Diplomatic Martyrs Memorial Design Competition 

 

In the heart of Ankara, at the intersection of time and earth, a fissure of memory opens.

Walls that cling to natural slopes, embedded in the soil, rise as a response to the silent yet profound traces left by diplomats across the world. Each wall line carries the sorrow of a year; each wall echoes a silent loss.

This monument exists not only to remember the past, but to root a memory that resists the passage of time.

Here, as time slowly seeps into the earth, the rising memorial walls are anchored to the memory of the lost. Built between the continuity of nature and the fragility of humanity, this space entrusts losses to the soil and the land, while also transforming them into lasting imprints.

This monument, rising between the weight of the walls and the stillness of the ground, is neither solely mourning nor merely remembrance.

It is a heavy yet resolute step toward the future, burdened with the weight of the past.

And on every wall, beside every name, birds in flight carry the silent presence of resistance, peace, and eternal memory.

 

Image 1: A Glimpse from Çankaya Street

 

Macro Scale and Urban Context
An Intersection within the Diplomatic and Natural Memory of the City

In the planned development process of Ankara, the green axis extending along Atatürk Boulevard was shaped as the backbone of the Republic’s nature-oriented urban vision. Located at the end of this axis, Botanik Park has evolved into a unique space where urban ecology, cultural memory, and diplomatic representation intersect—not merely a recreational area.

Designed in 1970 by Prof. Dr. Yüksel Öztan and completed in the 1980s, Botanik Park was later declared a natural protected area. It became a point of resistance preserving nature and landscape continuity against the city’s rapid urban expansion. Today, the park not only supports biodiversity but also holds a permanent place in Ankara’s social and cultural memory.

The project site is situated between Çankaya Street and Cinnah Street, in direct proximity to the Çankaya Presidential Residence and the corridor of embassies. This context renders the site significant not only ecologically, but also within the realms of diplomacy and state memory. The memorial space to be created here will reflect not only individual losses but also the traces of a state tradition and an international peace mission.

The design approach respects the existing cultural landscape values of Botanik Park, proposing a spatial language that minimizes topographic intervention, embeds memory into the soil, and anchors it in time. By preserving the continuity of the green axis and ecological integrity, the project opens a spatial trace of memory into the heart of nature.

 

Image 2: Site Plan

 

Design Approach
Collective Memory Embedded in the Topography

The design chooses to coexist with nature rather than dominate it. The natural slope of Botanik Park becomes an active element that defines the fundamental structure of the memorial space; the natural movements of the soil transform into the flow of time and traces of loss.

The memorial walls anchored into the land leave a heavy mark in memory of each individual lost in diplomatic history. These walls inscribe the depth of time and the weight of loss into the earth, creating a physical and lasting memory system that resists forgetting over time.

Each wall represents a year; each gap signals the silence of the years that were not lived. The varying heights and rhythms, according to the intensity of years marked by martyrdom, bring the undulating topography of history’s memory into the space. The site is designed not only to observe this fluctuation but to experience it: as visitors walk among the walls, they embark on a journey through layers of time.

The upper plaza addresses the city from Çankaya Street with a subtle silhouette; it is not an overt opening but a humble invitation. Memory concentrates in the silhouette of the rising and thickening walls; the weight of time is felt in the narrowing gaps between the walls.

In the lower plaza, accessed via an accessible ramp, the weight created by memory opens up, forming a defined area for ceremonies and commemorations; ultimately, it merges with the park’s natural flow.

 

Image 3: Design Formation Diagrams

 

Spatial Composition and Memorial Walls
Memory Engraved Year by Year

The memorial space simultaneously reveals the linear flow of time and the spatial traces of loss. Each wall line represents a specific year, and each wall symbolizes a martyr. The density, heights, and gaps between the walls create a physical map of losses over time.

Arranged according to the years, the walls are anchored into the soil, inscribing the memory of time into the fabric of the place. Some walls descend in certain years, while others rise, producing spatial reflections of periods embedded in the collective memory. As visitors move along these walls, they do not merely follow a physical path; they confront the rises and falls of time and feel the moments when pain intensifies.

 

Image 4: View from the Lower Plaza to the Memorial Walls

 

Brass letters cast within wooden molds are inscribed on the surface of each wall, detailing the year, city, and names of the martyrs. As visitors wander between the walls, they encounter embedded brass bird figures on some surfaces. These birds symbolize hope, peace, and the far-reaching traces of diplomats amidst the heavy layers of time, creating a breathing space opening to the sky between the hard walls of memory.

In the lower plaza, the walls open in a crescent shape, forming a gathering and commemorative area at the center of the curve traced by time. Here, spatial density decreases, and memory and time expand once again; opening toward nature, the sky, and the future.

 

Material and Production Language
Soil, Concrete, and Brass

The reinforced concrete walls that form the space carry the marks of wooden molds on their surfaces, embedding traces of naturalness and a layer of lived experience that will erode over time. These raw surfaces, stripped of artificial gloss, gain a character aligned with the earth’s naturalness, the erosive power of time, and the permanence of memory.

Each year, city name, and martyr’s name is immortalized with brass letters embedded into the concrete.
This method transforms the names into living, indelible marks on the wall surfaces. Brass bird figures placed on some surfaces of the memorial walls soften the hardness of the material, adding a new layer to the space. These figures symbolize the diplomats’ peace missions spreading across the world, the lightness of the human spirit, and the journey of loss within eternity.

 

Image 5: Memorial Walls and Brass Bird Figures

 

The material language is built entirely on a system that is durable over time, minimally interventionist, and open to the erosive effects of nature. Concrete will fade with time, and brass will tarnish and dull; yet the meaning carried by the space will only grow stronger over time. In this way, memory becomes not just a mental recollection but a living, evolving trace rooted in the material and the place.

 

Image 6: Memorial Wall Formation Diagram

1- Wooden molds are arranged according to the dimensions specified in the design. The important point here is to leave a volume empty equal to the inscription block.

2- After the molds are removed, a reinforced concrete memorial wall with wooden mold impressions will be formed.

3- For the inscription block, a wooden mold is created according to the dimensions specified in the design. Brass letters forming the martyr’s nameplate are placed inside this wooden mold. Concrete is poured.

4- When the wooden molds are removed, brass surfaces and concrete blocks are formed.

5- The inscription block is mounted on the memorial wall with a 1 cm grout joint, completing the process.

 

Upper and Lower Plazas
A Two-Stage Memory Experience

The spatial configuration is designed to offer a memory experience in two stages: the upper plaza serves as a welcoming space where an initial connection with urban memory is established; the lower plaza is conceived as a commemorative area where memory deepens and confrontation with time intensifies.

Located along Çankaya Street, the upper plaza establishes a direct relationship with the city. Here, the subtle silhouette of the memorial walls invites the urban dweller into the space—rather than fully revealing itself, it creates a threshold. It instills a slight sense of curiosity while signaling the beginning of a heavy memory journey.

The paving language in the upper plaza flows without breaking away from the memorial walls. Paving stones that allow plants to grow between them emphasize the nature of memory blending with the soil. As one approaches the walls, the plant density increases, drawing visitors into the memory space through a natural flow.

 

Image 7: View Toward the Upper Plaza

 

The unobstructed ramp beginning at the upper plaza gradually guides the visitor down toward the lower plaza.
This descent is not merely a physical change in elevation, but a contemplative transition through nature—toward the weight of time, loss, and memory.

In the lower plaza, the semi-circular form created by the opening anı walls establishes a focal point at the heart of spatial density.
This is a space of gathering where the memory shifts from individual losses to a collective remembrance.

 

Image 8: View Toward the Lower Plaza

 

Landscape and Ground Design
Memory Opening to Nature

A sharp boundary has not been drawn between the memorial space and the surrounding natural landscape; on the contrary, memory and nature blend together, forming a fading yet enduring unity over time.

The wide precast concrete traces used on the floors of the upper and lower plazas resemble simple memory lines gently laid upon the earth. These traces extend directly from the walls onto the pavement, designed with gaps and permeability to allow grasses and plants to sprout over time.

The spaces between the concrete traces are filled with smaller precast paving slabs.
As one approaches the walls, the density of the concrete traces decreases, greenery increases, memory condenses, and the space produces a more rhythmic perception.

 

Image 9: Landscape and Memorial Wall Section-Elevation Perspective

 

The sloping terrain provides continuity between the upper and lower plazas and from the lower plaza toward the Botanical Park. The adaptation of the terrain to its surroundings will be achieved with minimal intervention in the ground texture and by using a mix of native species.

The existing trees and vegetation have been considered an integral part of the design with priority given to their preservation. No trees have been removed; instead, the new memorial space is designed as a memory line rising among the existing trees.

Although the ramp between the upper and lower plazas and the ramp continuing from the lower plaza to the park are planned to have soil surfaces, the overall park requires a restoration effort that respects Yüksel Öztan’s 1970 design with contemporary approaches.

 

Image 10: Urban Furniture

 

Memory Imprinted in the Soil

This monument is not only a space dedicated to the memory of lost individuals; it is also a place of remembrance where social memory gradually blends with nature and becomes permanent.

The peace missions of diplomats spreading across the world come together here with the enduring solidity of heavy concrete walls resisting time, and within the gentle cycle of nature, achieving a shared existence.

Each wall rooted in the soil fixes a loss in time; the birds flying on the surfaces of the walls symbolize the lightness of the human spirit, hope for peace, and an eternal journey.

Losses are unforgettable, memory is fixed, and over time it takes root in nature and grows stronger.

This space is designed not only for mourning but also for thinking, feeling, and walking into the future with a deeper consciousness.

Within Ankara’s cultural and natural landscape, it leaves a heavy yet honorable mark on the memory of the state and society.

Here, time slowly imprints itself on the soil; memory lives and remains together with nature.