Memorial for
Witches

The submission uses an intelligent mix or renderings and diagrams to clearly describe a complex conceptual thesis. The clear drawings are a testament to the author’s control and sensitivity to graphics and analysis. The imagery also succeeds in describing the space’s change over time. In describing a spatial experience, the presentation is excellent. As an architectural project, however, the presentation would benefit from further drawing of the larger space. Do the Chinese medical facilities really look like that which is shown? What are the characteristics of the existing medical facility? It would be beneficial to have an example of such a building and where it exists within the city, assuming this is a project for an urban medical facility. How does one enter the memorial and experience it within an urban context? The presentation would also benefit from detailing and annotation of the materials used How are the ‘beds’ and their weights attached and hung? Does one really need to sit in a wet puddle to read the texts suspended below the beds?

The presentation uses a successful layout to describe the project, with a primary full-span rendering at the top supported by a row of plans and diagrams at the center and a series of vignettes at the base which describes the spatial experience well. The project is primarily black and white though cleverly uses spots of red in various locations across the page to achieve uniformity and color balance to avoid what could otherwise be received as visually monotonous imagery. The primary critique is in regards to text. The author makes use of a descriptive paragraph which is far too lengthy and small to make sense of easily. Dimensionally the single text column spans the entire landscape-oriented page. Attempting to read such text in full is tiring and frustrating for a reviewer. Keep in mind there is a strong reason why newspapers and magazines utilize short-span columns of text - because it is easier to read and digest! It is highly recommended that the author divide up text into shorter paragraphs for future presentations. To complete the architectural design, the linework drawings would benefit from annotation, one or two typical details, as well as the inclusion of human figures to make sense of the scale. As drawn it is difficult to comprehend how the structure is built and how it is inhabited.

The presentation is bold and clear. It makes use of a simple architectural-structural gesture and simply describes why this has been applied and how it is developed in the project. The layout appropriately uses color, diagrams and scale figures to express the design intent as well as the spatial experience of the project. The presentation would benefit from additional annotation in the two renderings at the base of the sheet. It would also benefit from additional detailing. What is the materiality of the space? How are the LED screens and red lights integrated into the walls? A clear plan drawing would also more fully describe how one enters and traverses the structure, as well as give some clarity on the dimensions of the project in the transverse direction, given all drawings are in the longitudinal.

The project is for the most part clear and effectively communicated. The renderings are beautifully done, as are the plans and section, which enters into detail and expresses the project as architectural in nature. The layout presents the project at an urban level as well as at a larger scale. It also clearly describes the formal and material decisions as representative of the various topics at hand, though its design could be perceived by many as an overly formal gesture. The three renderings are quite similar in scale and the information communicated. The author would benefit from replacing one of these with a more intimate up-close image of the pond to encompass all scales of the project, rather than simply expressing the pond within the space of the existing memorial. The text is far too lengthy and small for the reader to make clear sense of with ease. It requires the reader to strain, as it is not digested easily. Even though the topic is complex and requires some historical narrative, it is recommended that the author divide the amount of text by half.