FINAL CHANCE FOR PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON OMAGH BOMB MEMORIAL PROPOSALS
Final chance for public to comment on Omagh bomb memorial proposals
TOMORROW (Friday) is the final chance for members of the public to view the exhibit of five design proposals for the installation of a permanent memorial to the 1998 Omagh bomb.
The proposals, which have been submitted by teams from Northern Ireland, the Republic, England and Spain, were unveiled by Danny McSorley, chief executive
of Omagh District Council, at Strule Arts Centre over two weeks ago. The proposals can also be viewed online in the community consultation section at www.omagh.gov.uk.
Omagh Memorial Working Group has this week reminded the public that the exhibit will close tomorrow afternoon, after which the proposals will be presented to a panel of assessors who will then select the most appropriate memorial design on Monday.
The panel's decision will be made on the basis of pre-established criteria, including the extent to which the proposal integrates the bomb site and the memorial garden, as well as the overall artistic quality of the proposal.
The assessors will also give consideration to the potential of the proposal to promote healing and reflection, and to make an impact with members of the public.
Omagh Memorial Working Group will then consider the assessment panel's recommendation. The Working Group has also been tasked with considering options for an appropriate inscription.
At the end of this process, a report will be presented to Omagh District Council for approval.
The council said it expected that the successful design would be commissioned in September, after which work will begin to obtain the various statutory approvals before construction can start on the site.
The five design teams that have submitted proposals are FAM Arquitectura y Urbanismo SL, from Madrid, Shiels, Flynn, and Making Marks, from Norfolk, Sean Hillen and Desmond Fitzgerald Architects, from Dublin, and Robinson Patterson Partnership and Peter Hutchinson, both from Belfast.
The first proposal, known as 'Building with Words', is from the Spanish design team, who also designed the memorial to the 2002 Madrid bombings.
The main element to this innovative design is a latticed steel canopy, made up of words of remembrance, that connects the site bomb and the memorial garden.
The second design, from Shiels, Flynn, and Making Marks, proposes placing a tall shard of beautifully textured piece of local limestone, carved with a few words - in three languages - to explain the date and time of the explosion. The wedge shape of the shard will form an arrow pointing towards the river bridge and the route to the new Memorial Garden.
The Norfolk team envisage a second carved shard stone marker, this time made from a Donegal limestone, standing at the entrance to an enlarged garden, with a circular water feature at the centre of an oval made of granite paving providing the focal point.
The third design, from the Dublin team, proposes using a series of mirrors to transform the memorial garden into a 'Garden of Light'.
Under their proposal, a mirror in the memorial park tracks the sun, and pours a constant beam of sunlight onto 31 small mirrors.
They are arranged to carry the light to a heart shaped sculpture at the bomb site, which is almost constantly in the shade.
The heart is cut-glass crystal apparently floating inside a pillar of glass, which will sparkle and glitter with the light.
The fourth proposal, from Belfast design team Robinson Patterson Partnership, suggests placing a stone sculpture, with a bronze bell encased inside it, at the bomb site. They propose that the names of the victims and the time and date be etched on the bell.
The bell motif is very important to this design, as this is how they aim to link the site of the bomb with the garden - by referring to the shock waves that radiated from the bomb blast in the new design of the memorial garden.
The fifth design, from architect Peter Hutchinson, who is originally from Omagh, proposes providing an underground chamber at the car bomb site, where a 'memory bank' can be created.
In this proposal, the central permanent sculpture feature in the Memorial Garden is a disc missing in the centre. This is a reference to the memory trunk buried at the car bomb site and the 'O' is for Omagh.
Two marks on its face show the time of the bomb explosion 3.10pm. The piece is set in a shallow pool. Water flows from the top over the piece and the polished granite of the pool base is engraved with the word Omagh.
If you wish to obtain further information regarding the design process or any other aspect of the memorial process, please contact Kim McLaughlin, project officer, on 028 82245321 ext 289, or email kim. mclaughlin@omagh. gov.uk.
TOMORROW (Friday) is the final chance for members of the public to view the exhibit of five design proposals for the installation of a permanent memorial to the 1998 Omagh bomb.
The proposals, which have been submitted by teams from Northern Ireland, the Republic, England and Spain, were unveiled by Danny McSorley, chief executive
of Omagh District Council, at Strule Arts Centre over two weeks ago. The proposals can also be viewed online in the community consultation section at www.omagh.gov.uk.
Omagh Memorial Working Group has this week reminded the public that the exhibit will close tomorrow afternoon, after which the proposals will be presented to a panel of assessors who will then select the most appropriate memorial design on Monday.
The panel's decision will be made on the basis of pre-established criteria, including the extent to which the proposal integrates the bomb site and the memorial garden, as well as the overall artistic quality of the proposal.
The assessors will also give consideration to the potential of the proposal to promote healing and reflection, and to make an impact with members of the public.
Omagh Memorial Working Group will then consider the assessment panel's recommendation. The Working Group has also been tasked with considering options for an appropriate inscription.
At the end of this process, a report will be presented to Omagh District Council for approval.
The council said it expected that the successful design would be commissioned in September, after which work will begin to obtain the various statutory approvals before construction can start on the site.
The five design teams that have submitted proposals are FAM Arquitectura y Urbanismo SL, from Madrid, Shiels, Flynn, and Making Marks, from Norfolk, Sean Hillen and Desmond Fitzgerald Architects, from Dublin, and Robinson Patterson Partnership and Peter Hutchinson, both from Belfast.
The first proposal, known as 'Building with Words', is from the Spanish design team, who also designed the memorial to the 2002 Madrid bombings.
The main element to this innovative design is a latticed steel canopy, made up of words of remembrance, that connects the site bomb and the memorial garden.
The second design, from Shiels, Flynn, and Making Marks, proposes placing a tall shard of beautifully textured piece of local limestone, carved with a few words - in three languages - to explain the date and time of the explosion. The wedge shape of the shard will form an arrow pointing towards the river bridge and the route to the new Memorial Garden.
The Norfolk team envisage a second carved shard stone marker, this time made from a Donegal limestone, standing at the entrance to an enlarged garden, with a circular water feature at the centre of an oval made of granite paving providing the focal point.
The third design, from the Dublin team, proposes using a series of mirrors to transform the memorial garden into a 'Garden of Light'.
Under their proposal, a mirror in the memorial park tracks the sun, and pours a constant beam of sunlight onto 31 small mirrors.
They are arranged to carry the light to a heart shaped sculpture at the bomb site, which is almost constantly in the shade.
The heart is cut-glass crystal apparently floating inside a pillar of glass, which will sparkle and glitter with the light.
The fourth proposal, from Belfast design team Robinson Patterson Partnership, suggests placing a stone sculpture, with a bronze bell encased inside it, at the bomb site. They propose that the names of the victims and the time and date be etched on the bell.
The bell motif is very important to this design, as this is how they aim to link the site of the bomb with the garden - by referring to the shock waves that radiated from the bomb blast in the new design of the memorial garden.
The fifth design, from architect Peter Hutchinson, who is originally from Omagh, proposes providing an underground chamber at the car bomb site, where a 'memory bank' can be created.
In this proposal, the central permanent sculpture feature in the Memorial Garden is a disc missing in the centre. This is a reference to the memory trunk buried at the car bomb site and the 'O' is for Omagh.
Two marks on its face show the time of the bomb explosion 3.10pm. The piece is set in a shallow pool. Water flows from the top over the piece and the polished granite of the pool base is engraved with the word Omagh.
If you wish to obtain further information regarding the design process or any other aspect of the memorial process, please contact Kim McLaughlin, project officer, on 028 82245321 ext 289, or email kim. mclaughlin@omagh. gov.uk.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1888
Published Date: 26-Jul-07
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