Zoran Srdić Janežič and Cveto Kunešević: application for the memorial IzbrisaniHistorical Atrium of the City Hall, Ljubljana24. February - 8. March 2023


1. a draft conceptual solution with a textual presentation:

The conceptual design for a memorial in the Park of the  Erased (izbrisani) is based on an integrated design of the public space, which aims to use to establish a dialogue between past memory and contemporary public issues: the memorial encourages dialogue and cooperation and also provides a space of discourse for re-questioning and empowerment decisions to address social and violation issues of human rights.
The public space of the memorial follows contemporary park design guidelines design and is thus composed of different parts:
– spatial design (memorial space, infrastructure),
– maintenance of the space (users of the Rog Centre, etc.),
– the spontaneous use of the space or the implementation of contents and activities in it (the public),
– rules and responsibilities for the use of the space.

The intersection between all parts is based on an equal coexistence that together creates the conditions for public discourse and democratic use of space.
The public memorial is conceived as a raised platform on the foundation of the principle of amplitude optimization of the topology that holds the platform.
The content of the memorial is derived from the relationship between the desires and conditions for action and the real actual capabilities for operation. Schematically, this relationship can be visualized as follows as a non-uniform relationship in each individual, where the sum of the relationships is always full. E.g. someone has worse conditions and has to work more, and someone has good conditions and has to work more, but does not fulfill them. For each individual, the sum of the ratios is always 100%. If we take, for example, the community of people living in Slovenia in the 1990s, we could take the graphical representation of the ratios as the union of two circles, where the peaks are represented by the individual ratios. In the case of the erased, however, these ratios did not exist, because their conditions were shortened (the possibility of education, etc.) and real possibilities of action (without the right to employment, therefore, the common cycle in this is broken, its edge is formed by individual fragments representing individuals.
Since the platform is broken and disjointed, it is necessary for a topology optimization for the load-bearing capacity of the platform.
Stronger topology optimization for a specific case of the deleted represents the effort that we as a community need to put into awareness of the injustices that have happened to the erased and the injustices that are of the human rights violations occurring in Slovenia at the same time.
It is through the awareness of these injustices that it is possible to enter into the middle part of the circle, which is broken in the place of the erased. The inner space of the memorial is thus a space of freedom, the edge of the wheel circle acts as a visual protection for the participants in the circle, and at the same time a seating area.
The platform is placed at an angle to give it a feeling of instability, similar to the feeling that the erased had when they fought for their rights.
At the bottom of the perimeter, below the broken part of the circle, a commemorative plaque is embedded made of corten, engraved with the inscription:
IZBRISANI (erased)
The engraving of the contour of the letters IZBRISANI is made up of parallel lines, which are on at the beginning and allow a fairly distinctive reading, towards the end of the word the lines thin out, giving the impression of erasing the letters.
Inside the memorial is a cylindrical form made of concrete on which a second part of the inscription:
On 26 February 1992, the Slovenian authorities removed the name from the register of permanent residents of Slovenia, thus illegally erased 25,671 people, including 5,630 children.
This action had terrible consequences for the people who were erased, without social and health insurance, and the possibility of education, and many were deported and separated from their loved ones, while others lived in fear of deportation.
The story of erasure is also a story of the struggle of the erased and of solidarity. The struggle for their rights and dignity from 2006 until the eviction of the Rog in 2021, they have organized themselves in the Rog Social Centre.
The material of the memorial is concrete. The memorial is made up of parts that are ready to be prefabricated parts. These are transported to the installation site where they are assembled into the final assembly.
The dimensions of the memorial are outer circumference: outer diameter 8 m, inner diameter 7 m, height at the highest part 1m and inner circle with inscription has a diameter 1,8m.
The symbolism of the measurements is reflected in the outer circumferences. In the case of the outer circle, the outer circumference is 25.671mm, representing the total number of persons erased, the circumference of the circle with The circumference of the circle around the inscription is 5,630mm, which represents the number of erased  children.
In the case of the inscription IZBRISANI, the material is an 8 mm thick metal plate made of corten steel, which is rusted only on the surface. The inscription is laser engraved into 8 mm metal plate, which is flush with the ground plane (embedded in the floor).
The internal space in the coil is approximately 25 m², the design of which is provides for the installation and removal of various elements that would, in the following: a movable turf structure in the roof is a movable structure with a fixed floor, which is used to bring in warm air from the garages, and a cupboard for the free exchange of books,
a fridge for the use of free food, a barbecue for sharing, movable tables or stalls for donating, selling, or exchanging second-hand clothes, space for an open lecture and advice on human rights, music, and concerts …
Depending on the expected electricity consumption, access to sockets in the inner part of the memorial.
The memorial is located at the edge of the park and acts as a virtual platform separating the park space from Trubarje Street, while at the same time acting as an entry point platform offering a view of the park and the Rog Centre. The curb maintains the fluidity of the area and provides a safe space within the memorial for social discourse. Its height does not obstruct important views of the Centre Rog, the park design, and other buildings in the surrounding area, but rather directs and emphasizes the view.