COVID-19 Memorial: Compassion and Community Vitality

covid-19 - Ảnh 1. — F0 patient after being discharged from the hospital said goodbye to volunteers outside the quarantine door - Photo: TU TRUNG

This policy evokes compassion, honors community vitality, and demonstrates the spirit of cherishing memories to move forward into the future.

Intimate, sophisticated design

Personally, I think the design can start from the idea of the flow of memories. The memorial space should not only focus on the monument or the stone stele standing silently, which creates a feeling of rigidity and is also expensive to build. Instead, it should be a journey of deep emotional experience.

The path leading to the memorial area is gently winding, lined with simple green trees and seasonal flower carpets, symbolizing the continuation of life.

The reliefs depicting images of people, medical staff, volunteers, and soldiers in life-and-death moments of the pandemic will be arranged alternately, creating the feeling that the story is told slowly, coherently, and touchingly.

The center of the memorial area can be an open space, with an abstract statue representing the spirit of solidarity and unity, combined with a small lake reflecting light, symbolizing serenity and tranquility. The night lighting system is gentle and delicate, helping to create a quiet and solemn feeling.

Items should prioritize the use of environmentally friendly materials such as natural stone, recycled wood, frosted glass or lightweight concrete, which are both sustainable and create a sense of closeness.

The main colors should be light, neutral tones such as white, beige, light gray, interspersed with green accents of plants or light yellow, evoking warmth and hope.

Part of the area can be used to display stories, with pictures, diaries, and small artifacts telling ordinary but emotional stories during the pandemic. This will be an educational bridge, helping students, students, and tourists understand the value of solidarity and awareness of disease prevention.

covid-19 - Ảnh 2. — Volunteer doctors and nurses on their farewell day in Ho Chi Minh City when the epidemic has decreased - Photo: TU TRUNG

Utilities connecting life today

To express the spirit of life always continuing, it is also necessary to build accompanying community facilities. Outdoor living areas should have large lawns, lounge chairs, and canopies so that families, groups of friends, or the elderly can come to relax, chat, or hold small memorial ceremonies.

A small library corner and reading space about health and pandemic history will help the memorial become a place of knowledge integration.

Amenities such as underground parking, access for the disabled, public restrooms or small cafes serving resting needs will help this place not only become a short-term destination but also become a daily space where people come to remember and enjoy a moment of silence in urban life.

The most important thing is that every design element and every amenity must be human-oriented. When future generations come here, they will not only see a building, but also feel the humanity, resilience, and solidarity that Ho Chi Minh City has shown during the pandemic.

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

Coming to the memorial, we will draw the message: losses can be painful, but that pain can become lessons, strength and a bridge connecting people to people.

Finally, a delicate but no less important issue is the issue of construction funding. The memorial should be implemented with reasonable, economical and transparent resources, avoiding waste or excessive ostentation. An overly lavish project can make people feel distant, even reducing the humanistic meaning of the memorial.

A modest, minimalist yet rich in symbolic value project will make every step into the memorial a deeply emotional experience and give strength towards the future.