The Memory of Traces

Project idea

A landscape and architecture narrative that explores how memories are never fully erased, transforming traces of historical trauma into spatial experiences. The design converts a site of silence and violence into a public space of remembrance, education, and collective healing.

Project description

The project is an Interpretation Centre located at the former Miguel de Azcuénaga Arsenal in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. The site was previously used as a military arsenal and clandestine detention center (1976-1978) during the military dictatorship, where hundreds of victims were imprisoned, tortured, and buried in mass graves. The intervention respects key elements such as Galpón 9, mass grave zones within a 200m radius, and the barracks, treating them as critical historical anchors. The design includes an entrance gateway denoting the timeline of incidents, parking designed with groves of trees, a main museum entrance with small openings made with natural stone creating a tunnel effect, winding pathways with symbolic statues and resting areas, a memory wall walkway commemorating the incidents and the people, a timeline space about the history, live experience galleries with political context, and a memorial moment depicting the affected people.

Technical information

The entry acts as the first trace, a threshold between the everyday world and the realm of memory. A carefully framed arrival plaza guides visitors toward the interpretation centre, establishing a strong visual connection with architectural fragments beyond. Open courtyards are inserted between fragmented volumes, creating moments of pause and reflection with natural light, fresh air, and tranquility. Water features, shaded seating, and carefully framed views allow visitors to process the experience while reconnecting with nature. The site has environmental potential for a large memory park, ecological landscape, stormwater retention areas, and an interpretation center integrated with nature. The region has a humid subtropical climate with summer temperatures of 30-38°C and annual rainfall of 900-1200mm.

Documentation

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