Monument, Memory, and the Sublime
Towards a Spiritual Architecture: A Proposal for the a new Acropolis
The Bamiyan Cliffs along with the surrounding landscape and culture feels like an ineffable
place, a place that exists between worlds, beyond space and time, transcending
all things and moving into the unknown. The place has kept a purity, the air vibrates
with ancient resonances and deep mysteries. The monumental black voids in the cliff
sides alludes to the infinite, the eternal, never compromising yet always ambiguous.
The word ‘Beauty’ doesn’t suffice, it is in the realm of the ‘Sublime’.
This proposal seeks to echo these sensibilities. A new Acropolis, standing tall and
noble on the hillside, is proposed as the new cultural center for the people of Bamiyan
and for her visitors. The design seeks to evoke the universal truths and mythical spirits
of the site, of such structures as the Pyramids, of Stonehenge, of the ancient temples of the Old Testament; of the works of Louis Kahn and of Luis Barragan; of Donald Judd and Brancusi. These works all share a subtle and quiet yet powerful quality.
The monolithic forms, that seem to hover above the ground, enclose and charge the
courtyards with intimacy and silence giving space to quiet contemplation. The communal
courtyards are luminous, fillled with immaterial sensibilities that connect to the
ethereal and the celestial.
Each major program is housed in one or two monolithic forms, that have deep trombe
walls, small façade windows, an entry courtyard with floor-to-ceiling glass entry facades,
and large translucent sky lights. The cantilevers are structured by a steel frame
with a concrete foundations, encased in the traditional Pakhsa and mud bricks; giving
it both a historical/ local & universal/contemporary feel.
Dan J.H. Choi
