Teams shortlisted to design memorial to victims of Pulse nightclub massacre in Florida

Six teams of international designers have been shortlisted to design a memorial and museum at the site of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida where a gunman killed 49 people on 12 June 2016.

In all, 68 teams comprising 168 firms and 47 individual artists submitted designs for the National Pulse Memorial & Museum, which its sponsor, the onePULSE Foundation, said must embody its mandate: "We will not let hate win."  

Following a two-stage international competition, the six shortlisted teams are:

• Coldefy & Associés with RDAI, Xavier Veilhan, dUCKS scéno, Agence TER, Prof. Laila Farah    
• Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rene Gonzalez Architects with Raymond Jungles, Inc
• Heneghan Peng architects, Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Sven Anderson & Pentagram    
• MASS Design Group, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Sasaki, Sanford Biggers, Richard Blanco, Porsha Olayiwola    
• MVRDV, Grant Associates, GSM Project and Studio Drift   
• Studio Libeskind with Claude Cormier + Associés, Thinc, and Jenny Holzer 

"Three years after the tragedy, the world continues to stand in solidarity with our community and in support of the 49, the survivors and the first responders," said Barbara Poma, onePULSE Foundation chief executive.

"This is reflected in the significant response to our competition announcement and the interest from architects and designers from around the world.

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She said the foundation was "humbled by the depth of talent represented among the submissions".

A survivor of the massacre who helped judge the contest, foundation member Ricardo J. Negron-Almodovar, said: "The submissions really showed that Pulse resonates all across the globe, and I can’t wait for the final stage of this competition."

To develop their ideas, the shortlisted teams will meet with onePULSE leadership, a victim liaison officer and a survivor, as well as attending a site tour and undergoing an interim review.

The winning team will be announced in October 2019, and the National Pulse Memorial & Museum is due to open in 2022.

Image courtesy of onePULSE Foundation