Hamilton Mausoleum
YEAR 2020
TYPE mausoleum, restoration, memorial
SIZE 200 m²
CLIENT Glasgow Institute of Architects
LOCATION Hamilton, Scotland
Ten Views of Antigua, Credit: W. Clark 1823.
Vintage Sugar Cane Print. Credit: Kohler.
A National Memorial of Black Emancipation
This entry deals with the necessary restoration of a historical and now defunct mausoleum: firstly how to balance between what is dignified for such a monument and the harsh reality of Hamilton’s legacy. Secondly is how to actually finance the restoration, as the reprogramming is not only about preservation but also about making the mausoleum itself financially independent for future restorations.
The proposal is a national memorial that will disseminate the complex story of black emancipation, everything from the Transatlantic slave trade, Scotland’s/Hamilton’s complex role/involvement in it, the proclamation by Lincoln, to how the Scots help abolish the trade itself. The Hamilton Mausoleum feels suitable in both their family legacy but also the monumental character of the mausoleum. The complexity of this story and subject matter will be reflected upon in the nuanced indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces throughout the parks, of which the Hamilton Mausoleum itself will form the centrepiece of this new memorial.
Concept
The distance between the keeper’s lodge and the mausoleum frames the exhibition narrative for the memorial – it is used an abstraction of the long and arduous journey of black emancipation. From the keepers’s lodge, one is taken through different outdoor exhibition spaces, from the wild forestry to the tamed sugar cane plantation, before arriving upon the centrepiece – the mausoleum. The mausoleum itself contains another interpretation of the journey – a double helix stairwell, that allows for separate ascent and descent.
The exhibition is concluded by a landing on top of the Mausoleum, a panoramic view of the estate parks and the broader Strathclyde landscape. The entire journey, though diverse in its use of landscape and historic monuments, is unified through a trail precast ochre-pigmented concrete steps. The robust materiality is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, whilst its vivid earthy hue alludes to the tropical soils of West Africa and the Americas which formed the triangular slave trading routes with Scotland.
Exhibition Masterplan
The route captures chronologically the complex story of slave trade:
The Keeper’s Lodge is reused as the entry/exit point and visitor centre at the upper entry level. The lower level is then refitted with a small café that spills out onto a forest terrace.
The multipurposed terrace doubles as an outdoor events space. After this point, a pathway will lead you through clusters of trees in the forest.
Exhibition moments defined by the winding paths and enclosed by the nature. These are deliberate mechanisms to slow the pace, inviting visitors to contemplate the tragedy.
A manicured plantation of sugar cane. The plantation is the literal representation in which the family built their wealth on and illicit uncertainty and disorientation.
Entrance to the crypts lends itself well to digital media of sound and film to disseminate knowledge of the consequences of the slave trade.
First clear view of the plantation and the surrounding park landscape before entering the mausoleum.
Main entrance to the mausoleum exhibition.
The main exhibition niches can host both physical and digital content suspended in spaceand can be interacted with in a 3-dimensional manner – viewed from a spiral staircase.
The stairwell represents near 200 year period from the abolition of slavery and its repercussions felt to this day. The ascent from darkness to lightness is symbolic to the black emancipation.
At the top of the dome. These sequences throughout the landscape and monuments, are to evoke a sense of national significance to the memorial.
Echo Chamber
The double helix stairwell is envisioned in an already incredibly unique acoustic experience. As one enters the last stretch of the long and arduous journey, one is accompanied by unsettling reverberators of the footsteps echoing in the chambers. It is not until one reaches the top, that one gains silence or tranquility, as well as light and a clear view.
The stair also brings the otherwise distant details of the very tall mausoleum space into sharp relief - Its intricate classical stonework details are brought within a couple of metres of the visitor as they travel up and down the staircase - its niches, pediments and cornices potentially playing host to a variety of mediums.