11M Memorial Atocha Madrid - Monumento 11M Atocha Madrid

“El monumento nace de las entrañas de la estación de Renfe, del lugar mismo del dolor, y como en un grito de esperanza, quiere ser visto por la ciudad de Madrid. El proyecto tiene la doble lectura de un lugar inaccesible que es contemplado desde la mirada abierta de la ciudad y la silenciosa escucha del interior de la estación. En su relación con el exterior, el monumento es la fuerza del instante atrapado para ser eterno.

Las cualidades materiales del monumento, no hacen sino expresar las intenciones de la propuesta. De cara al exterior, hacen de él un objeto donde la escala se modifica, la intensidad de luz es variable, dándole como consecuencia una presencia vital dentro de la ciudad. Así son recordados y homenajeados de manera activa los fallecidos el 11 de marzo en Madrid y todas las víctimas del terrorismo.“

“Es la luz la que quiere hacer su propio monumento, retirarse de la realidad para crear su propio mundo de silencio. Este espacio bajo la rotonda se convierte en el lugar donde se establece una relación íntima con las víctimas“.


The main idea was for the monument was, by one hand, reuse some spaces with lived underneath the ground, within the atocha train station infraestructure, due to the original site for the competition was pretty “dirty” for such as memorial like this one. The original site was a roundstep in the middle of a huge avenue that leads to the southern part of Madrid. Once we realized that there are some spaces underneath the ground, that they were used for shops, banks and so on, we decide to connect tha inner and the outer part of the city. The main room, which that most important view of the space and the monument itself it is viewed, is underneath, where an exicitn room painted in deep blue leads you to the light. We worked with the contrast between the noise and rush exterior of the station, over 400,000 people a day with their ipod, newspaper, etc, they get into a dark room, where the silence is the main thing. You have to cross a double door (cause the whole room is pressurize to sustain the ETFE where the messages are written. In that way you have to feel a different atmosphere, a different mood. the noise becomes silence, the light becomes darkness. Once you are into the room, the light comes throught the hole in the slab. over that hole you can see the ETFE membrane with all the messages that the citizen left in the station the days after the terrorist attacks, flowing over your head. This membrane is protected by the glass structure. The transparency is one of the main aspect of the huge skylight. During the night there´s some artificial lighning that represent the release of the light accumulated during the day. It´s like a canndle in the middle of the night. the candle of remembrance.