Memory Museum

In Latvian culture, resting places for the deceased are considered homely sites to be cared for and visited often. Our homes are inextricably linked to memories of loved ones; their artifacts and mementos left behind are invaluable traces of individual identities and shared experiences between the living and the departed.

Memory Museum invites visitors to actively build a homely place of remembrance which is closely tied to the identities and experiences of those who rest there. The filigree structure holds urns and allows visitors to deposit mementos and offerings within it, while simultaneously allowing for connections to the serene forest landscape beyond. Organized as a non-hierarchical network, the project encourages visitors to meander. In encountering others’ mementos along their routes, visitors will learn of the lives of those who rest there, and ultimately recall invaluable latent memories of their own. The structure therefore becomes an interface between lost loved ones, nature, and memory.

Location: Forest Cemetery in Riga, Latvia

Year: 2022

Program: Columbarium

Competition: Riga City Council

Team: Cait McCarthy, Jordan Young