︎

LUCIE
NAJVAROVÁ

architect

MEMORIAL

to the studens of WU in Vienna, victims after 1938

2013

competition
- with Samuel Netočný

Wirtschaftsuniversität
Vienna, AT
~


Rather than designing a single monument, the concept creates a Forest of Souls – a space of life stories and fates where visitors become part of the memorial itself.

The entire site is used to form an intimate inner space, visually separated from its surroundings. To avoid a monolithic appearance, the mass is dispersed into a field of 4-meter-tall vertical elements. Their arrangement forms two interlocking gradients: dense along the outer edge and sparse within.

Names of victims are engraved on metal plaques at the base of some poles, while others remain nameless to represent anonymous victims of Nazi aggression.

Visible from all parts of the square, the memorial’s simple form complements its context without overpowering it. Entering the space shifts the scale from the urban square to the human body, culminating in the intimate reading of each engraved name.

The play of light, shadow, and subtle movement in the wind evokes the fragility of life and the fine line between crime and societal acceptance. 

MEMORIAL to the studens of WU in Vienna, victims after 1938

2013

competition
- with Samuel Netočný

Wirtschaftsuniversität
Vienna, AT
~



Coming


Approaching



Entering



Searching and kneeling



Engraved names



Sky


Floorplan



Section



Context

Rather than designing a single monument, the concept creates a Forest of Souls – a space of life stories and fates where visitors become part of the memorial itself.

The entire site is used to form an intimate inner space, visually separated from its surroundings. To avoid a monolithic appearance, the mass is dispersed into a field of 4-meter-tall vertical elements. Their arrangement forms two interlocking gradients: dense along the outer edge and sparse within.

Names of victims are engraved on metal plaques at the base of some poles, while others remain nameless to represent anonymous victims of Nazi aggression.

Visible from all parts of the square, the memorial’s simple form complements its context without overpowering it. Entering the space shifts the scale from the urban square to the human body, culminating in the intimate reading of each engraved name.

The play of light, shadow, and subtle movement in the wind evokes the fragility of life and the fine line between crime and societal acceptance.