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Press Kit | no. 7817-01
Press release only in English
Brumadinho Memorial is a space based on the ethical commitment of symbolic reparation and memory for the 272 fatal victims of the collapse of a dam at Córrego do Feijão Mine, owned by Vale S.A. mining company. The tragedy occurred on January 25, 2019, in Brumadinho (MG), affecting 26 municipalities and releasing 12 million cubic meters of mining waste mud.
The memorial consists of an entrance pavilion, a grove, outdoor living areas, pathways to a sculpture-monument, a reflecting pool, Memory and Testimony exhibition rooms, and a space dedicated to the dignified storage of the victims’ corporeal segments.
Lighting was crafted to create an immersive, sensitive, and respectful atmosphere. It conveys information, brilliance, and presence, as it illuminates messages, symbols, and architecture, honoring the victims’ memory: a Poem, a crystal cluster, 272 ipê flowers, 272 stars in the lake (the lost "jewels"), a sculpture that cries over concrete walls mixed with the pigment of mining waste.
It is also a tool to illuminate those who visit, reflect, feel, and are transformed by this experience. Light guides the journey, defines highlighted planes, areas of brightness, and darkness.
Memorial Brumadinho is an act of resistance against oblivion, so that brutal events like this, against humanity and the environment, will never be repeated.
Technical sheet
Project: Memorial Brumadinho
Location: Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Client: AVABRUM (Association ofFamilies of Victims and Those Affected by the Collapse of the Córrego do Feijão Mine Dam)
Architects and Interior Design: Gustavo Penna Arquiteto e Associados
Lighting Design: Atiaîa Lighting Design (Mariana Novaes/principal; Pedro Ferreira, Bárbara de Oliveira, Elisa Campos - collaborators)
Project Manager: Olhar 360 Projetos
Landscape: Medra Paisagismo
Signage: Greco
Exhibition design project for the Memory and Testimony Spaces: Júlia Peregrino
Lighting of the exhibition design for the Memory and Testimony Spaces: Cesar de Ramires
Installation of quartz crystals with fiber optics: Demian Quincke
Suppliers: Arte em Cena, Fasa Fibra Ótica, Interlight, Lemca, Lightsource, Lumicenter, Luxion, O/M Light
About Atiaîa Lighting Design
Founded in 2016 by Mariana Novaes, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from Tupi-Guarani, Atiaîa means ray of light, which reflects luminosity. These qualities are sought daily in the practice and in its professional conduct. Their approach is integral, looking to contribute to the well-being and enchantment of those who enjoy the spaces. They design in collaboration with all disciplines and clients, with excellence: from the user's needs and experience, observation of contexts, inspired in light phenomena and space’s qualities. They are research driven, while attentive to detail and the technical depth of solutions.
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Very High-resolution image : 22.39 x 14.92 @ 300dpi ~ 37 MB
Inside the entrance hall, a crystal druse honors the jewels, the way the victims' families remember their lost loved ones. The darkness, brushed by small skylights with integrated projectors, invites to the reflection on the shock of the overwhelming force of the mud.
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The Meditation Space, a large multipurpose hall, opens onto the landscape. Its activities can extend to the outdoor amphitheater, reinforcing the collective and communal character of the project. Different scenes provide various atmospheres, from direct to indirect lighting.
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An example of lighting and signage integration. Made of Corten steel, the signage mimics the shapes, views, and angles of the architectural design, showing the way almost silently.
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External living area, between the entrance Pavilion and the Rift. The openings allow views to the Cafeteria and part of the Meditation Space. Grazing fixtures uplight concrete walls and eaves. The druse's reflecting pool is not illuminated but reflects its surroundings.
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“What memory loves remains eternal. I love you with memory, imperishable.” Adélia Prado's poem plan grazing lights presents the low relief of signage letters with light and shadow effects, also highlighting texture and color of the concrete mixed with pigment of the mining waste.
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The path is a 230m cleavage, a literal and symbolic rift that cuts through the terrain to point towards the exact site of the dam failure. Ipê flowers, symbol of life and resilience, remember the flame of candle lights and evoke a procession.
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Three spaces have been carved into the earth at the midpoint of the rift. To the left, Memory, where the families honour their loved ones. To the right, Testimonial, where the facts of the tragedy are displayed, and a sacred space that holds the victims’ recovered remains.
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Fiber optic endlight terminals with lenses are integrated into the concrete for uplighting the waterfall and also integrated into the sculpture nose for highlighting the tears. The water streams are illuminated with a sidelight hose type fiber optic.
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From the sculpture's geometric eyes, tears flow continually., forming a veil over the concrete walls. The water, a symbol of memory and purification, runs through the space in two streams until it reaches the reflecting pool under the observation deck, where mourning meets contemplation.
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At the viewpoint, the valley landscape unfolds a surface that has been hit and stained by mud. The lake reflects the sky during the day, and at night it pays a final tribute to the victims, since the mining landscape cannot be the only one still shining on the horizon.
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At the bottom of the lake, 272 fiber optic terminals were installed, programmed to oscillate to create a starry sky effect. A map of the celestial sphere at 12:01 AM on January 25, 2019, the date of the dam burst, is projected onto the lakebed. Light is presence, it is life.
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