Memory and Justice: www.memoryandjustice.org

Design

Villa Grimaldi Park for Peace Design

Villa Grimaldi Park for Peace consists of a 10,200-square-meter green space crossed by two intersecting paths that lead to a wall inscribed with the names of victims. Designed by Ana Cristina Torrealba, Jose Luis Gajardo, and Luis Santibóez, the park is meant to evoke spiritual thought and honor the memory of the victims of the center. According to the site’s literature, the park “symbolizes the end and the condemnation of a sinister past, and also the beginning of a new stage in the life and the coexistence between all people of Chile.”

Pedro Matta, a former detainee at Villa Grimaldi who was deeply involved in discussions with other victims on what to do with the site, described their process: “The group was divided in their opinions: part of the group wanted to rebuild the former torture center as it was during the time of its functioning (which proved to be impossible because there was not enough funding to do that); another part wanted to demolish everything that remained there and to build a beautiful park to the memory of those who disappeared or were killed at the site, and finally, another group, in which I counted myself, proposed that all the artifacts and buildings that were not destroyed by the dictatorship should be preserved for the memory of this country and a park should be built around them. This was the proposition that was finally approved.”