Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano - EDU

PHOTOGRAPHER

Mateo Soto

OBJECTIVE

Essence: The main entrance of the park is entered through the "Road of Heroes"; a path accompanied by nine monoliths where phrases of characters who were victims during the period are inscribed, all of wich through their words and voices opposed the phenomenon of violence that was destroying the social base of the city.

Inflexión: The most important and solemn moment of the park. In this space a black stone wall seventy meters long and five meters high composed of four large breaks, divides the park. The north face of the wall has 46,612 perforations, each of which represents a fatal victim of the violence that occurred during the period; At night, each perforation is illuminated from inside the wall, forming an anonymous constellation of lights that represent and connect each of the absent lives with those that visit the place. On the other hand, the south face of the wall presents a chronological line carved on the stone, in which 208 violent events that occurred in the city associated with narco-terrorism are exposed, indicating the place, date and type of event.

Resilience: A small urban forest where tree species from different parts of the country are housed. This natural space pays tribute to the resistance and ability of society to overcome the difficulties and painful moments it experienced and how it’s resilient spirit, like that of nature, provides opportunities to generate new directions and perspectives.

CONTEXT

Inflexión Memorial Park is a public space that is located on the lot of the old Mónaco Building, a symbol of pain and violence owned by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. The building is located in the Santa María de los Ángeles neighborhood, Poblado sector.

On its surface, 4 geometric breaks forcefully burst the urban layout and break into it as an INFLEXION, a space that is given to the city as a MEMORIAL PARK, as a result of an international public architecture competition.

The history of the city of Medellín had as a turning point the violence associated with the drug trafficking phenomenon in the decades of the 80's and 90's, specifically between 1983 and 1994, a historical period wich marked the hight of the drug terrorism conflict, and left in it’s pass 46,612 lives lost. Therefore, the park seeks to create a space for memory and reflection, to commemorate the victims of the bloodiest period in the city and make history visible as it happened as a means of collective catharsis, recognition and reparation.

The architectural proposal generates through a landmark on the surface, three great moments: essence, inflexión and resilience.

PERFORMANCE

The park is developed in a continuous and accessible route for all people, playing with the slopes of the land saving 5 meters of difference between streets. In this way, different folds allow you to comfortably navigate the space as you interact with the different commemorative elements.

Stone materials such as Royal Laguna stone for floors and San Gabriel black granite were used for the commemorative elements. Those materials guarantee their durability over time, such as a public park that houses a monument must remain for posterity.

Additionally, part of the rubble from the demolition of the Monaco building was used in the construction of the dividing walls that are located on the edges of the park. This is the historical footprint that resignifies the pain that this structure represented, now containing a dedicated space to life.

The park from its civic and cultural vocation, deconstructs the symbols of drug trafficking, giving rise to citizen encounters as a space for dialogue and introspection, for recreation and expression of freedom, framing itself on a neighborhood scale into regional significance. This urban space has at it’s epicenter, reflection over sadness, vindicating hope, dignify life over any trace of violence and exalting the celebration of the human spirit by opening spaces of encounter with culture and the construction of social fabric.