Daniel Libeskind has been chosen to design a masterplan for the Auschwitz Research Centre on Hate, Extremism and Radicalisation (Archer) in Poland.
Archer will be located at the former home of Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss, also known as House 88, in a project sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Unesco, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the Auschwitz–Birkenau Museum.
Rudolf Höss and House 88 were the subject of the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer.
The centre will house a permanent exhibition organized by Italian composer Francesco Lotoro, which contains a collection of music written in camps.
Libeskind said: “By transforming this house, once a symbol of unimaginable evil, into a centre of learning, action and remembrance, we can ensure that future generations never forget what took place here.
“It is my hope that this project can be designed to serve as a legacy, turning horror into hope, and reminding all of us that from the depths of darkness, we can create a beacon of light for the world.”
House 88 opened to the public for the first time on 27 January, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz–Birkenau by the Red Army.
Mark Wallace, CEP’s founder, said: “We honour the families and victims of the Holocaust by, for the first time, opening the house to all. The ordinary house of the greatest mass murderer will now be converted into the extraordinary symbol of that fight.”
- Subscribe here to get stories about construction around the world in your inbox three times a week
Further Reading:
