Virginia Beach, VA
Type:
Cultural + Civic
Client:
City of Virginia Beach, VA
The 5/31 Memorial is an act of care as much as design. Sensitivity to loss, memory, and the living landscape that frames the site shaped the work. Through conversations with families, survivors, first responders, and the broader community, the sequence-based design emerged. The entry walls to the memorial are etched with the lifelines of the victims. Just beyond is the Survivor’s Grove from which a path leads to the Hero Tree honoring those who responded first. A reflecting pool begins at the Hero Tree and winds through the woodland to the edge of a pond. Here it circles back to form a space of reflection and honor where the names of the 12 victims are carved in stone. This space opens to the west with a view of the city in the distance, reconnecting remembrance with the life of the community beyond.
Project Type: Permanent civic memorial integrated into an urban landscape
Delivery: Selected through a national design competition; publicly funded and City-approved
Scope + Systems: Sequence-based landscape coordinating architectural walls, curated planting, preserved mature trees, and engineered reflecting water integrated with site grading and drainage
Status + Timing: Under construction; scheduled for completion late Spring 2026
Collaborators:
SWA Group | landscape architecture
WSP | lighting design
Fluidity Design Consultants | water feature design
E.T. Gresham Company, Inc. | construction management
VHB | civil engineering
PACE Collaborative | mechanical + electrical engineering
Sinclair Pratt Cameron, P.C. | structural engineering
Stromberg Garrigan & Associates, Inc. | landscape administration
With attention to detail and nuance, each element combines to create a space for acknowledgment, reflection, honor, and peace.
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