Kosovo Forces Monument Design

Posted on Sep 3, 2011 in Identity | Comments Off

Kosovo Forces Monument Design

I’ve had the opportunity to design & construct a lot of off-the-wall projects, but most have been for friends, family or fellow “creative” types. Very rarely do designers get free reign of a government project, especially when the military is involved. That’s why this monument project, designed for the U.S. Army and Kosovo Forces, was such a blast to work on! 

I spent most of 2011 deployed to Kosovo with NATO as a photojournalist and print designer. During my tenure there as print non-commissioned officer for Kosovo Forces 14, I was asked to design a final monument to honor the efforts of soldiers from all Kosovo Forces cycles.

 

 

Kosovo Forces Monument Design

I designed a lightweight, high-impact sculptural piece that would be inexpensive for its size, but be far more visible and capture emotional interest more than a standard granite memorial plaque.

design requirements

  • highlight collaborative work
  • show all participating nations & states
  • make room for an informational plaque
With only that as my guide, I thought back to everything I had seen over the course of a year and built out an innovative design that I feel captures every aspect of the cooperative, kind, and constructive environment I was privileged enough to be a part of.

 

 

The inspiration:

Needle Tower

Kenneth Snelson's Needle Tower

The last time I was in Washington, D.C., I visited the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, in addition to many other beautiful museums and parks. At the Hirshhorn, I noticed Kenneth Snelson’s Needle Tower, and the tension based design struck me as immediately beautiful– aesthetically and mathematically.
When it came time to describe a multi-part organization, stronger because of its diverse and capable elements, a tensegrity sculpture was the only choice.

 

 

 

 

My design proposal:

INSPIRATION & FOCUS

collaboration | cooperation | multinationality

The Kosovo mission, if anything, is a valiant experiment in constructive and collaborative growth. This is illustrated in everything from Kosovo Force’s mission statement, to the multinational aspect of NATO’s presence, to the day-to-day interactions between the people in Kosovo and the members of Multinational Battle Group East. That collaborative workspace relies on the intertwined support from every appendant body.
My submission for the KFOR 14 memorial monument highlights the powerful and absolutely essential role each group plays in the praiseworthy pursuit of elevating the people in Kosovo to a standard of life we all, as human beings, wish for one another.

MONUMENT DESCRIPTION

strong geometry | airy design | beautiful meaning

The sculpture, which is easily scalable to fit the final location and budget, relies on the principle of tensegrity, a portmanteau of tension integrity. Tensegrity describes how systems maintain their structure and support themselves. Tensegrity is why single cells form spheres, why suspension bridges stay aloft, and is how individuals can come together to form something great. Each portion of the sculpture pushes and pulls against every other part. The resulting geometric construction is unshakably stable. Each nexus is held in its place by the needs (tension) and sustenance (compression) of the other elements of the construction.

This push/pull sustainment of a whole reflects the same principles that underlie the success of KFOR in Kosovo.
At each of the nexuses, a brushed aluminum plaque will commemorate one unit or contributing nation . The plaque will be laser engraved with the logo of the element, their motto, as well as any other pertinent information. They may also be cut to shape, as the plaque’s shape is not structurally relevant.A suggested additional plaque will thank the people in Kosovo, illustrating that without their hard work and effort, the KFOR mission could not happen.
Additional tiers may be easily added to increase the number of available points for plaques. Because it is a generative design, it is easily iterated to add or remove complexity to keep the look aesthetically interesting and meet functional requirements.
12 rods would allow for a maximum of 24 points of attachment. 30 would allow 60, etc.
The design’s base is a silhouette of the Kosovo map. It would be etched with points noting the placement of the contributing KFOR elements. The base, depending on scale, would be of either a heavily brushed aluminum or of cast concrete. A concrete or gravel path will encircle the sculpture, beginning from the widest point of the sculpture and maintaining a 4’ width to allow for traffic and handicapped access. The center of the sculpture will hold a hollow cast eagle in flight, held aloft by steel wire points connected to the top of the sculpture. It will be secured rotationally by two steel wires dropped from the midpoint of its wings to the base. These two parallel lines will also allow for the connection of the battle group crest, creating a suspended, 3-dimensional version of the MNBG E crest.
A small plaque on a cast concrete pedestal will provide an area for the commander to present an overall message regarding the mission, as well as an infographic listing the locations of the various member units’ placement on the sculpture itself. It will also imply a direction of approach for visitors and will be oriented to the approaching walkway, to make it the first element scrutinized by an interested party.
This monument shows the strength of the military/ community dynamic, without the bulk of a traditional granite or concrete sculpture.
Value is added to this design by the reduction in cost due to easily sourced materials and a low material volume to sculpture volume ratio.
This allows for a larger sculpture as compared to traditional monuments, and scaling this proposed design is a trivial task.