TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
THAPATHALI CAMPUS

CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL

By:
EVANGELINA MAHARJAN (THAO74BAR017)

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE,
THAPATHALI CAMPUS

1 JULY, 2022
Thesis Proposal Civil War Memorial THA074BAR17

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 2
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 4
MEMORIAL ARCHITECTURE ............................................................................................... 4
MEMORIAL TYPOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 5
SYMBOLISM ............................................................................................................................. 5
SYMBOLISM IN MEMORIAL ARCHITECTURE ................................................................. 6
CASE STUDY ............................................................................................................................ 6
CASE STUDY FINDINGS .......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Thesis Proposal Civil War Memorial THA074BAR17

INTRODUCTION
Background
Memorialization as a representation of remembering past experiences bridge the relation between
memory and architecture. Memorial architecture provides the stage in which it brings people
together to unite individual memories into a collective memory. Remembering is a vital activity
that gives identity to our past and defines our present. Memory is of selective nature: a complex
system between oblivion and memory. Personal and social memories are always subject to
construction and negotiations. They are blurred and imperfect, not permanent. In modern societies
collective memory is negotiated in the values, beliefs, rituals and institutions of the social body.
In Nepal there are some structures which are connected with memorial architecture. Those
structures mainly deal with the honoring of beloved persons or persons who sacrificed his life for
the good of the society. But these memorials have lot to offer to the society. It is a kind of
recognition of one’s past history and which should be taken forward for generations to come.
Justification
Civil war or Maoist Conflict between Maoist and the government of Nepal that existed in the
history of Nepal from 1996-220. The revolutionary war caused arrays of executions, massacres,
violent harassment, kidnaping and many more inhuman crimes. The war led to the death of 15,027
people, among which 1006 are still missing.
Despite the significance and the rich memory that this civil war carries for Nepal, today’s
generation may forget about the many lives lost in this process of us living as a Republic nation.
Thus, a memorial is in need to commemorate those who died and got affected. A memorial not for
the victory of our independence but for the civilians, fallen soldiers and thus for everyone to
remember the hardships of a decade long insurgency period.
Objectives
• Designing architecture as a tangible expression to commemorate intangible expressions
• Create dynamic place for people to share their emotions, to heal through a place of
memorial, monument and museum and create a ‘place of memory’.
Methodology
Scope and Limitations
The project is intended to evoke emotions and create memories on a human scale rather than
achieving monumentality. The purpose is to create awareness and educating visitors.
This project will be limited to analysis of the different cases from the literature review and does
not aim towards the formulation of the new theory about memorial architecture. But the
conclusions will be made on the subject.

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Thesis Proposal Civil War Memorial THA074BAR17

Requirements of the Project:

▪ Memorial gallery/Halls
▪ Multipurpose Hall/ Conference facilities
▪ Library
▪ Administration
▪ Landscape designs
▪ Restaurant
▪ Parking
▪ Service and Utilities
▪ Ticket Counter
▪ Guard House
Site Selection
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
Area:43 Ropanis

The proposed site is marked with orange boundary located beside Narayan Hiti Palace. At the
present Republic Memorial Park is already built in the site which is more of a landscape design.
So, I am proposing Civil memorial which will be the extension of this park with built forms like
galleries, libraries, multipurpose hall, landscaping designs etc. The main aim is to create much
more impact through memorial which with the extension facilities of the memorial park may
generate.

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Thesis Proposal Civil War Memorial THA074BAR17

LITERATURE REVIEW
In the past 200 years memorials have developed an important and prolific role in Western societies.
Monuments have served as markers of territory, power, religious beliefs, and human actions and
achievement. The word memorial according to Webster’s online dictionary means, “serving to
preserve remembrance” (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary, keyword memorial). For the
purpose of this discussion memorials are defined as physical places having distinct boundaries.
They are built and funded by public agencies or private groups, but all are accessible to the general
public. They are created through the work of groups that they collectively represent and all
remember a person, people, or event of significance to that group. War memorials are a particular
type that share this definition and specifically commemorate some aspect of ideals related to a
specific war event, of the role of a nation (or similar group) or of that nation’s participants in a
wartime event. War memorials include commemorations that honor ideals and mourn individual
losses.
MEMORIAL ARCHITECTURE
A memorial is a structure erected to commemorate persons or events. The memorial in fact is an
object which tries to focus on a memory of some particular thing. The history, philosophies and
doctrines of a society are all stored in a memorial. Memorials are generally built to link the present
with the past. As we know that a memorial is an intangible thing so in memorial it becomes a
tangible thing that can be looked upon and where those memories good or bad can be experienced
by the present generation. So, in the memorial all those experiences can be captured.
Memorials have been the part of the human society ever since the civilization has come into being.
They have been existing in terms of one or the other built form. The build of huge pyramids in
Egypt, the beautiful Taj Mahal in India, various megalithic monuments are all memorials. They
all try to grab the memory of some beloved ones, the occurrence of some wonderful or devastating
events in the history.
Memorials are also linked with architecture. Architecture has long been the preferred medium with
which to publicly memorialize any events or persons. The memorials are associated and attached
with emotions and sentiments that belong to particular event. And a memorial tries to address such
emotions and sentiments felt by the people. The building of memorials today is unlike many other
architectural projects in that it is the architecture that becomes the centerpiece, not merely the
container to house the artifacts of memory. The memorial is a place that is filled and charged with
memory, a place that challenges its visitors to revisit an event which perhaps scarred and touched
them and find new meaning and perhaps peace. The power of a true memorial is its ability to create
a place in which the memories of countless individuals with a varying attachment to the event can
exist simultaneously. A memorial is able to combine a diverse program which is concerned with
the needs of several groups of people. As author James Young explains, “. . . it is not that we are
sharing a common memory, it is that we are sharing a common place of memory.” The client
becomes not only the group concerned with the construction and costing of the project, but also
the victims, the survivors, the heroes, those who were there and forever changed by the event and
those who may have never had any prior knowledge of it. By creating a place which is both
universal and specific, a place which serves to educate and heal, a place that remembers not only
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Thesis Proposal Civil War Memorial THA074BAR17

the history of the event, but its victims, heroes, and survivors, the memorial can become a valuable
setting for the individual, and an integral part of the community as a whole.
MEMORIAL TYPOLOGY
David Todd Norman, in his research paper, has classified memorials into three groups which are
listed below:
1. FORM AND SYMBOLISM: The memorials of this type are characteristics of form and
symbolism. These types of monuments use symbols which may be simple to chaotic. The
meanings reflected by the elements create a sense of monumentality. Various forms like
walls, pillars, arches might be used to create a sense of monumentality and conveying
message to the general public. The memorials may also use inscriptions and also graphic
method to transfer the meaning.
2. LANDSCAPE: The landscapes create the narrative journey. There are paths, waypoints,
monuments, symbols, and many other features, that have got the meanings. The landscapes,
thus created give the glimpse of narrative journey. The landscape creates the series of
events. These landscape forms tend to go further than non-landscape monuments in
facilitating a range of perceptual experiences and consequently of moods at one memorial
site. To the visitor, the landscapes evoke different emotions and associations. The Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Memorial at the National Mall is an example of this type. This memorial
covers over 7 acres and utilizes distinct “rooms” to present the four terms that Roosevelt
served as President.
3. HISTORICAL MARKER: The third type of the memorial is a historical marker. These
sites exist at a site of primary importance to the person or events being memorialized. Thus,
there is respect to the site as the site itself speaks about the past and the lost ones. The ruins,
the fragments, of the past tell a story about that. A visitor can easily get the information
through these real artifices. Those fragments may be the ruins of the walls or even the
house or the natural elements like trees, the open field, and so on; those have really seen
those events. These are the markers of the past and the proofs of the past. These ruins make
the site monument al. This does not necessarily detract from the meaning of these
memorials, but those that do exist where critical events took place often have elevated
importance to the meanings of that memorial and are often considered inherently ‘sacred’.
SYMBOLISM
According to Illustrated Oxford Dictionary symbolism is “The use of symbols to represent ideas,
an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbols and indirect suggestion to express ideas,
emotions etc.” The above definition of symbolism tries to explain various thoughts, ideas and
feelings through various medium that may be in the form of artistic, poetic and others. The words
symbol, symbolic and symbolism are all inter related with each other.
According to philosopher Cassirer “All forms must pass through two intermediate stages of
development before they become symbolic- the mimetic and then the analogical.” At the time of
mimetic stage, the imitative representation of nature and human behavior in terms of art and
literature is performed and then it gets expressed in some sort of symbolism.

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Thesis Proposal Civil War Memorial THA074BAR17

SYMBOLISM IN MEMORIAL ARCHITECTURE

As memorial is constructed in the memory or honor of a person or an event, a proper symbolism
needs to be erected or produced in order to show the feeling that is desired. The symbol created
should be related with the feeling of the memory for which it was constructed. Symbolism which
we see around has been attained by use of various techniques mainly by use of various materials,
sculptures, scale and proportion of the form constructed etc. Certain symbolism is needed to be
provided to memorial due to the fact that it becomes some kind of unique feature may be in terms
of mass or some another kind of feature which the people will see and easily remember. Generally,
the memorial tries to symbolize the meaning related to history of an event or a person.
In architecture too, symbolism provides some kind of meaning to the built form and it has got its
own place within memorial architecture. A form in architecture which is expressed through spatial,
temporal, physical and material means tries to evoke some kind of meaning which in a long run
becomes some kind of symbolism.

CASE STUDY