BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The second phase of the 5/14 Memorial design phase is now underway.
The 5/14 Memorial Commission has announced three finalists to create a design for a permanent memorial to honor the victims and survivors of the racially motivated mass shooting at Tops Markets on May, 14th 2022.
"We only have one time to get this right," said Reverand Mark Blue, Chair of the 5/14 Memorial Commission. "We've come to a decision and I believe that we've made the best decision for the community."
Each of the finalists will be tasked with designing a memorial that includes:
- A park-like landscape
- One fully enclosed building
- Designated areas for temporary and permanent art installations
- Design must also represent the desires of the 5/14 families and community
"This memorial represents growth and progress beyond 5/14 and into the future," said Garnell Whitfield, the son of Ruth Whitfield, and member of the 5/14 Memorial Commission. "That's what we are hoping for to try and to instill hope within the community and to ease the pain,"
The three finalists are:
- Watts Architects & Engineers
- Jin Young Song and Douglass Alligood
- Beehyyve L3
7 News asked each of the finalists how they plan to capture the emotion, loss, and heartbreak of 5/14 in their designs.
"We wanted to try and design a place where people could come together and begin to process their emotions, whether it's anger, a sense of loss, hopefully healing," said Edward Watts, President of Watts Architects and Engineers.
"How it can make a more powerful impact with which the community can come together, heal together and remember what happened in this tragedy," said Jin Young Son, Associate Professor at UB School of Architecture and Planning.
"It was very serious to me, to make sure we were able to give them something, this community something, that's meant to help and heal everybody," said Kristen Locke, Partner with Beehyyve, L3.
Each of the finalists will receive a $10,000 stipend for their work. Final designs are due by April 22. A physical site for the future 5/14 Memorial is still to be determined.
