Emergent Memory

The National Aids Memorial Competition

Neal J.Z. Schwartz

In the heart of Golden Gate Park, the National AIDS Memorial Grove has become a place of serenity and comfort honoring the thousands who die every day around the world of the epidemic. Emergent Memory, an exquisitely produced volume, chronicles the 2005 international design competition for a signature element to provide a focal point for the wooded 7.5-acre site. This book presents the winning entry (by New York’s Janette Kim/Chloe Town), finalists and other entries of note, and includes a fascinating partial transcript of the jury deliberations. Call Emergent Memory a distillation of the cutting edge of landscape architecture, a model of how to enter a design competition, or a low-key triumph of the book-designer’s art, but one thing’s certain: you cannot read it without understanding the profound losses brought by AIDS, and perhaps shedding a tear.

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