to access.

This choice also shows the concern of the city's leaders. According to him, the project should not be too tragic but should go into emotions, through loss we need to look to the future.

Agreeing, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tien, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association, said that with the message content that the Department of Culture and Sports put out to solicit public opinion, the memorial area should be a place of remembrance and gratitude for people to come and calm their emotions; a cultural and traditional educational destination for people and tourists to contemplate.

In that spirit, Mr. Tien believes that symbols/memorials need to follow a modern trend, not too fussy but must evoke the emotions of viewers like the model of memorial works associated with wars and disasters in Japan, America...

The project should be simple, so that everyone can see themselves in it, see the memories of history, urban memories, memories of sharing and caring through the pandemic.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau (General Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Historical Association)

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

Preserve trees, villas, respect people's needs

A key point when making a memorial, according to architect Truong Nam Thuan, is that it must start from the needs of the people, taking this as the central principle. At the same time, the project needs to show the transformation of pain into action to overcome the pandemic.

Sculptor Pham Van Hang emphasized that the project is a symbol of the city's sentiment, not simply a memorial. And the project will not only be for today but also for the future.

Adding further comments on this issue, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau - General Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Historical Association - said that the work reminds of the loss caused by the pandemic but is not tragic because it is not suitable for the character of Southern people who are generous and value loyalty.

Mr. Pham Duc Hai (Institute of Socio -Economic Research, Saigon University) said that the memorial needs to express three pairs of words that summarize the values that the people of the city have overcome together during the pandemic: pain - love, fierceness - resilience, expectation - aspiration.

Similarly, Mr. Phan Xuan Bien, former Head of the Propaganda Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, also suggested that there should be a memorial house and memorial monument and agreed that the memorial does not need to be grand but must reflect the aspirations of the city's people.

Architect Khuong Van Muoi, former Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Architects, said that it is necessary to quickly and early complete the meaningful project at land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To. According to Mr. Muoi, it is necessary to keep the original state of the trees and have a plan to preserve and renovate the villas in the land plot along with traffic improvement.

Sharing about some modern memorial designs in the world that involve the exploitation of underground space, architect Nguyen Do Dung said that the design of the memorial space at Ly Thai To Park No. 1 can refer to the above models to achieve many goals and effectiveness for the project.

Mr. Dung also believes that preserving green areas and trees on the land is a very important requirement. In addition, the villas should also be preserved and renovated into youth education and medical research facilities.

COVID -19 - Ảnh 2. — Buddhists attending the Grand Ceremony bowed their heads before the souls of those who died from COVID-19 - Photo: NGOC PHUONG

The master plan for land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To will be available at the end of November.

At the seminar, Mr. Ngo Anh Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Urban Planning, provided more information about the land planning. According to Mr. Vu, currently next to the land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To is Au Lac Park, so it is necessary to link these two spaces together.

At the same time, the land also has two metro lines below. Therefore, it is necessary to study the spatial planning around this land in conjunction with TOD and underground space.

"How to ensure the landscape architecture of the park is connected with the surrounding space, including underground space, according to the planning. At the same time, it is necessary to preserve the trees and ancient villas in the land. First of all, the planning adjustment is the legal basis for the construction on the land to be implemented quickly," Mr. Vu informed.

Regarding planning, the representative of the Department of Planning and Architecture also confirmed that this agency is adjusting the local planning of the land and making a master plan, and will have a master plan by the end of November. The park space will be completely for the community, with no commercial elements.