Grenfell memorial needs to be shaped by many voices, designers say

The design team for the Grenfell Tower memorial has said it aims to create a memorial "shaped by many hands, by many voices" to honour the 72 people who died in the devastating fire in 2017.

Survivor and bereaved relative Hanan Wahabi sits on the Grenfell Memorial Commission. She hopes the memorial will bring some peace to everyone who lost loved ones and provide an educational legacy for future generations.

The 23-storey high tower block is still being taken down and a permanent memorial will be built in its place with construction work potentially starting next year.

Director Jonathan Hagos from the architectural firm Freehaus which is designing the memorial also said it was essential those impacted by the fire were "at the foreground and centre of this design journey".

Hanan Wahabi grew up in west London and was a local schoolteacher. She lived in Grenfell Tower for 16 years with her husband and two children.

They thankfully all managed to escape the devastating fire on 14 June 2017 but the grief and trauma of that night is still with her.

Wahabi's brother had also lived in the tower block with his wife and three children for over 20 years. All five of them died after becoming trapped in their flat on the 21st floor.

"There was life before Grenfell and life after Grenfell. That's where life stopped," she said.

Wahabi's brother Moroccan-born Abdulaziz El-Wahabi, 52, was a hospital porter for 22 years at University College London Hospital. He lived in the tower with his wife Faouzia, 42, and their three children.

Their eldest, Yasin, 20, was an accountancy student at the University of Greenwich and a trained football referee. His younger sister, Nur Huda, 15, was in the middle of taking her GCSEs at Holland Park secondary school and Mehdi was an eight-year-old pupil at Oxford Gardens Primary School.

"They got on with everybody. They were good people," said Wahabi.

"I'd like for them to be remembered them as individuals who were happy, loving and a beautiful, strong family. "

After the fire Wahabi joined the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission, an independent body made up of bereaved families, survivors and local residents.

"The work has helped me because it's given me a focus," said Wahabi. "My family aren't here. I feel like I'm being their voice and the voice of my neighbours and friends."

Wahabi and other elected volunteers have visited existing memorials such as those commemorating the Aberfan tragedy in Wales, the Manchester terror attack and the 9/11 site in New York.

"We've learned about what materials can be used and how a memorial must be managed and looked after," she said.

She and members of the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission have been consulting the community about what they want and need from any design.

"People need to have somewhere to come to remember, to reflect, to connect and to grieve," she said.

She said recurring features and themes have emerged such as the importance of height and visibility, prayer spaces, nature and the use of water.

Last year the London-based architectural firm Freehaus was selected out of 28 potential candidates to design the memorial. The company has previously worked on projects such as the Africa Centre in Southwark and the Clement James Centre in North Kensington.

Hagos described the project as "a huge honour and responsibility for the team and one we don't take lightly".

"I grew up in London," he said. "When I think about the type of memorials and monuments I used to visit as a school kid, they were monumental and ceremonial, very rarely about ordinary people.

"We have an opportunity to not only memorialise a deeply impactful tragedy, but also to honour ordinary Londoners who lived in this city, who made their homes here."

For months now the team has also been meeting with bereaved families, survivors, Lancaster West Estate residents and local people in North Kensington.

Director of BCA Landscape, Andy Thomson, said it was "humbling hearing people's stories".

He worked on The Glade of Light memorial commemorating the 22 people killed in the 2017 terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena.

"It was an incredibly sensitive project as well," he said. "The memorial site was in the city centre, this is in the middle of an estate, a residential community which makes it completely different on so many levels."

Hagos added: "We need to be really respectful of that. People will live and continue to live by a memorial of national significance, it's really important."

The commission has already said a garden should form part of the final design.

Thomson added: "The feedback we're getting as well is the connection with nature is really important to people, not just what it looks like but what it feels like and what it sounds like."

For such a diverse community with different cultural influences, diverse garden designs are also being discussed, along with the planting and horticulture and choice of building materials such as concrete or marble, Thomson said.

He also said the garden must be "very practical and sustainable, not just high concept".

"It's got to last and stand the test of time for years to come," he added.

Olivia Theocharides-Feldman helps to lead the ongoing community engagement with company Social Place.

She has worked on various projects across London around inclusion of underrepresented communities within design and architecture.

She recognises it is still really hard for some people to speak about a potential memorial for Grenfell.

"Justice hasn't been achieved. It's still really raw," she said.

According to Theocharides-Feldman, they have been doing a lot of door knocking, drop-in sessions and running workshops in schools and local organisations "in person, online, in people's homes, or in a café, wherever people feel more comfortable".

As designers and architects there are also further challenges due to the "very understandable distrust in the engagement processes".

"We represent an industry that has been quite complicit in the tragedy. And so coming in, we knew that that trust would have to be earned over time," she said.

Wahabi added: "Obviously there are still some families we haven't engaged with and we would like to engage with them, but we understand that for some people it's not the right time.

"They might not be ready to engage now, or they might not be ready to engage at all, but we're here available for when they are."

She hopes the memorial will create a feeling of "peace and serenity" and will also honour the "multicultural, multi-faith" community of north Kensington.

"We need to come together again and feel that connection, that we are one, we are all human, it's humanity together," she said.

Wahabi said it was important to remember all 72 people who died. She also emphasised that 18 of them were children so she wanted to include an educational aspect for future generations to learn about Grenfell, what led to the fire and how it was allowed to happen.

Grenfell Tower is no longer so visible on the West London skyline. The government has said it is still being "carefully brought down" floor by floor to the ground, something Wahabi disagrees with.

"The tower should have still been there. It should have stayed there at least until we've had justice," she said.

Potential designs and models are now being drafted but the design team is still keen to talk to anyone impacted by Grenfell who they have not yet spoken to.

Hagos has said they are working on "tangible and visible design ideas through sketches and models, but it's still quite loose".

Across North Kensington and outside the UK, the victims have been remembered in various ways.

At the local school where Wahabi's family attended there is an orchard, at the hospital where her brother worked there is a memorial bench and close to the tower the entire El Wahabi family are represented in different commemorations.

The current site which features a makeshift memorial wall full of artwork and messages will eventually come down. When the memorial is finished the site will be opened up.

"I want to be able to be on the ground that was my home," said Wahabi.

"We need accountability and we need justice. It's important after what's happened to us, for our families [who died].

"I want a feeling of comfort and peace, but I don't want to forget what happened. I don't want anyone to forget what happened."

The memorial, both its construction and maintenance, will be fully funded by the government.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We are fully committed to supporting the bereaved families and survivors, the immediate community, and the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission in the creation of a fitting and lasting memorial.

"This memorial will honour those who lost their lives, and those whose lives were forever changed by the tragedy. It will be a sacred space of dignity and peace, where people can remember, reflect, and pay their respects."

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