Children's Memory Garden
Nashville, TN | 2022
The Children’s Memory Garden is dedicated to the memory of children who lost their lives to violence. We collaborated with victim advocates and Nelson Byrd Woltz to create a place for remembrance and contemplation. Lighting allows families to visit from twilight to dawn and supports the delicate symbolism of the site.
Site lighting echoes the curved granite benches, which embrace the site like two pairs of cupped hands. Plaques honoring the names of local children killed by gun violence are embedded in a glowing lighthouse, which serves as a beacon of hope in the larger context of Nahsville’s Centennial Park. At the heart of the garden is a young willow surrounded by a hundred points of shimmering light. The points of light are laid out according to a geometric pattern found in the design of sacred spaces -- a memorial to all children who lost their lives to violence.
