DESIGN PROPOSAL
A Garden for Generational Memory is an architectural exploration of collective familial memory that is layered into historical drawings by Jean-Jacques Lequeu. The project is a series of assignments that build upon the previous with the final installation including series of greenhouses or Archives – translucent spaces that encapsulate my personal and familial recollections. Each Archive is a metal frame with a series of sheer veils and layered images creating a sense of movement, echoing the way memories shift and fade over time. Through an iterative process of distortion, layering, and transparency, memories from familiar places like bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms take on new life, blending the memories of different family members into a living Archive. Each Archive is built from conversations, sketches, images, and events – the ephemeral moments that stand out to my parents, sister, brothers, and myself.
How to create an Archive – begin by thinking of a room from your past, this room should hold memories of time spent with your family. Take time to think of the things that happened in that room, the words shared, the feelings expressed. Next begin to draw – just one wall from memory, draw as much or as little as you can remember – draw windows and doors, furniture, artwork on the walls, anything you think is relevant. This sketch will become a veil/sheer curtain that is layered with other images over a structural frame that creates the shape of each Archive.
These Archives are installed in our everyday life, as well as our past and future. The project explores how memories shape space and how space shapes memory. Rather than being tied to a specific site, these Archives offer a framework or invitation to reflect on the spaces that have shaped us and the memories we carry as those spaces change over time.