The Process

By Caroline Smith

The Memorial to The Murdered Jews, designed by Peter Eisenman is a controversial piece, built in the heart of the setting of the very crime that it represents.  The 2500 granite stones stand to remember those lost during the Holocaust in Berlin.

I had the opportunity to visit the monument recently where I was impressed by the ­­­solitude of the memorial. From the outer, shallower parts of the monument, crowds gather for pictures, picnics, and a place to hang out. It seems as if the power of what the monument represents is overlooked and disregarded, presenting itself  almost as a disappointment in regards to the peacefulness of a memorial .  However as you move into the narrow spaces, the concrete blocks grow taller and taller, restricting vision and sound to create an element of solitude. In this way the architecture is telling a story that can not be otherwise told. Each intersection of paths creates an opportunity to collide with someone in the other direction, so attentiveness increases as you move through the space. Now you are alone in silence, but constantly aware, and therefore able to experience the journey of those who inspired the story.  All connection to the city is lost as you wander through the intimidating, cold stone, allowing you to feel how a Jew might have felt during this time. The experience can be much more powerful than ­pictures or words about the holocaust as the journey becomes personal.

            Each block is a different height, with a different angle set on top. While understanding the effect it had on my emotions, I wondered if there was a pattern or system that Eisenman used to develop each height and angle.  What I found was that Eisenman used a process called Deconstructivism. He decomposed a basic object into its primary parts, the square granite blocks, then subjected them to a series of analytic movements and geometric transformations by subtly changing their heights and angles. These movements are a product of the surroundings, like the slope of the ground, and the views of the city from within the structure. This technique allows you to appreciate not only the design, but the process itself.

            In an interview with Eisenman he admits  “You pray and pray for such accidental results, because you really don't know what the finished product will be like. For example I didn't realize that the sound would be so muted inside. You don't hear anything but the sound of your footsteps.”  Eisenman’s process is very important to understand as a student of architecture because the effect is something that could never be generated from one single idea. Often times when I am presenting a project I have an immediate idea in my head of what it will look like in the end. If this was the only part of the process, the meaning would shallow. The process through diagramming and breaking everything down into its simplest form, like Deconstructivism, allows an idea to branch and grow into something much more powerful; architecture that can tell a story that might not otherwise  ever be told.