New images have been released showing the fully completed Glade of Light memorial in Manchester – a significant design project which commemorates the victims of the 22nd May 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
The memorial has been designed by BCA Landscape (BCAL) working in conjunction with Smiling Wolf, who commissioned the new aerial images to show the context of the project and the features that have been added to ensure that this is a special garden for the victims’ families, friends and the wider city.
Andy Thomson is director at BCAL and explained: “The Glade of Light is a truly unique public space and a beautiful garden for people from all over the world to reflect on one of the most significant events in Manchester’s history.
“Many memorials are defined by clipped lawns and hedge perimeters, but that wasn’t our intention here. The Glade of Light is not figurative monumentalisation but is part of a design movement that embraces a more dynamic and contemporary form or memorialisation. We have created a space in which a visitor is not a viewer stood apart from the memorial, but an active part of a living process, invited into the glade (and the circle) to pay their respects, show their love and celebrate the lives of the 22 people that had their lives tragically taken away.”
The memorial is the culmination of a sensitive design process, one which saw BCAL and Smiling Wolf considering families, survivors and loved ones of victims, whilst also meeting Manchester City Council’s brief of delivering a public place of remembrance.
The abstracted design is an emotional response to the ineffability of sorrow and loss, comprising both multi-public and private features. Among them are the memory capsules; each nestled beneath the bronze hearts set around the marble halo, the capsules allowed victims’ families a place for personal memories, private messages and meaningful mementoes. The sensitive installation of these offered each family a private space in what is a very public memorial.
The central ‘halo’ itself comprises a circle of Bianco di Carrara marble, floating above an ever-changing orchestration of plants. The names of the loved ones that had their lives taken away by the terrorist atrocity have been inlaid in bronze within each block of the Marble circle. A serif typeface was chosen for its grace and gravitas, mirroring the use of serif fonts carved in stone and set in precious metals by ancient civilisations.
The monumental marble blocks have been carefully split using artisanship techniques into mirror image pairs, this ancient process being known as Macchia Aperta, which translates to English as ‘Open Book’ or ‘Book Matched’. This creates a beautiful, reflected effect within the veining. This also mimics the bilateral symmetry seen in nature, and is particularly evident in the ephemeral and wonderful moment of a passing butterfly.
The existing Yorkstone paving from the site has been refurbished and re-laid in the new landscape, blending softly with the surrounding planting design and providing a contrast with the floating white stone circle. It provides an important link to the past and a marker for a more sustainable future. Rainfall landing on the site is also directed in to planting beds and a sustainable urban drainage system, to help reduce stormflow to surrounding drains and the need to water plants.
A grove of trees of Oak, White Birch, Hawthorn and Pine, are gathered together around the quiet glade. A soft green setting within the busy city, creating a place for people to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
This wild and beautiful garden embraces the visitor within its reach, a place to feel connected to nature, where you can see the passing of the seasons and years. Inspired by the colours and wild beauty of the nearby Peak District Heathlands, the planting within the sunny glade of grasses, heathers, bulbs and perennials change throughout the year - through crimson, cerise, ruby, magenta and amethyst.
In the dappled shade beneath the trees there are mosses, ferns, snowdrops, wood anemones and sages and ridges of weathered sandstone boulders, reminiscent of the High Peak escarpments or ‘Scarps’ and ‘Edges’.
The designs also had to consider the wider environment, with the Glade set within the context of an historically protected area with multiple listed nationally significant buildings, existing utilities and catacombs beneath that had to be worked around – the designers have remained true to the beauty, purity and simplicity behind their original concept and vision.
Andy added: “The beneficial emotional and physical restorative powers of this quiet, green and welcoming place have been wonderful to witness. Many visitors return on a regular basis to pay their respects, find a quiet moment in the middle of a busy city and enjoy the changing colours, movements and scents within the garden.
“This is a remarkable and emotive project which has managed to not only create a unique city centre space, but more importantly offer a welcoming place of remembrance for people visiting from all over the world, reflecting that the process of healing is always ongoing, needing space, understanding and time. We are honoured to have played some role in establishing it.”
Speaking at the launch of the memorial, Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig concluded: “The Glade of Light memorial is a permanent fixture in the heart of our city.”
