{"id":860,"date":"2011-01-23T12:15:34","date_gmt":"2011-01-22T23:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/?p=860"},"modified":"2013-01-27T14:39:09","modified_gmt":"2013-01-27T01:39:09","slug":"2000-tomb-of-the-unknown-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/?p=860","title":{"rendered":"Wellington \u2013 Tomb of the Unknown Warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Daniel K. Brown <\/a>in collaboration with Erika Kruger<\/p>\n

This design for the New Zealand TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN WARRIOR<\/a> was a finalist in the national competition. \u00a0It represents a critical evolution from my theoretical design research project The Decameron<\/a>, translated into a built form.<\/p>\n

It is\u00a0designed as a grove of solemn black posts set within a shallow reflecting pool.\u00a0 The black posts surrounded by water symbolize the primal New Zealand forest that once defined our sacred shore.\u00a0 The shadows of these black posts move slowly along the paving surrounding the Tomb, marking Time like a permanent sundial.\u00a0 Nestled within these symbolic trees is a clearing, a glade, which holds a gilded sphere floating upon the water.\u00a0 This sphere represents the spirit of the Unknown Warrior.\u00a0 Simultaneously it becomes our own New Zealand version of the Eternal Flame.<\/p>\n

As the sun moves across the sky, we see bright reflections from the sphere flickering through the shadows of the primal forest.\u00a0 The reflections fade away at twilight only to return again with the dawn. We occasionally hear the sound of soft chiming as the sphere strikes the posts.\u00a0 The Tomb represents a grove of sacred shadows providing haven for the Light and the soft sounds of Music emanating forever from within.\u00a0 The lower level of the Memorial contains the Tomb wherein the Unknown Warrior lies.<\/p>\n

The black posts extend down through the Tomb, surrounding the warrior and protecting him or her within the glade of trees.\u00a0 Light enters the Tomb through a tempered glass paver set within the reflecting pool above, reminiscent of light filtering through the tops of trees.\u00a0 The glass paver is engraved with the words \u201cA New Zealand Warrior – He Toa No Aotearoa\u201d, such that the silhouette of these words falls as soft shadows upon the walls and floor of the Tomb.\u00a0 The same poignant words are engraved upon the warrior\u2019s tombstone on the floor below.\u00a0 These engraved words remain unmoving, whilst the transparent silhouette of words from above moves softly across the floor for all time.<\/p>\n

As a cultural symbol, the Tomb is proportioned as a square within which a golden sphere is held.\u00a0 The square is a universal symbol of the earth (the four winds, the four cardinal directions, the four elements, the four seasons).\u00a0 The circle, with its implicit sense of a sacred centre, is a universal symbol of heaven and the human spirit.\u00a0 Throughout early Christendom, for example, a circle within a square symbolized the touching of heaven and earth, the meeting of body and spirit.\u00a0 Visitors to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior need not be explicitly aware of these historic symbols.\u00a0 When looking upon the circle held within the square, one is touched by its simplicity.\u00a0 Its purity engenders its poignancy.<\/p>\n

Research Assistant: <\/span>Simon Dearsley<\/span><\/a><\/address>\n
\"01.Tomb<\/a><\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior Daniel K. Brown in collaboration with Erika Kruger This design for the New Zealand TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN WARRIOR was a finalist in the national competition. \u00a0It represents a critical evolution from my theoretical design research project The Decameron, translated into a built form. It is\u00a0designed as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[154],"tags":[381,166,356,383,382,39,353,355,144,141,354,177,352,142],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=860"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":865,"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions\/865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.danielkbrown.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}