Week 5: Composition & Choreography
<aside> 💬 Maya Lin’s original proposal https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Maya_Lin's_original_competition_submission_for_the_Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial
</aside>
I like how her understanding of the privacy of death is reflected on the design of the experience:
For death, is in the end a personal and private matter, and the area contained with this memorial is a quiet place, meant for personal reflection and private reckoning. The black granite walls, … effectively act as a sound barrier, yet are of such a height and length so as not to appear threatening or enclosing.
and I like her writing about the emotional intention in designing the space:
These names, seemingly infinite in number, convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole.
Rather than presenting a 3D model or a specific drawing of the design outright, she articulates a spatial experience that encompasses the visible landscape, alterations in color and form, and the design's underlying intent. This approach ensures that individuals receive the ultimate deliverable— an emotional experience — rather than merely the intermediate artifacts such as 3D models, sound, color, or spatial design, which serve merely as tools to achieve the end goal.
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL — MAYA LIN STUDIO
Maya Lin on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
vs as loud as possible, as out there as possible