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Sentimental

Spiritual and historical meaning into consciousness and memory of circumstances of the March 1944 arrests and deportations in Florence is translated into abstract elements voids and erasure of Jewish life in Florence. The memorial space shares human experience across time and distance, passes on meaningful memories and lessons, and eventually allows the visitors to cherish the hard-earned peace.

Project type: Experience Design, Design Research

Location: Florence, Italy

My role: Individual Architecture Studio Project

Skills: Rhino 3D modeling, Vray rendering, Adobe PS & Ai 

Field research & Analysis, Storytelling 

Story

The Holocaust in Italy was quite unique. While there were numerous examples of heroic individual efforts in Italy to protect Jews from arrest and deportation, there was also indifference to the demonization of Jews and complicity in their repression, arrests, and ultimately, their genocide. Italian laws sanctioned increasingly severe restrictions on Italian Jews, and set the stage for the genocide that followed. The role of history and memory, and our responsibility today to be alert to racism and the manipulation of fear and facts are connected. 
The space is designed not just for people to visit and forget, but  to memorialize these events and commemorate for next generation.

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Platform 16 Holocaust Deportation Memorials, Santa Maria Novella Train Station, Florence, Italy

Photo credit to Wikipedia

Background Story
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By 1931, there were about 3,000 Jews living in Florence. Life was pleasant for the Jews of Florence and they were represented in most segments of Italian society. However, with the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Italy, life for the Jews of Florence quickly deteriorated. State sponsored anti-Semitism in Italy began. In 1943, Florence was occupied by Nazi forces. The Nazis and their fascist cohorts began to arrest and round up Jews. Deportation for the Jews began almost immediately and most Jewish families lost relatives. Dr. Rabbi Cassuto who was the Jewish communal leader of Florence, was one of the first to be sent to Auschwitz. Of the 243 Jews deported, only 13 returned alive. However, many of the Jews of Florence escaped the Nazis with the help of heroic Italians who hid the Jews during the Nazi occupation.

Site Mapping by Rhino &  Adobe Ai

[Chronology of Anti-semitic Law 1930-45]

The persecution of the Jews began systematically almost as soon as Hitler came to power. The Nazis established many new anti-Jewish laws. Originally the law seemed to force Jews out of country but this eventually led to a plan to exterminate the Jews.

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Site

[Museo Novecento]

In March of 1944, the Italian fascist authorities and occupying Nazis transformed the Scuole Leopoldine in Florence (now the Museo Novecento Firenze) into an interrogation and detention center for arrested anti-fascists. Hundreds of striking workers from Florence and Tuscany were detained by the Italian authorities in this building on Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

Site Analysis

Collage - Mark the Death
Adobe Photoshop

The markings represent 300 people – Italian citizens – Florentine Jews arrested in 1943 November 6 - 8, detained in the buildings and courtyard which is now the Museo Novecento. On November 9 all were taken to the Santa Maria Novella Station – binario 16 – forced into cattle cars, and sent to Auschwitz. 15 survived.

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Synthesis

Collage by Rhino &  Adobe PS

HOW MIGHT WE

Create a spatial experience that encourages them to feel, empathize, and memorize the past, in a both sensory and educational way. 

HMW

Design

[A Memorial of Rumination]

Different part of the space brings different experience. Sentimental ambience remains the same at every corner. The space connotes a unique sentiment for each individual, but the history will be equally shared and passed on.

Design Solution
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Exploded Axon drawing by Rhino &  Adobe Ai

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Plan & Section drawing by Rhino,  Adobe Ai & PS

Numbers are the most direct way of conveying information. Every holocaust event was marked by dates and number of deaths. Those data should not only be carved in the long run of history but also be deeply imprinted into people’s memory. The Holocaust in Florence was only a tiny tip of the entire Italian Holocaust iceberg. Modern Florentines are largely unware and indifferent of what happened in their motherland, what their government did, what the role of Italian citizens was and how Italian Jewish victims suffered. I gathered up all the essential Holocaust incidents as well as the history of Jewish legislation and carved them into the walls of my Memorial. People read and ruminate while walking orderly inside and outside the museum. The spatial atmosphere caters to texts, enhancing the overall sense of gravity and extent of significance, emphasizing the value of remembering.

Renderings by Rhino, Vray & Adobe Photoshop

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Analysis drawing by Adobe Illustrator

“To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive;
To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time...”

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Contact Me

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LET'S CHAT!

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2023 by Rita Wang

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