Public Architecture

Memorial by Eduardo Souto de Moura for the Victims of the Hearth in Portugal Is Inaugurated

6 months ago 2 min read

Pedrógão Grande, a Portuguese municipality positioned roughly 55 kilometers from Coimbra, inaugurated the Memorial in Homage to the Victims of the 2017 Forest Fires final week. This tragic occasion resulted within the lack of 66 lives and left 253 injured. The monument was designed by architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, winner of the 2011 Pritzker Prize.

The work, initiated by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) two years in the past, value roughly 1.8 million Euros. Based on IP, the monument includes a framing lake spanning about 2,500 sq. meters in space. The lake is provided by a 60-meter-long gargoyle and bordered by a strip of vegetation, together with white water lilies, lilies, and ranunculus. Moreover, the venture incorporates a wall with the identify of every sufferer inscribed on it, in keeping with IP.

Eduardo Souto Moura had a private connection to the tragedy as one of many staff from his workplace misplaced her life on that highway whereas coming back from Praia das Rocas together with her household. This profound expertise compelled him to undertake the venture.

The hearth in Pedrógão Grande resulted in 66 deaths and 253 accidents. It additionally devastated roughly 5 hundred homes, together with 261 everlasting dwellings, and affected 50 firms. Tragically, over two-thirds of the fatalities, amounting to 47 people had been driving on the EN (nationwide highway) 236-1 between Castanheira de Pera and Figueiró dos Vinhos, discovering themselves surrounded by flames.

The fires had an influence on roughly 53,000 hectares of territory, with 20,000 hectares comprising forested areas. The affected areas primarily included the municipalities of Pedrógão Grande, Castanheira de Pera, and Figueiró dos Vinhos within the district of Leiria. The fires additionally prolonged to the districts of Coimbra, affecting Góis, Penela, and Pampilhosa da Serra, in addition to Sertã. Moreover, the fires impacted Alvaiázere and Ansião in Leiria, Arganil in Coimbra, and Oleiros in Castelo Branco.

4 months after the June fireplace, on October 17, 2017, one other forest fireplace ravaged the identical area, tragically claiming the lives of a further 49 individuals, bringing the overall fatalities to 115. The monument was made accessible to the general public with out an official ceremony on June 16 after Infraestruturas de Portugal collaborated with the Affiliation of Victims of the Pedrógão Grande Hearth (AVIPG).

Sources: Observador, TSF, and DN.