WINNER : HERITAGE The Tranformation of the Delville Wood War Memorial and Museum
In 2016 , as the centenary of the Battle of Delville Wood approached , the memorial and museum were added to and given a more appropriately inclusive character . The upgrade to the memorial was designed to reflect the true South Africa and the concept did not refer to rank or race .
Having visited the site as part of the project research , the architects realised that the site was a very solemn and sensitive one and were reluctant to start making major changes to the existing structures or even to make major additional ‘ statements ’ on site . The 1920 ’ s Herbert Barker memorial is in fact still beautiful and even though the subsequently erected museum has something of a 1980 ’ s feel about it , they felt that they needed respecting in their own right .
Original suggestions by the client to erect large panels bearing the names of the deceased according to rank or division were re-thought . It was felt that if the memorial was going to reflect the true South Africa , they couldn ’ t look at rank or race . The changes needed to reflect all those who had fallen equally . The client was in agreement with this approach , so what resulted is a very gentle but emotionally significant intervention in the landscape . On entering the site , one will still first see the original Herbert Baker memorial , with little idea that there is anything new beyond it . On proceeding through the arch of the memorial , the new intervention starts to emerge . The architects have created a large earth berm , bisected by a deep cut into the earth on the axial pathway between the memorial and the museum . This cut is symbolic of a scar – the wound to South Africa that the massive losses at the battle represented .
On either side , within the ‘ scar ’, concrete walls lined with limestone bear the names of the fallen soldiers in alphabetical order , irrespective of rank or race – representing South Africans in a unified way . From inside this space , one can see the tops of the South African oak trees which line the walkway from the memorial to the museum and which form a kind of organic colonnade between them .
Outside the scar , on either side , are carefully landscaped gardens of remembrance , planted with flowers in types and colours which all carry a particular emotional or spiritual symbolism . Visitors pass out of the scar , which is a tranquil yet solemn reflection space , along the pathway through to the museum . Even aspects of the museum which perhaps could have been changed were left largely intact , with additional layers of information added in a way which acknowledges the role of non-white South Africans in the battle .
Historically excluded from the memorial and museum , The South Native Labour Corps was originally formed as a result of the British request for labourers to alleviate a labour shortage at the French ports on the western front . Four to five thousand black South Africans were in active service as soldiers at the Battle of Delville Wood . In both the 1920 ’ s memorial and the 1980 ’ s museum , no representation was made of the nonwhite soldiers who also served and died in battle . In 2016 the memorial was added to and given a more appropriately inclusive character . The upgrade to the memorial was designed to reflect the true South Africa .
Developer : South African Heritage Resource Agency ( SAHRA ) Architects : The Creative Axis Architects Project Managers : Anix Consulting Quantity Surveyors : Talani All Engineering : Nako Illiso Other Consultants ( France ): French Plans ; STAG
SAPOA Awards 81