8/18/2019 Lily Yeh Essay

1/2

Lily Yeh: Extra Credit Assignment.

In making and identifying a sacred place, people have long been able to

make a space ith no meaning on ith a so!l thro!gh physical change. In

"andolf #ester$s chapter %&acredness% of 'esign for Ecological 'emocracy,

he talks abo!t the de(nition of a sacred place and ho it can achieve a greatpositive change in a comm!nity. Lily Yeh$s memorial garden for the people of

"!gerero, "anda exempli(es some of #ester$s ideas on making an

preserving a sacred place.

 )o s!mmaries #ester$s ritings, a place can have symbolism and rootedness

thro!gh *estalt design. )his concept of design orks ith the facts of a place

and combines them to make a strong, !ni+!e design. A sacred place

embodies the highest val!es of people, their convictions, and their virt!es. It

also makes peoples$ eorts visible thro!gh giving them a connection and

responsibility to the place and its character. -anteo, orth Carolina, theresidents ere asked to do a s!rvey and mark the places that they tho!ght

ere !ni+!e, sacred, and orth preserving. /hen the s!rvey as complete

and designing for a ne comm!nity started, the sacred str!ct!res helped to

emphasi0e the character of the place and in the long r!n. improved the

economy there beca!se the people had a sense of responsibility for the

str!ct!res.

In Lily Yeh$s pro1ect in "anda, many of the elements of a sacred place ere

born thro!gh her rit!alistic and expressive ork. )he front porch inspiration

in #ester$s riting reminded me of Lily and the comm!nity mixing paints in

-ama Emma$s lan in "!gerero. )his sense of comm!nity and shared

responsibility is f!ndamental to comm!nication and !ltimately, the design of

a sacred place. 2ainting the 3illage ad making the memorial honored the

past and made it possible to envision a f!t!re thro!gh the symbols and

physical elements of the space.

 )he rec!rring center, also mentioned in #ester$s %sacredness%, as a cr!cial

part of the *enocide memorial garden that Yeh lead. )he mosaic, glass4

 1eeled altar ith the ord %)ib!ke%, meaning let !s remember, gave the

people a center of shared experience and a sense of orientation, not 1!st

physically, b!t metaphorically in the comm!nity$s history and f!t!re.

Lily Yeh states that one can balance a circle of emptiness thro!gh a 5en

experience o designing a garden. the emptiness becomes f!llness hen

people are involved and asked to participate and p!t in their eorts to (ll the

space ith strength, perseverance, and character.

8/18/2019 Lily Yeh Essay

2/2

2eople, mostly children, painted the ho!ses and embellished them ith

symbolic angels, "andan colors and symbols of isdom and life. )he mica

!sed in the b!ilding of the ho!ses gave them a shimmer and red a0aleas

brightened the ho!ses as ell.

 )he memorial as painted hite and had p!rple accents. )hese colorsrepresent p!rity, serenity, and mo!rning for the "andan people. )hey

made story sticks that explained the past history and strength of the people

as a hole, and they centered the bodies and altar ith this fence of sticks

and rock and cemented mosaic parts.

2reservation is another big concept that Lily Yeh emphasi0ed hen she as

planning the garden. )his place of remembrance as there to keep the

bones of the dead safe and it as to preserve the c!lt!re in a ay. Eldefon,

the coordinator of the village and great helper to Yeh, said that she anted

this place to be a gathering for children and ad!lts, here they can learnabo!t their past and combine their ideas for greater f!t!re.