“The Memorial sings in harmony with The Twenty Two
whom it celebrates and remembers
Beneath a halo, in colours and song,
it grows older with Manchester and its people
where they could not,
to become a place that reaches out across the whole world
promoting peace and tolerance through music.”

Nestled here where once a middle-ages market bustled at the thronging heart of Manchester’s mediaeval quarter, The Memorial is suffused in the woven, frayed and rewoven tapestry of time which warms this place.

Witness the singing angels of the cathedral stonework behind which human choirs perform, the stone gates to the school of music behind which generations have sung; the secret histories buried in the underground of the site; arches, crypts, tunnels beneath the town.

The memorial becomes a new layer of history up on this fabric, and like the site itself, it is a catalyst for activation and activity, and music. Sited on the axes of three well used routes through the city, it also looks up to a large and free area of sky to the South facing The Cathedral. Because of this, the memorial, located at the Eastern tip of the triangle of space is warmed by the sun through much of the year and will likely continue to do so for as long as the cathedral remains. This long-term sky gives an opportunity to respond to themes of timelessness, such as the memory of the 22 should be preserved for all days.

A henge then. A static clock of the sun and sky, singing and shine-chiming at the moments in the calendar which the memorial remembers, and those whom it will celebrate for the passing of a hundred years of sun.

Harmony
The heart of the memorial. The Twenty Two are together in a series of spires reaching tall to the low sky, each singing a different note in harmony with the others, each bearing an inscription and dedication to the person whose memory it keeps.

Halo
Encircling The Twenty Two, lifted aloft by them symbolising the encircling embrace of the city, Precious reflective golden patination, casting the sunlight amongst the spire forest, holding and reverberating the song of The Twenty Two within. In daylight, through the outer surface of this halo a series of holes allow each spire inside to be illuminated by the noon sun on the birthday of the person it honours. The memorial remembers.

Growth
The future history of the memorial is not static, it is living and growing for the sake of those it remembers who may not.

Into the low protective berm where the memorial nestles surrounded by earth and meadow, are inset two thousand empty niches. Over the course of years and decades these niches are gradually filled with the colourful votive tributes – keystones

Ever more voices join The Twenty Two in song.

Place
Nestled within a wildflower meadow the 22 lives are interwoven with the landscape. Each describes a series of radial ley lines flowing to the wider open spaces beyond. These lines chart celestial alignments, marking auspicious dates in the lives of the lost, and the positions of heavenly bodies for the next 100 years The nearby ground is transformed into a new urban space for musical performance, from choir recitals to pitches for local buskers, singing to and with the memory of those the memorial celebrates. A line of flowing water connects the memorial to a plaque dedicated to the city’s first responders, civilians and services, relaying the story of the 22nd May 2017.

Harmony

The heart of the memorial. The Twenty Two are together in a series of spires reaching tall to the low sky, each singing a different note in harmony with the others, each bearing an inscription and dedication to the person whose memory it keeps.

This forest of fluted bronze pipes sings and sighs softly in the breeze. Connected together they wear a golden halo which resonates and glimmers with their chorus. At every spire’s base is a name plaque set into the ground that falls into shadow at noon on the 22nd May each year. Upon each surface is inscribed a personalised pattern, unique to that named below, tactile and contoured – with a link to a digital archive of the person it holds. Each contains its own note from a scale of 22 harmonics. Walking amongst this forest of spires, the harmonies flux and change, playing infinite variations of their music. These spires are made to be heard. And hugged.

Set in motion in a clearing at the centre of the spires hangs a shining star kinetic mobile which shimmers, casting light and movement throughout the space. Its perpetual motion represents the continuum of life; in the face of tragedy and sadness, humanity and hope are eternal, and they will prevail.

Halo

Encircling The Twenty Two, lifted aloft by them, the halo surrounds and enshrines the memorial. The crown of the halo is formed from the interwoven beams describing a circle of sky at the centre of the space. The outer surface of the halo is left to gather the natural patina of age, subtly shifting in appearance over years and decades. Step underneath and see that the inside is the precious reflective golden patination, symbolising the encircling embrace of the city, casting the sunlight amongst the spire forest, holding and reverberating the song of The Twenty Two within.

Floating on the 22 slender columns the halo hovers above the historic site of the medieval market. . Raised in this way the halo provides shelter and separation, with visual connection at ground level. A serene, simple object, a signifying and unifying form at the convergence of the three vistas approaching the site of the cathedral garden. At night the halo illuminates the space beneath in a circle of lamplight. In daylight, through the outer surface of this halo a series of holes allow each spire inside to be illuminated by the noon sun on the birthday of the person it honours. The memorial rem**embers.

Growth

The future history of the memorial is not static, it is living and growing for the sake of those it remembers who may not. The tragic events of May 22nd 2017, and the loss of The Twenty Two were the call. Growth - and song - is the response.

Into the low protective berm where the memorial nestles surrounded by earth and meadow, are inset two thousand empty niches. Over the course of years and decades these niches are gradually filled with the colourful votive tributes – keystones - of those who learn about what happened to create the memorial and respond to it, those directly affected and those close to them, those in Manchester and farther afield who work to promote peace and tolerance in its name.

Through this long-term initiative, the memorial faces outwards from Manchester to the world with its message - recorded in these keystones - of hope for a time where light and song will extinguish shade. Each keystone is a time capsule, unique in number and design, which represents an entry into a digital web-based archive of projects undertaken by schools, choirs, community groups, charitable organisations, bereaved families and the injured, in the spirit of this mission. Each of these is a specially commissioned enduring ceramic artefact, reflective and naturally glazed, bearing an inscription for and from those who ceremonially placed it, and a unique tag which refers and directs to its entry in the digital catalogue. Encircling the plinth where the memorial sits symbolically circumscribed in a loop of water, collectively these tributes build across years to create a softly glinting, mother-of-pearl ring, which reflects sunlight and the harmony of the memorial towards the cathedral, the halo, and the space within. Niches which are yet to be filled are capped with bronze pieces made from the spare material of the halo construction, holes in them provide space for people to leave ephemeral flowers, messages and tributes.

Place

The landscape into which the memorial is rooted. The memorial is nestled within a wildflower meadow which clears to form the plinth where harmony, halo and growth are found. A line of water flowing from the loop which encircles them connects the memorial to a plaque dedicated to the city’s first responders, civilians and services, which tells the story of the 22nd May 2017. This transcribes a second clearing, opening out from the memorial into a larger performance space. Its design ceremonially addresses The Twenty Two for commemorative events and is arranged acoustically to respond to orchestrated and improvised performance. This is the singing heart of the city.

The 22 lives are interwoven with the landscape which surround the memorial: each of the columns of the halo and the central piece describe a set of radial ley lines keyed into the surface which emanate from its centre and flow to the wider open spaces beyond. These lines correspond to geographical and celestial alignments, marking auspicious dates in the lives of the lost, and the positions of heavenly bodies for the next 100 years.

York stone with inset echoes of the memorial in the ley lines cut into its surface. The wildflower meadow is designed for little or no maintenance and year-round flowering, drawing from the research work undertaken by Sheffield university Landscape department, using a complexion of plants including Alium Angulosum, which attracts bees, and below Hare’s foot Clover, Trifolium Arvense.