和平之梦——Almena 和平馆

Firm： Almena

Type： Commercial › Exhibition Center Cultural › Cultural Center Memorial Pavilion

STATUS： Concept

SIZE： 1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET： $10K - 50K

“Peace is a dream; it can become a reality… but to build it we must be capable of dreaming.” (Nelson Mandela)

Design idea:

The design concept for peace pavilion believes that humans born pure-hearted and peace-loving; that is why we must remember to get back to our real roots. These ideas are translated through creating a contemporary iconic architectural structure that provides a spatial experience for the user based on filtration of the user through a spiritual, and awareness-raising experience to return to the way of Salvation. The structure is abstracted by using rammed earth tombstones, remembering the victims lost in Africa’s wars and conflicts to learn from the mistakes of the past and gives hope for a more peaceful future.

The structure creates a mini-environment to simulate the road map for the dream of peace the way to as it is a journey within the building passing through three main zones:

Exhibition: The first zone which is a space with a specific semi-shaded path force the user to pass surrounded by rammed earth columns from all sides that depict the graves of victims of wars and conflicts in Africa which will be dedicated to hosting permanent or temporary artistic works that share the pavilion's values and objectives.

Spreading Awareness: Then comes the second zone that leads the user to deep dive into the true human roots and take a lesson from the mistakes of the past and, helping the user to understand the causes of wars and conflicts through creating a free space in a lower level contain a place for lectures, seminars, and also a place for the storyteller "Griot" to transfer the history of the conflicts in Africa also pass on, and preserve the local cultures.

Contemplation: The journey of the building ends with a rise to the highest level from the rest of the other areas, which is a semi-enclosed space with upper openings to create a spiritual atmosphere. It is a suitable place for people of all genders, cultures, and religions to remember and pay respect to the victims.