The onePULSE Foundation announced the winner of the design for memorial set to be built on the site of the Pulse nightclub. The structure and a nearby museum will be designed by Coldefy & Associés.
The June 2016 shooting that left 49 people dead at a popular Orlando gay bar, bringing the LGBTQ community together to mourn and to remember those lost. The memorial and museum will honor those victims, as well as the 68 people injured.
The design was chosen out of 68 submissions from 19 countries. The site will serve as both a gathering place and educational center, according to Barbara Poma, a former co-owner of the club and the CEO of the onePULSE Foundation, a nonprofit created in the wake of the shooting. In a statement, Poma hoped it would teach,
“visitors and future generations [about] the profound impact the tragedy had on Orlando, the U.S., and the world.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who was a member of the jury that selected the winning design, added in a statement that this unveiling is an important step for the community.
“We will never bring back the 49 innocent victims whose lives were taken on June 12, 2016, or erase the pain that the horrific act brought to so many, but the establishment of this memorial is an important part of our community healing process.”
Currently, there’s a temporary memorial on the site but the new permanent memorial, as well as the nearby museum, will begin construction in 2021opening free to visitors, starting in 2022.
(Photo, screen grab; via Out)
