National Emergency Services Memorial

The central concept encapsulated the emergency as an event and by doing so, provide an opportunity for the visitor to identify with and appreciate the essential nature of the emergency services. The depiction of 'the emergency' within the design proposal has been represented by a series of 'splinters in time' - the emergency/splinter catches, wedges and breaks apart time and place, tearing and changing the stability/fabric of the 'normal'.

The role of the 'splinter' is to convey the nature of the emergency event and those events to which it is connected. By having a series of 'splinters', there is an opportunity to diffuse the initial 'meaning' of the splinter - the splinter makes possible a reflection upon: past and recent emergencies, and what may come in the future; the role of the ordinary individual who becomes part of a team that performs extraordinary activities; the unpredictability and unexpectedness of emergencies; and the confronting characteristics of the emergency.

The 'splinters' are presented as a series of concrete blade walls that increase in height and in scale, referencing the literal and metaphorical 'walls' met by Emergency Services personnel in their work. The inherent fragmentation in the arrangement of the splinters and their resulting forms creates a dynamic which underpins the experiences offered by the Memorial.