When we lose those dearest to us, commissioning a memorial to celebrate their life can be the hardest task facing us. However, it can also be the most rewarding.
Finding a lasting and meaningful way to remember a loved one can bring comfort at a time of loss. Choosing the right way to honor and to celebrate someone’s life or work can be immensely healing to the bereaved who are comforted knowing that they’re creating something beautiful to honor a memory. The act of creating a meaningful memorial is a validation of grief and love as well as an empowering act of healing and a channel for energy. It is extremely powerful to have the opportunity to think deeply around just what it is about the loved one that is to be remembered and the subject of their memorial. These acts can be done individually, as a family, or as a community.
More often than not, memories of a loved one involve music, laughter, fun, and togetherness – all things that can be incorporated into their memorial and celebration of their life. A dedicated outdoor musical instrument, music park, or trail is a joyful, lasting public tribute and an increasingly popular way for a special person’s name to live on in the heart of the community. Music is a celebration of life, full of positivity and sunshine, and a music memorial in the great outdoors can bring harmony and light into the lives of others – helping to convey something that can’t easily be put into words.
One of the biggest fears people have after the death of a loved one is that the person will be forgotten. This is even more acute when the person who died has lived a short life and choosing a suitable memorial to commemorate a young life can be particularly difficult. A musical instrument or musical space for the community to enjoy in the park or school playground could be the perfect way to celebrate the life of a friend, brother, or sister who has left this world far sooner than expected or imagined. Dedicating a sustainable legacy of inclusive music-making opportunities for other young people to enjoy in the name of a young person with a passion for music, will inspire creativity, bring people together, and smiles to faces.
There is nothing quite like time spent outdoors in a beautiful space for remembering a loved one. A memorial music garden can act as a healing place for contemplation, somewhere to offer a peaceful, calming atmosphere where families can sit and reflect, with musical instruments providing a non-threatening outlet for emotional expression. Stimulating sensory gardens are a much-loved feature with residents, families, and staff in nursing homes and senior centers. The gift of an outdoor musical instrument, such as outdoor chimes or xylophone, will create a wonderful sound, be visually attractive and encourage residents to take some gentle exercise and enjoy a little music-making outdoors in the sunshine. Visiting little ones will love exploring the instruments and all generations will enjoy the positive effects of bonding through playing music together, listening to each other, having fun, being outdoors, and being creative.
Musical memorials or tributes can be made on a grand scale – major city music parks with multiple instruments and stage for outdoor performances – or on a smaller scale such as a single drum, chimes, or xylophone donated as a remembrance gift to a special place they loved or to a local school, church, woodland or park. The size and tone can vary just as widely as the unique personalities of the individuals being memorialized. Percussion Play offers to custom engrave an instrument (where possible) to personalize it at no extra charge. However, often due to limited space on the instruments themselves, a memorial plaque, engraved with a personal inscription that reflects the loved one’s life, can be attached to or placed next to the instrument.
Music is a wonderful tool that can lift us up and what better way to honor someone who loved music, who loved the outdoors or had an adventurous spirit, than to bring provide an inclusive community place for individuals, families, or groups of friends to stroll, unwind and create great music together in a fun and carefree way.
Canary Wharf Group plc is one of the UK’s largest property development, investment, and management companies. The group has transformed Canary Wharf into 16 million square feet of superior office, retail and leisure space and created an instantly recognizable London skyline, attracting some of the world’s greatest companies.
Challenge
With the aim to transform Canary Wharf into a smarter, more aware city district, CWG launched Cognicity Challenge and invited smart city businesses from around the world to compete for the opportunity to pilot their technologies on the estate. Being known as mainly a business district, CW wanted to rebrand as a more humane space with a vibrant atmosphere and a much more personalized service that would attract not only big corporations but also startup tech companies, as well as residents to relocate to the area.
Solution
Strawberry energy was given a special award and has been selected by Group to implement its new technology – Smart Bench is specially designed to suit the needs of any district that is oriented toward smart city concept. By offering a place for a lunchtime break or a rest from shopping, four Strawberry Benches at CW property encouraged people to sit and socialize while charging their batteries – in more than one sense. Being solar-powered, they enabled CW to show its sustainability credentials and motivate people to enjoy a hands-on experience of renewable energy.
Personal quote from the client
We’re here to answer any questions! Contact us at info@eliteareas.gr .
Written by Berliner Seilfabrik Team
The imposing play equipment in the form of an almost 20 feet high climbing tower will catch your eye even from a distance. The tower shines in resplendent red, yellow and orange from the newly designed Platz der Begegnung in Heidelberg. Here on the eastern outskirts of the town, where the Schlierbach valley gently slopes down towards the Neckar River, is the Schlierbach district. A development of mainly detached urban villas extends up the steep slope, while down in the valley, Heidelberg’s main artery – consisting of the S-Bahn (suburban railway) and Bundesstraße (A-road) 37 – pulsates along the Neckar.
In the lower part of the Schlierbach slope, just above the Schlierbach-Ziegelhausen S-Bahn station, there has been the Platz der Begegnung since October 2019 – a plateau embedded in the slope, consisting of a playground, a boules court and benches. Here, citizens of all ages can meet, relax, exercise and exchange ideas.
“This is exactly what the city of Heidelberg had in mind,” explains Friedhelm Natzschka, who as a landscape architect was responsible for designing the Platz der Begegnung, “A unique place with a distinctive character was to be created that would benefit the population. A place of encounter in an area where people have previously hardly stopped and lingered. A village square outside the centre.”
The main part of the newly designed square is a fortified area of almost 3,500 square feet, which is shaped like an egg from a bird’s eye view. This shape lends an organic appeal to the square and at the same time contrasts it with the rather striking lines of the surroundings. From here, visitors can enjoy a splendid view of the Neckar valley below and the green village structure of the Ziegelhausen district on the opposite slope. Benches invite visitors to rest and linger.
The highlight of the square is the climbing tower, which is located in the “yolk” area of the square. Not only because it offers a wide range of particularly exciting activities, but also because its modern and sculptural design brings a breath of fresh air to the Platz der Begegnung. The combination of curved and straight tubes in different thicknesses reveals a twist in the façade. Resembling the structure of DNA, the play structure spirals up into the sky. The organic shapes of the round tubes and spheres complement the overall appearance of the egg-shaped square.
The climbing structure can be ascended via a three-dimensional net made of ropes inside the tower. In this way, children can climb to a height of over 13 feet and change their perspective by looking at the “world” from above. At the same time, the transparent structure allows constant eye contact with the parents on the ground. From the parents’ point of view, this makes for easy supervision. A box slide provides a speedy and exciting descent down to the ground.
“The aim was to create a real attraction for the square by installing this extraordinary play equipment. The tower not only serves as a lookout over the Neckar valley, but also draws the necessary attention to the square by being visible from afar,” says Natzschka. The striking colour scheme of red and orange tubes and the yellow-coloured net also adds to this. At the same time, the tower blends in with its surroundings by picking up the hues of the reddish flooring of the square and the plants.
Another aspect in choosing the play equipment was the size of the play volume in relation to the floor space. “Which is ideal in the case of the DNA Tower,” thinks the landscape architect, “By making optimal use of its height with the spatial net, the tower can accommodate many children at once despite its small diameter of just over nine feet.”
Playing together on one device in turn promotes social interaction among children. Through interactive play, they develop social skills, learn to show consideration for each other or help each other. This is exactly the intention of the overall concept: a place of encounter.
The “Duck Jibe” spinning element attached to the tower provides plenty of variety on the ground. It simulates a surfing manoeuvre and thus also attracts older children.
In addition to the playground, the look-out benches and the boules court, the “Schlierbach Egg” can also be used for events such as flea markets or small parties, thus providing another place of encounter. As the site is wheelchair-accessible, people of all abilities can come together.
After about nine months of construction, the Platz der Begegnung was completed in October 2019. The opening of the square was met with great enthusiasm by the numerous residents who attended and gives hope that the “Schlierbach Egg” will remain a place of encounter in the long term.
This is a project reference of Berliner Seilfabrik, in Heidelberg, Germany. If you would like to create a relevant custom-made solution in Greece or Cyprus, please do not hesitate to contact with us at info@eliteareas.gr
Newcastle University (UON) is one of the top 10 Universities in Australia with over 37,000 students.
Challenge
UON is fully committed to sustainability and aims to position itself as an example of an ecologically and socially sustainable community. UON’s Environmental and Sustainability Plan outlines the university’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. Apart from large scale projects, they wanted to bring the idea of sustainability into everyday student experience.
Solution
The solar-powered Smart Benches, with solar panels visible to everyone, were the perfect choice and tangible evidence of UON’s sustainability efforts. 10 Smart Benches were installed in most prominent places across UON campus. The Smart Benches helped them position as a sustainable campus committed to reducing CO2 emissions, while at the same time answering to new needs of today’s mobile generations – WiFi and mobile device changing.
Personal quote from the client
“It has never been more vital for the University of Newcastle to embed its principles of environmental and social sustainability into a strategic plan that will position us well and truly within the global efforts to tackle the effects of climate change.”
Professor Alex Zelinsky AO, Vice-Chancellor and President
There are plenty other installations of Strawberry Energy Smart Benches in Campuses of Universities worldwide.
We’re here to answer any questions! Contact us at info@eliteareas.gr .
