Finalists announced to design memorial in Las Vegas for victims of mass shooting

May 13, 2023

On October 1, 2017, a lone gunman opened fire during a final act of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, taking the lives of 58 and leaving hundreds injured. Route 91 is the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history to date. In 2019 the 1 October Memorial Committee (1OMC) formed to create a lasting and fitting memorial for those lost in the tragedy.

The committee launched a competition to conceive a memorial on the Las Vegas Strip, starting with an outreach campaign that surveyed the public for ideas and thoughts related to the project. These surveys led to theguiding principles for the forthcoming work: Remembrance, Respect, Honor, Healing, Unity, Peace, Community, and Love.

Following the surveys, the 1OMC presented three "Pathways of Participation" to kick off the design competition. The three avenues for participation were: assuming the role of an evaluator who would be part of the seven-person jury reviewing design proposals, responding to a Request for Qualifications asking for a design firm "with expertise and capacity to design and build a world class permanent memorial", or taking part as a creative-minded individual or artist with ideas for the work.

The assembled jury consists of one relative of a person who died on October 1, one survivor, one first responder who took part in the events of 1 October or its aftermath, and three people with subject matter expertise related to the development of a permanent memorial. The jury has reviewed the RFQ submissions, and other creative work, and whittled the list down to five finalists: Aaron Neubert Architects and studioSTIGSGAARD; JCJ Architecture; OLIN; Paul Murdoch Architects; and SWA.

Each of the finalist concepts incorporates ideas gathered from the initial surveys and considers a way to honor the 58 victims, while simultaneously also offering a place for the survivors to come and heal and recognition of the first responders who helped to save them.

The finalist proposals will now undergo public feedback through an online survey available from June 15 to June 29. These results will then be factored into the final decision of the committee that will be presented to the Clark County Board of Commissioners in September.

Below are the five finalist design concepts for memorial:

Taking inspiration from contours native to the landscape of Las Vegas and the curves of a guitar indicative of the area's love of country music, Aaron Neubert Architects and studioSTIGSGAARD have conceived Unity Ribbon Memorial. The major components of the design are clustered at the center of the site creating a buffer space from the memorial grounds and the adjacent cityscape. The ribbon-like memorial is surrounded by a garden, while the structure itself is mostly transparent to create a perforated lighting effect throughout the day. According to the design team, the memorial will focus on "the power of music, the impact of community and dialogue, and the enduring memory of those we have lost."

Through the use of light and interwoven loops, the JCJ Architecture's Forever One Memorial creates a continuous experience of remembrance and healing. Walkways weaving throughout the structure create a path with memorials, seating, native plantings, and partial enclosures. The path leads to various lighting displays including a room full of stars beneath a cone of lit panels, and an exterior pavilion of 58 glowing pillars inscribed with the names of the victims. Along the route inscribed words on the ground and walls display messages such as "We’re so glad you’re here," and a word cloud describing the victims. The installations guide the viewer through the history and events of the tragic day and offer spaces to not only remember those lost, but also for those who survived to grieve and heal.

Following a central procession that begins with an entry poem, the Memorial Park proposal by OLIN traces a path across the site listing all 58 names of the victims along its path. The procession cuts a trail through native Mojave foliage and passes shaded canopies, the journey heralded by several larger than life bronze horses. Several remembrance spaces along the route dip into the native vegetation and contain milled wood benches for seating and bronze foals for children. The edges of the path are formed through mounded landforms used to shape the views, while culminating in the largest space at the center of the path. The center contains seating similar to a domestic space, along with seasonal wildflowers and circling horses wearing quilts debossed with personal symbols.

The Winged Pavilion consists of a marble tiled courtyard surrounded by native foliage, with a center path adorned with mirrored and curved marble members that arch over and stretch upward above the walkway like angel's wings. On the inside of each member is the name of one of the 58 victims above a small golden heart, while at the entrance a large mosaic heart contains smaller heart tiles. On the ground outside each member is an oversized golden guitar pick with embossed footprints, pointing away from the path. Visitors can walk between the members or along the straight path under the archway to where it culminates in a small seating area among the native vegetation.

The Memorial consists of several repeating geometric curves and circles, beginning with two gently curved paths lined with native foliage that leads to a circular pavilion. Just beyond the enclosure, the paths open into a tiled courtyard surrounded with similar plantings and curved wooden lounge seats. Above this path are large suspended circular lights containing symbols such as spades, vines, and stars that cast gentle rings of light downward onto the pavers below. The path concludes at a small peak with a circular area carved from the foliage, its center is open and outlined by a round surface that would display information about the tragedy.