Earthquake Site Memorial

It’s more than a landmark and more than a commemorative site. It’s an emotional journey where visitors can experience the tragedy of 1755.
A Floating Path connects the waterfront to the main room. It cuts the river, recalling how the earthquake crossed the water to reach the land. This bridge gives to people the chance to stand and walk through the water and it creates an unique connection between the visitor and the Tagus by offering a special look-out point from a different perspective. It reacts to raise and fall of water level through a system of hinges connected to the staircase built inside the embankment of the waterfront. At the highest water level, the bridge creates a straight path line into the water.
The Earthquake Room is an empty and dark space that the visitors access through the bridge, moving from brightness to darkness. It consists of a floating steel box, which is contained in a shell fixed to the ground. The box follows the water movements, bumping into the outer construction. The vibrations, the sound and the partial obscurity of the room evoke the very first disorientation and distress feeling given by the earthquake.
On the northern side of the waterfront, a pavilion hosts the History Room, the Info Point, restrooms and a storage room. Here visitors can discover and understand the history of the place.
The proposal creates two objects which can work together or individually. The pavilion is open during daytime, the floating installation never closes.
It is a new public space, where everyone is invited to experience shaking memories without any restrictions.

with M.Sc.Arch. Edoardo Albano