The Brussels Government has issued a planning permit for the construction of a memorial commemorating the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brussels State Secretary for Town Planning and Heritage Ans Persoons announced on Friday.
Designed by the workshop of Brussels architect Bas Smets, the monument will serve as a place of meditation and rest. Several other memorial sites are planned elsewhere in the country, notably in Kortrijk, Leuven, Ghent, Lommel, and Aarschot.
Called the “Onument”, the memorial is set to be housed in the heart of the Parc D’Osseghen, in the Brussels municipality of Laeken. It is intended to be “a place conducive to calm, in memory of the victims of the pandemic, but also of loved ones who have left too early,” Persoons announced.
Each monument will be a perfect circle, composed of curved elements on equal dimensions, interrupted by a natural element such as a stream, trees, or different platforms. The idea is to portray a circle broken by a natural force, with artwork meant to show how nature can interfere with our lives. This is also reflected in the benches.
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The planning permit includes the plans for the memorial to Covid-19 victims as well as the development of an access path to the installation from Avenue de la Passerelle. In total, 13 benches will be constructed, arranged in a circle, and separated by trees.
