Memorial design team search launched for Grenfell Tower victims

The process to find a design team for the Grenfell Tower memorial has begun.

This memorial will serve as a lasting tribute to the 72 lives lost in the fire at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington on 14 June 2017.

According to The RIBA Journal, this development comes a little over seven years after the tragedy and nearly five years after the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission was established.

Paul Boateng, co-chair of the Commission, emphasized the importance of this moment for the affected community.

Boateng stated: “This is a community that I began my practice of law in 50 years ago.

“It’s a community that I know very well – it’s exciting, diverse, vibrant, and very creative.

“But it is also a community that is deeply traumatised, and hurt, by the catastrophe itself, but also because it has been consistently ignored, marginalised, and disrespected over decades.”

Community engagement and memorial vision

Boateng and Thelma Stober, co-chairs of the Commission, have been working closely with the Grenfell community, ensuring that the voices of bereaved families, survivors, and local residents guide the memorial’s design process.

The goal is to create a respectful and lasting memorial that honours the victims.

Boateng highlighted the community’s desire for justice and a sacred, impactful space for peace and remembrance.

Boateng said: “What this community wants above all is justice.

“This memorial has to reflect that, but importantly it needs to be a sacred space, a place built and designed to last; it needs to be a place of peace, remembrance and reflection; it needs to have impact, and height, and light, and water.”

Diverse and inclusive design approach

The memorial design will need to incorporate the diverse religious and cultural backgrounds of the Grenfell community, offering a spiritual quality that encompasses multiple faiths.

It will also need to provide private areas for solitude and reflection.

Boateng sees the diversity of the community as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

“I don’t regard the rich mix of faiths and culture at Grenfell as being in any way challenging,” Boateng noted.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity, which you have to open yourself up to, and I expect the design teams in this competition to see it likewise.”

Competition and selection process

Boateng and Stober are seeking the best global talent for the memorial design competition.

Interested teams must demonstrate expertise in various fields, including architecture, landscape, mechanical, and structural engineering, and must show experience in collaborative, community-inclusive design.

Five teams will be shortlisted in the autumn, and the process will advance with community involvement to develop a final proposal.

Boateng emphasised: “What we expect of this design process is to produce something that is unique, and a reflection of the community.

“It’s not a question of taking a bit from here, a bit from there.

“We expect the competition, and ultimately the whole process, to produce a design that will reflect the experience of a marginalised and disrespected community who have been the victims of the most appalling and systemic neglect, and a failure to protect them.”