Monument itself is build with glory and greatness.

However anti-monuments represents events from the darker side of history. Their building purpose is also remembering that event like monuments except not with glory.

Enver Yağız Durak

Selcan Herdem

Because it does not celebrate something but remembers a tragedy, it is an anti-monument.

İrem Damla Yazkan

Selin Soyer

Görkem Gürocak

An anti-monument is simple  and makes people think about something sad or serious. The Empty Library is anti-monument that remembers the burning of books by the Nazis. Instead of showing big symbols, it shows empty shelves under the ground, to remind us of what was lost. It makes people think about the past. It uses emptiness to show the pain of losing books.

Kenza Belgacem

Selen Bozkurt

nehir özcan

Ada Nil Sözer

Since it tries to explain a tragedy and gives the viewers an opportunity for experiencing discomfort and some self reflecftion on the human nature it is an anti monument

This piece of art is regarded as an anti-monument. Anti-monuments challenge memory itself, in contrast to conventional monuments that rise above the ground, honor heroes, or exalt national pride. To encourage visitors to think critically rather than accept a predetermined message, they frequently emphasize stillness, emptiness, and absence. Because Ullman decides to bury the memorial, remembering becomes an exercise of introspection.

By focusing solely on what is lost—the books, the information, and the culture destroyed—The Empty Library defies the ostentatious displays of traditional monuments. It serves as a potent illustration of how memory can be communicated through emptiness rather than presence by confronting viewers with the void created by censorship and bigotry.

Unlike traditional monuments that stand tall and glorify events, this one is subtle and hidden, inviting reflection on absence and loss.

Monuments celebrate and solidify memory, while anti-monuments question, provoke, and keep memory open to interpretation

The Empty Library by Micha Ullman is an anti-monument about the Nazi book burnings situated in Babelplatz, which was the scene of one such event. The monument is composed of a glass window on the floor and when looked upon from a certain angle above, it shows rows and rows of empty bookshelves. It is an abstract work that invites you to think and reflect, the main message is the emptiness of the shelves and the abscence of the books. These factors make it an anti-monument.

The work feels quiet but very powerful. It’s not big or heroic like old monuments. Instead, it’s simple and hidden. That’s why it’s seen as an anti-monument, it doesn’t celebrate victory, it reminds us of loss.

The difference between anti-monument and monument is: Monuments honor people, events, or ideas and are usually grand or symbolic. Anti-monuments question or critique traditional memorials, focusing on absence, forgotten histories, or provoking thought.

This title refers both to physical distancing and emotional separation during lockdowns.

Our design is an anti-memorial.

Rather than pointing to heroism, it focuses on absence, vulnerability, and isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is not to glorify the event but to encourage reflection and emotional engagement.

The main audience is future generations, especially young people who did not directly experience the pandemic.

It is also intended for everyday visitors who pass through public spaces, allowing accidental encounters with memory.

The memorial shows that human connection is fragile, and that collective crises reveal social inequalities, loneliness, and interdependence.

It emphasizes empathy, responsibility toward others, and remembrance of ordinary lives lost, not just statistics.

The design is abstract, not literal. Visitors walk through separated panels, physically experiencing distance and silence.

The design is inspired by counter-memorial approaches such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Holocaust memorials, especially their use of abstraction, reflection, and emotional participation rather than heroic representation.

Material: Concrete and glass (cold, and reflective surfaces)

• Form: Narrow pathways with empty spaces between vertical panels

• Imagery: Shadows, reflections, and negative space

• Names: No individual names but instead, dates marking lockdown periods

The design is abstract, not literal. Visitors walk through separated panels, physically experiencing distance and silence.

2- The main audience is Turkey citizens, especially survivors of earthquake and all people who were affected from the earthquake at that area.

3- The ideological statement is “the earthquake is a natural disaster, but the destruction created by the earthquake is not natural” And “the home is more than a building”

4- “Hatay Earthquake Memorial”

5- It has an abstract design. There is a large landscape. In the middle, there is a broken faultline. The ground around the broken fault is sloping and uneven. With this uncertainty and imbalance, while people are walking, they can understand what the earthquake felt like. The material is concrete and the location is the Hatay Cumhuriyet Meydanı, which is one of the most affected areas from the earthquake.

6- We are influenced by Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We tried to create an abstraction, and make people think about the effect of the earthquake and its consequences. In addition, we want people to remember this event and take precautions to prevent its consequences for the next time.