004 → Silent Echoes
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
Buildner - Shortlisted
Team: Yanci Chen, Jing Chen, Jingzi Cui
Silent Echoes responds to the global silence surrounding nuclear weapons and the ever-present threat they pose. Situated within a decommissioned nuclear testing site, this project embodies the paradox of destruction and remembrance through architecture. Without the use of text or description, the design communicates the devastating impact of nuclear arms by utilizing the void as its central element—an architectural representation of loss, absence, and unspoken consequences.
Through minimal interventions, Silent Echoes reflects on humanity’s struggle with its past and the urgent need for collective memory to confront the invisible yet imminent dangers of nuclear weapons. The structure’s relationship with the landscape reinforces a narrative of devastation and contemplation, using materiality, spatial sequences, and light to invoke a sense of solemnity and reflection.