Pritzker Military Museum & Library announces finalists in Cold War Veterans Memorial competition

Chicago’s Pritzker Military Museum & Library has announced four finalists for its international design competition that would give veterans of the Cold War a new memorial in Somers, Wisconsin.

The memorial is a central part of a larger development plan that will create the Pritzker Archive and Memorial Park Center (PAMPC) campus in under a decade. 

“In missions on and off the battlefield, Americans of all stripes made immense sacrifices in defense of our national interest,” founder Jennifer Pritzker said in a statement. “They deserve to be recognized, and the weight of this era deserves to be understood. This Memorial will provide a place where their contributions are honored.”

The finalists enter phase II of the competition, which is being judged by panelists that considered each entry for its “individuality, relevance, and conceptualization.” Each project now has until late February to develop before individual reviews begin and a winner is announced in late March. 

Have a closer look at each of the finalists below. 

ETERNAL CIRCULATION — Shinsaku Munemoto of Shinsaku Munemoto & Associates, Architects in Kyoto, Japan

Architect's statement: "This memorial intends to preserve the memories, records, and achievements of the veterans in perpetuity. By uncovering the layer of land, one space separates into two. The space of the 'past underneath meets the layers of the veterans’ work and time, where one can relive the veterans’ history and memories of the Cold War. The satellite dish formed above forges the 'present' space to transmit the histories and memories. Through the hole opened in the unfolded land, the archive is seen, bridging the 'past' records to the 'present,' creating an ETERNAL CIRCULATION of education and communication."

ORBITS OF TIME — Jenny Wu and Dwayne Oyler of Oyler Wu Collaborative in Los Angeles, California, USA

Architect's statement: "The proposed design envisions a memorial that embodies the ideals and mission of Memorial Park, making more tactile a context that can’t be measured in a single name or event: only in glimpses of history. Within these glimpses is layered a timeline of both personal and collective experiences emblematic of the Cold War — a paradigm that rebalances the interconnected narratives of American innovation and service."

INFINITE LIFE — Michele De Lucchi con Francesco Forcella (project architect), Nicholas Bewick, Junmei Liu, Emanuele Novembre, Guido Tarantola, Mayya Sargsyan of AMDL CIRCLE in Milan, Italy

Architect's statement: "Although this Memorial project was born out of the importance of respecting and honoring those that served during the Cold War period, we also see its relevance as a heroic symbol towards our continually evolving universe and the existence of human life. For this reason, we have chosen not only the metaphor of infinity, by evoking the ‘Moebius Loop or Orbit’ in our design concept, but also to create an experience and place from which to think about our complex global interrelationships, in the hope that they can find a harmony that links every single person and preserves the physical environment in which we all live."

THE CONFLICT — Mai Abu-Shanab and Jalal  Al-Sadi of  m+j architect studio atelier in Amman, Jordan 

Architect's statement: "This cold war memorial is intended to honor individuals and groups and give a permanent recognition to accomplishments, as quietly made, by countless individuals and groups as they pursued the expansion of freedom and democracy, creating a place for reflection and remembrance, inspiring the public to perceive freedom for centuries to come."