Client: City of Seattle & SHARE

Overview

Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market and adjacent Victor Steinbrueck Park provide the setting for the world’s only permanently-sited homeless memorial. Designed as a partnership with the homeless community and five City departments, project provides a gathering place within a park noted for its viewpoints and hospitality to all citizens. The ‘tree’ is a focal point with missing commemorative ‘leaves of remembrance’ scattered on sidewalks throughout the city. Two websites at www.homelessremembrance.org and www.fallenleaves.org provide additional information about the project and those commemorated.

Goals

Working with the Homeless Remembrance Project—a collaborative effort of homeless women, faith community leaders, social service providers and other friends—we created places of hope, healing, and beauty to honor and remember homeless people who’ve died in King County. The concept is twofold: the Tree of Life, in Victor Steinbrueck Park, is an iconic sculptural plaza with space for community gathering, hope, and healing; to recognize that we are one people, homeless and housed together, and we can end homelessness. Leaves of Remembrance on Seattle sidewalks throughout the city bear the names of those who have died, while annual leaflaying ceremonies offer a chance to celebrate the lives of the fallen.

Process

We were part of a design team consisting of an artist, an architect and a landscape architect. Together we developed the conceptual approach and final design for what would become the world’s first and only permanently-sited public homeless memorial. Our studio handled all fabrication and installation. One of our biggest challenges was placement of the tree of life within a historic waterfront park. It took considerable fortitude and wherewithal to guide this project through numerous contentious community meetings, historic commission reviews and a court challenge over a 5-year period to achieve final City approval. Since this project was installed in 2012, it has become a touchstone for the homeless community in ongoing organizing efforts surrounding affordable housing.