华盛顿特区的越南退伍军人纪念碑由林璎(Maya Ying Lin)设计,于 1982 年建成,纪念越战美军阵亡或失踪人员,这是一座与任何其他纪念碑都截然不同的作品,极具感染力。
美国人民对越战纪念碑的热爱,在超过 25 年的时间里一直有增无减,近年年访客量超550万,被称为「The Wall」。在美国建筑师学会依照民意选出的“美国最喜爱建筑”中,位列第十,超过了华盛顿纪念碑。
这其中的故事深深地吸引了我,于是在查阅众多资料后,凝结成了这一集播客,也是我所制作的第一集播客,请多多指教。
文字版:越战阵亡将士纪念碑 - 好奇的阿哲
公众号:好奇的阿哲
《越战阵亡将士纪念碑》设计板
《越战阵亡将士纪念碑》图片
《越战阵亡将士纪念碑》设计方案说明(原文)
Walking through this park-like area, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. Approaching the memorial, the ground slopes gently downward and the low walls emerging on either side, growing out of the earth, extend and converge at a point below and ahead. Walking into this grassy site contained by the walls of the memorial we can barely make out the carved names upon the memorial’s walls. These names, seemingly infinite in number, convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole.
The memorial is composed not as an unchanging monument, but as a moving composition to be understood as we move into and out of it. The passage itself is gradual; the descent to the origin slow, but it is at the origin that the memorial is to be fully understood. At the intersection of these walls, on the right side, is carved the date of the first death. It is followed by the names of those who died in the war, in chronological order. These names continue on this wall appearing to recede into the earth at the wall’s end. The names resume on the left wall as the wall emerges from the earth, continuing back to the origin where the date of the last death is carved at the bottom of this wall. Thus the war’s beginning and end meet; the war is ‘complete,’ coming full- circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle’s open side, and continued within the earth itself. As we turn to leave, we see these walls stretching into the distance, directing us to the Washington Monument, to the
left, and the Lincoln Memorial, to the right, thus bringing the Vietnam Memorial into an historical context. We the living are brought to a concrete realization of these deaths.
Brought to a sharp awareness of such a loss, it is up to each individual to resolve or come to terms with this loss. For death, is in the end a personal and private matter, and the area contained with this memorial is a quiet place, meant for personal reflection and private reckoning. The black granite walls, each two hundred feet long, and ten feet below ground at their lowest point (gradually ascending toward ground level) effectively act as a sound barrier, yet are of such a height and length so as not to appear threatening or enclosing. The actual area is wide and shallow, allowing for a sense of privacy, and the sunlight from the memorial’s southern exposure along with the grassy park surrounding and within its walls, contribute to the serenity of the area. Thus this memorial is for those who have died, and for us to remember them.
The memorial’s origin is located approximately at the center of the site; its legs each extending two hundred feet towards the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The walls, contained on one side by the earth, are ten feet below ground at their point of origin, gradually lessening in height, until they finally recede totally into the earth, at their ends. The walls are to be made of a hard, polished black granite, with the names to be carved in a simple Trajan letter. The memorial’s construction involves recontouring the area within the wall’s boundaries, so as to provide for an easily accessible descent, but as much of the site as possible should be left untouched. The area should remain as a park, for all to enjoy.
《越战阵亡将士纪念碑》设计方案说明(翻译)
穿行在这片公园,纪念碑宛如大地上的一道裂痕——一条长长的黑色抛光石墙,从大地之中缓缓升起,又渐渐没入大地。走近纪念碑的过程,地面缓慢倾斜向下,从任意一边步入都是如此,墙体从地面升起,向前延伸,在前方低处汇成一点。步入纪念碑环抱的草坪,很难看清墙上雕刻的名字。这些名字,似乎数也数不清,密密麻麻,让人喘不过气——那是一个个生命,不是一个个数字。这座纪念碑不是献给某个人,而是纪念战争中失去生命的所有人男人和女人。
这座纪念碑并非一个永恒不变的瞬间,而是一个活的作品,需要我们在进出之间去感受它、理解它。通道本身是一道缓坡,缓慢地降至起点,而正是在这个起点,纪念碑的意义得到充分彰显。在两面墙的交汇处,右侧上方刻着第一位阵亡士兵牺牲的日期,紧接着按照时间顺序刻上阵亡士兵的姓名。名字随着墙体一起消失在大地尽头,又随左侧墙体从地面浮现,最终回到原点,墙根刻着最后一位阵亡士兵牺牲的日期。于是,战争的开端与结束相遇,形成一个"完整"的圆,而这个圆被大地切割形成一个钝角,其他部分又融于大地之中。转身离去,两面墙延伸至远方,将我们的视线引向左侧的华盛顿纪念碑和右侧的林肯纪念堂,也将越战纪念碑带入历史。我们这些活着的人,也由此深刻感受到这些生命的逝去。
带着这份强烈的逝去感,每个人自行决定,是排遣这种感觉还是与之和解。死亡终究是个人的事,纪念碑围合的区域是一块安静的地方,适合回顾与反思。黑色花岗岩墙长200英尺(约61米),最低处距地面10英尺(约3米),逐渐升至地面高度。这样的尺度,有效阻隔外界的声音,却不会给人以压迫或封闭之感。场地开阔而平缓,既能提供私密感,又能沐浴纪念碑南面的阳光。周围草坪环绕,墙内地面亦是如此,更添几分宁静。所以,这座纪念碑不仅献给逝者,也为生者提供了缅怀的空间。
纪念碑的起点位于场地中心,碑体朝着两侧的华盛顿纪念碑和林肯纪念堂各延伸200英尺。两道墙单面嵌入地面,起点处深10英尺,高度逐渐降低,直至没入地面。墙体采用坚硬的抛光黑色花岗岩筑成,以朴素的 Trajan 字体刻上阵亡将士的名字。字体高3/4英寸(约2厘米),每个名字预留9英寸(约23厘米)的长度。纪念碑的建造需要重塑墙体围合范围内的地形,并修建一条可行走的坡道。但场地的大部分区域要尽可能保持原貌(包括树木),整个区域仍将作为公园,供所有人游憩。