The design for the Sunderland Veterans’ Memorial and Park was selected through a national design competition. The design objective was to serve as a community gathering space, while honoring those who served and inspiring hopeful contemplation of the future. Surrounding the circular gathering space are five sitting niches constructed of local stone, each containing the insignia of one of the branches of the armed services at its crest.
The main entrance is marked by the Sentinel Stone and Wall of Remembrance---a twenty foot long, highly polished, granite wall containing the names of those who served. The wall leads visitors into the space, while one’s reflections alternately materialize in the clear polished granite, then dissolve into the texture of names, inspiring a feeling of oneness with those who served. The experience is described by the press as “both powerful and poignant.”
CLIENT: TOWN OF SUNDERLAND
