GPAA designs details of Brazil's Brumadinho Memorial to "carry profound meaning"
A jagged entry pavilion and a suspended concrete sculpture are among the elements at a vast memorial in rural Brazil designed by local studio GPAA to honour the hundreds who died during a mining dam collapse in 2019.
The memorial is near the city of Brumadinho, in the southern state of Minas Gerais.
It was built on the site where a large mining dam collapsed on January 25, 2019, releasing a torrent of mining waste and mud that engulfed numerous structures. The disaster killed an estimated 272 people.
The victims' families formed an association to pursue justice, and one of the compensations was the creation of a memorial.
Local firm Gustavo Penna Arquitetos & Associados, or GPAA, was chosen to design the memorial – a project that involved close collaboration with the families.
For the undulating rural site, the studio conceived a series of elements that form a process of immersion, reflection and learning.
"Every detail of the Memorial Brumadinho was conceived to carry profound meaning," the studio said.
"The design stems from an ethical commitment to give voice to the memory of the victims and to give new meaning to the space marked by tragedy through a symbolic and sensitive interpretation."
The experience begins at an entry pavilion with a jagged form.
"The entrance pavilion, with its twisted and fragmented shape, symbolises the shock of the rupture and the overwhelming force of the mud," the team said.
The pavilion has a green roof and walls made of concrete mixed with pigment from mining tailings.
The interior contains a cluster of crystals that evoke the "jewels", the term used by families to describe the victims of the dam collapse. Every year at the time of the tragedy – January 25 at 12:28 pm – a ray of light enters the space and illuminates the crystals.
After leaving the entrance pavilion, visitors travel along a 230-metre pathway that was carved into the site and terminates at a reflection pond. The path is lined with tall walls that restrict outward views.
"The cleft-like morphology induces introspection, as once inside it, the only visible horizon is the framed view at its end," the team said of the path.
"Its direct and striking perspective guides the gaze of those who walk through it and alludes to the void left by what happened."
The walls are engraved with the names of victims and feature floral elements that light up.
At a central point on the path, visitors pass underneath a tilted, square-shaped sculpture measuring 11 by 11 metres. Its angled position is meant to symbolise "the rationality that was brutally betrayed by the rupture".
Visitors continue on to the Memory Room and Testimony Room, conceived by scenographer Júlia Peregrino in collaboration with the families. The space contains the remains of the victims, along with their photos and personal objects.
The pathway ends at a lookout point, where visitors can observe how the landscape was transformed by the dam's collapse.
The site also features winding dirt trails and 272 newly planted ipe trees. The trees – known for their beautiful flowers that bloom on leafless branches – serve as a symbol of resilience.
The team noted that every element of the site was designed to emphasise the impacts of the disaster and invite reflection.
"The Memorial Brumadinho is a place where architecture meets memory," said architect Gustavo Penna.
"It embraces pain and transforms it into resistance against forgetting, giving new meaning to the site of the tragedy."
The Brumadinho Memorial has made the longlist for a 2025 Dezeen Award.
Other memorials around the world include a monument and park in Ethiopia that is dedicated to the 157 victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, and a museum and memorial in India that honours the victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.
The photography is by Pedro Mascaro unless otherwise stated.
Project credits:
Architecture and project management: Gustavo Penna Arquiteto e Associados
Architecture team: Gustavo Penna, Norberto Bambozzi, Laura Penna, Letícia Carneiro, Ricardo Lopes, Priscila Dias, Alice Flores, Fernanda Tolentino, Henrique Neves, Gabriel de Souza, Eduardo Magalhães, Julia Lins, Larissa Freire, Sávio de Oliveira, Gustavo Monteiro, Felipe Franco, Mariana Carvalho, Rafaela Rennó, Caio Vieira, Fernanda Freitas, Matheus Welffort, Manoel Belisário, Naiara Costa, André Silva, Natália Castro, Isabela Tolentino, Taimara Araujo, Diana Penna, Tamiris Bibbó
Acoustics: Metron Acústica
Landscape design: Medra Paisagismo
Visual communication: Greco Design
Lighting: Atiaîa Lighting Design
Columbaria: Evolution Tecnologia Funerária
Concrete structure: Bedê Engenharia de Estruturas
Metal structure: Almeida Oliveira Engenharia
Tailings concrete and masonry: Consultare Consultoria de Revestimentos e Desempenho
Frames: QMD Consultoria
MEP systems: Lumens Engenharia
Automation: Cadari Engenharia
Ambient sound system: Wave Audiovisual
HVAC: Protherm Projetos Termo Acústicos
Waterproofing: Firmino Siqueira Consultores Associados
Wetland system: Inovatec Saneamento e Meio Ambiente
Artificial lake: Poente Engenharia e Consultoria
Earthworks: ATT Geotecnologia
Planning: Reta Engenharia Ltda
Construction management: Vale SA
Construction execution: Construcap CCPS Engenharia e Comércio
Site supervision: Concremat Engenharia e Tecnologia SA
Piling: Engenharia e Construções
LEED certification consultancy: Ares Eficiência Energética e Sustentabilidade
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