This outdoor memorial sanctuary is a serene gathering point for temple congregants to remember, honor and celebrate family, friends and generations past. 75 vertical granite monoliths, which display prayers and names of loved ones, form an outdoor room made of two interlocking ovals. The ovals have a symbolic quality – they embrace the feeling of family and how we’re intertwined in life and also in death. Each wall monolith contains a number of names, made so that light passes through. During the day, the light creates stripes that move around the memorial so one is always aware that the day is changing. When asked initially what congregants wanted to feel in this space, one member replied, “I want to breathe differently.”
Credits:
The design was a collaboration with artist Larry Kirkland.
Commissioned by Congregation Shir Hadash, Los Gatos, California.
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