Description
Situated along the Weesperstraat, an important axis within the Jewish Cultural Quarter, the Dutch Holocaust Memorial of Names is adjacent to the Hermitage Museum, East of the Diaconie’s verdant Hoftuin garden and café, just a stone’s throw from the Amstel River and in close proximity to important Jewish cultural institutions such as the Jewish Historical Museum and the Portuguese Synagogue.
The 1,550 square meter memorial incorporates four volumes that represent the letters in the Hebrew word לזכר meaning “In Memory of”. The volumes are arranged in a rectilinear configuration on the north-south axis of the main thoroughfare Weesperstraat and the Hoftuin pavilion to the East.
As visitors enter the memorial they will encounter a labyrinth of passages articulated by two-meter-high brick walls carrying the message of Remembrance. Each of the four volumes is crafted from mirror-finished stainless steel that hovers above the walls of individually stacked bricks. 102,000 bricks are each inscribed with a name, giving a tangible quantification to the many casualties, as well as leaving 1000 blank bricks that will memorialize the unknown victims.
For more information about the memorial visit: www.holocaustnamenmonument.nl
Construction started in 2019. The project opened on September 19, 2021.
Watch a video tour here
Awards:
Architectural Review Public Awards, shortlist, 2022
Gouden Piramide 2022 (Golden Pyramid), nomination shortlist
BNA Beste Gebouw van het Jaar (Best Building of the Year), Honorable mention, 2022
Selected for Architecture in the Netherlands Yearbook, 2022
Architizer A+ Awards, Popular Choice Winner, 2022
Arcam Amsterdam Architecture Prize 2022
“In a refined way, the building is very grand, present and monumental from some points of view, but from other points of view, restrained, sometimes even absent and actually always refined. Despite its physically modest size, the impact of this project reaches far beyond the city limits and is not only for Amsterdam and its citizens, but also provides a space for encounter, reflection and education. This is Architecture with a big ‘A’.” – excerpt from Arcam Jury