Six Teams in Running for Pulse Nightclub Memorial

John Hill

30. May 2019

January 2019 Street View of 1912 S Orange Ave (Image: Google Maps)

The onePULSE Foundation, the nonprofit established "to create a sanctuary of hope" following the 2016 Pulse Nightclub tragedy, has announced the six teams shortlisted in the two-stage competition to design the future National Pulse Memorial and Museum.

It's been nearly three years since a gunman shot and killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016. About one year later, the club's owner founded the onePULSE Foundation to honor the people who died in what was the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter in U.S. history and is the deadliest incident of violence against LGBTQ people in the country.

The place and associated tragedy are worthy of a memorial and museum; since the shooting the former nightclub has been wrapped in a fence that serves as an interim memorial. The competition will provide a permanent memorial and museum, as well as incorporating a "Survivors Walk," on the site of Pulse. It is scheduled to open in 2022.

The six architect-led teams selected from the 68 submitting teams:

Coldefy & Associés with RDAI, Xavier Veilhan, dUCKS scéno, Agence TER, Prof. Laila Farah
Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rene Gonzalez Architects with Raymond Jungles, Inc.
heneghan peng architects, Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Sven Anderson & Pentagram
MASS Design Group, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Sasaki, Sanford Biggers, Richard Blanco, Porsha Olayiwola
MVRDV, Grant Associates, GSM Project, Studio Drift
Studio Libeskind with Claude Cormier + Associés, Thinc, Jenny Holzer

These six teams will submit design concepts in early October 2019, with the winning design being announced at the end of the same month. Although the public will have the opportunity to provide input, the winning design will be selected by a jury (below) of architects, local politicians, and onePULSE stakeholders.