MEMO is a charitable organization whose main task is to study the prospects for the sixth period of mass extinction of the Earth's biosphere and the possibilities of preventing this catastrophe. MEMO will build its educational center on the island of Portland, located in the English Channel and which is the central part of the famous Jurassic coast, protected by UNESCO.
The steep coastline and its more than well-deserved age inspired David Adjaye to create an object that has a brutal and laconic appearance at the same time. Above the rock breaks, he builds a spiral tower, more reminiscent of the ziggurat of the ancient Mesopotamia than a modern exhibition complex.
Inside the tower, the architect creates an open courtyard. There will be a bell in it - it will ring annually on the International Day for Biological Diversity, reminding of the danger of the complete extinction of animals from the face of the Earth.
The architect did not doubt for a second in the choice of the main building material - it was Portland limestone, mined on the island for many centuries in a row. The only decoration of the continuous spiral of stone he creates will be carved images of extinct animals. So far, MEMO plans to create 860 such images, but the structure of the complex provides for the possibility of adding new bas-reliefs to this gallery - as more and more new species disappear. There will be a walking ramp along all the images, which will allow visitors to climb to the observation deck overlooking the famous Portland quarry and the English Channel.
A. M.
