WHAT IS A HYBRID MEMORIAL?
The term “hybridity” in the context of memorial architecture can be taken to mean the fluidity of multiple symbols. Therefore, a hybrid space has multiple, simultaneous, constantly shifting symbolic meanings. The individual visitors who interact with the memorial each create their own associations and meanings that are given to the space. The memorial must act as the medium through which people project their own thoughts and feelings onto the site. A hybrid space has the potential to change in meaning either over time or for people of different cultural and social backgrounds.
Looking at memorials as hybrid spaces allows us to best analyze their capacity to serve as continuously shifting symbols. Memorials’ meanings can evolve over time as people’s memories are altered or new knowledge of historical events emerges. As a result, a variety of individuals’ perceptions form because of differing levels of information or the breadth and depth of emotions that the visitor feels towards the historical event that brought about its construction. Not all memorials exemplify the qualities of a hybrid space, but the more hybridity, or fluidity of symbol, is associated with its meaning, the more effective it is as a memorial site. By analyzing memorials as hybrid spaces we can pinpoint which qualities are most effective so that we can build better memorials in the future.
