This fall and winter, Metro asked for feedback on preliminary design options for a memorial at the historic Chinese section of Lone Fir Cemetery. Metro is now incorporating that feedback as the project enters a new, exciting phase.
View the proposals
Design firm Knot Studio created this document in fall 2023 to share descriptions and artist renderings of two proposed design options for the memorial.
Between October and December, Metro held multiple open houses both with Chinese-American community members and with the general public. Metro staff also interviewed people with lived and/or professional experience with mental illness to gain their insight into the project and its relationship to patients from the Oregon Hospital for the Insane who are also buried in the cemetery. Additionally, Metro invited people interested in the project to fill out an online survey about the two design concepts, which were called “The Grove” and “The Hill.” More than 200 people filled out the online survey.
“That’s a really impressive number of respondents, and what’s even more impressive is how rich and thoughtful so many of the survey responses were,” said Metro engagement specialist Matan Gold. “People spent a lot of time writing their thoughts on both design options. It’s clear that this project is important to many people in the region.”
While the majority of feedback on both design options was positive, a clear preference emerged for The Grove, a concept that involves a path through a stand of ginkgo trees between an open-air structure on one end of the site and a small altar on the other. Slightly more than 60% of survey participants indicated that they felt a connection to The Hill, while 84% said they felt a connection to The Grove.
Respondents said that they appreciated the design’s opportunities for peaceful reflection within the shade and privacy of the trees. However, there were certain elements of The Hill’s design that prompted positive feedback, including moongate openings in one structure and a space for including the names of people known to have been buried at the site.
Now the design firm Knot Studio is working on a refined design that is based largely on The Grove while incorporating some of the more-popular elements of The Hill. As with the preliminary designs, this design will be shared with community members through focus groups and an online survey, tentatively scheduled for late April. The project team has set a goal to complete work by the end of 2026.
“I appreciate the amount of time and thought so many different community members have brought to this project,” said project manager Karen Vitkay. “Their input helps us ensure that what Metro builds will be a place for learning, reflection and healing for generations to come.”
Learn more
This video was embedded in the online survey conducted in fall 2023. While the survey it references is now closed, the video provides a clear overview of the two design option proposals.
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