The 'Memorials for the Future' Contest Is How the Country Should Build All Its Memorials

Like democracy, memorial planning is a messy business. Decisions about what or whom a nation should memorialize—and where and why—are all potentially fraught. The how of a memorial may be the most difficult question of all. Competitions and commissions are imperfect tools for assigning a memorial design, whether it’s for a person, a place, a war, or a moment in time.

On Wednesday, memorial stakeholders in Washington, D.C., introduced a novel way of thinking about memorial design. The National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service, working in tandem with the Van Alen Institute in New York, announced “Memorials for the Future,” an open design competition for new memorials. The contest is asking not only for memorial designs but memorial concepts—opening up the questions of whom, what, and why to the public.