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♪ Opening Music ♪
The winner of the National Workers' Memorial Design
competition is Johnson Pilton Walker from Sydney.
The ripples of someone losing their life, does go everywhere.
People can be there to share their stories
and hopefully find some sort of consolation.
♪ Music ♪
I grew up in Canberra and I know the area very well.
I came down to visit my family. I knew about the
competition and I thought "Oh look, I'll drop by
the site see if I've got any good ideas" and I had
a couple of ideas and so felt compelled to put it on paper.
Because we work on building sites all the time
because we're working with people who are making
things and we can see the effects of that work on
people that it was important to try and make a contribution.
So that was why we entered the competition and we were really
delighted that we were, we were selected as the winners.
I got a phone call to invite me to come in and talk about
it and it was based mainly on my knowledge of building or putting
in place to workers deceased workers' memorials here
in Adelaide. It was rather an honour actually because when
you - when you put a deceased workers' memorial together
you don't actually think that anybody else is taking notice.
So to get a call from Canberra to be involved in the National
Deceased Workers' Memorial was really quite an honour.
I think to be successful the design's got to cover many
different aspects and satisfy a huge range of different
people's expectations. One critical part for us was getting
the siting right and we've got a marvellous site here.
By the lake in Canberra, a wonderful outlook, elevated so
you've got a really good chance of creating an experience
for people which can last longer than just a
momentary visit. It can actually draw you into the place.
What started off the process was the idea of the
ripple effect. That's quite important. So the idea
of workplace tragedies and the impact that has on
loved ones and family and friends. And that
obviously became the driving concept behind
everything and to express that really was what we
began to think about was how we try to show a
human dimension in this Memorial through craft and
through the way it sits in the landscape as well
as the place. It's quite welcoming - quite approachable,
quite tactile, and something that you can actually interact
with and is really part of the everyday experience of the park.
So with the landscape it's nestled into the hillside quite
well amongst all the Blue gum trees. There's quite
a beautiful forest there of very tall slender trees.
We then elaborated on that with some Rosemary plantings and
native plantings and the Rosemary is actually
very important. The Rosemary historically and traditionally
is associated with memory and with remembrance. So as an
additional planting to augment the Memorial it actually has a
really important role to play in people interacting with
the space. Importantly, the materiality of the columns
relates to Australia. They're positioned and located on all
the capital cities around Australia and so they outline
the sort of diversity of Australia and the distance
of Australia. The materiality - each of the stones comes
from that state or territory and so it's actually quite
important for people I think to have a touchstone,
that reminds them of where they - their home is.
One of the aspects I like most is the ripples that will
be on the mezzanine level on the floor because it's the ripples
actually reflect what goes on in people's lives, the loss of
someone whether it be a family member or a workmate they just
go on forever. So the ripples actually indicate that.
That's so important that we understand that.
I think importantly for a Memorial like this the
place should feel like it is part of the community
and part of the community's capacity for dealing
with workplace loss and health and safety issues.
It should feel like a place where people can come
and reflect on these sorts of issues but also
enjoy being in in the space. There's going to be a
barbeque nearby where people can enjoy the park
but still see the Memorial and feel like it's
having a contribution to what it means to work in this country.
We do hope at the end of the day that this
Memorial can provide in what manner it can as a
Memorial some sense of consolation and healing to
people who've lost someone or who've experienced
tragedy but we also hope that it inspires people
to keep thinking about these issues and improving
the quality of workplace health and safety in Australia.
I'm in awe of the design, of the National Workers' Memorial.
It's so simple. It's very elegant. It's very inclusive and
it really is a place where everyone is welcome and a place
where they can go and reflect and pay their respects and
also share their memories of the good times and the bad times.
So I'm hoping that the Workers' Glade also has that.
That it encourages families just to go there - be there -
share their times with someone. Even a total stranger will
understand why they're there and that's my hope.
♪ Closing Music ♪