1100 Architect, P. C.

Irish Hunger Memorial

IRISH HUNGER MEMORIAL

1100 Architect

Irish Hunger Memorial
© Peter Aaron

ARCHITECTS
1100 Architect

AREA
16320.0 ft²

YEAR
2001

PHOTOGRAPHS
Peter Aaron

MANUFACTURERS
Vectorworks, Kilkenny Limestone

CATEGORY
Public Space, Memorial Center

LOCATION
New York, United States

1100 DESIGN TEAM
Jeff Babienko, Eun Kim, Shiben Banerji, Andreas Benzing, Jeff Etelamaki, Patrick Foster, Raphaelle Golaz, Kristina Hellhake, Michael Imranyi, Kristina Kelker, Doug Kocher, Antonia Kwong, and Jamie Palazzolo. Artist: Brian Tolle

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Gail Wittwer-Laird

MEP ENGINEER
Lilker Associates

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Silman Associates

SITE / CIVIL ENGINEER
Langan Engineering

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Piscatello Design Centre

CONTRACTOR
Metrotech Contracting Corp.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
Cashin Associates

LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT
Signe Nielsen, Landscape Architect PC

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
David Piscuskas, FAIA, LEED AP Juergen Riehm, FAIA, BDA

Irish Hunger Memorial
© Peter Aaron

Text description provided by architect.

To create a memorial commemorating the Great Irish Hunger of 1845-1852, the Battery Park City Authority selected a team consisting of 1100 Architect, landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird, and artist Brian Tolle.

Located in Battery Park City on a site adjacent to the Hudson River, the memorial is a contemplative space where visitors explore the famine and its connections to world hunger today.

Irish Hunger Memorial
© Peter Aaron
Irish Hunger Memorial
© Peter Aaron

On a base of Irish limestone and illuminated glass, the team re-created a rugged landscape that comprises abandoned potato fields, various species of native Irish plants, and walls made of stones from each of Ireland’s 32 counties.

The monument’s base is inscribed with text that recounts the history of the Great Irish Hunger and that frames the tragedy within the wider context of hunger world-wide.

From the base’s west side, visitors enter and ascend through a passageway that opens into a ruined famine-era cottage from County Mayo, donated to the project and reconstructed into the memorial. Leaving the cottage, visitors may wander through the fields and overgrown potato furrows.

The landscape cantilevers out over an illuminated stone and glass base structure, rising from street level at its southeastern corner to a height of 25 feet at its western end, where it provides visitors with views of the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. 

Irish Hunger Memorial
© Peter Aaron


Irish Hunger Memorial
Site Plan
Irish Hunger Memorial
Section

1100 Architect, P. C.
T +1 212 6451011 F +1 212 6454670
1100 Architect, P. C.
550 7th Ave 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10018, United States