“Leading with students at the front of this experience is so critically important for what we value here at the University of Idaho,” Blaine Eckles, the Dean of Students, said at the design charrette for the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial on Friday.
A design charrette is a gathering for creative design and planning, or the first step of brainstorming ideas.
The Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial is a project that hopes to memorialize and remember all the Vandals who have passed away while enrolled at the university. The project will also include a memorial for Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen, the students lost last November.
Student participation in the project was emphasized as important by Eckles.
“From the get-go we have led with the value of putting students first in the healing experience,” Eckles said. “Out of the inspiration of coming together as a community, the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial Committee came together, and we started putting together what it took to create a healing space on campus where our students, employees and community members can come together to not only remember those we lost, but also create a space where we can heal.”
Andrew Giacomazzi, a member of the Sigma Chi, the fraternity Ethan Chapin was a member of, and Jaden Anderson, a member of the Alpha Phi, the sorority Kaylee Goncalves was a member of, joined the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial Committee to represent them.
“One of the things Jaden and I talked about was how, in that time [November], it felt like you couldn’t do anything to help, and this was a way for us to help as much as we could,” Giacomazzi said.
“I really want to help and put in my input of who I know [Kaylee Goncalves] was. I just want to find a way to help and heal,” Anderson said.
The design charrette was hosted by the Idaho Design Build Studio and the Landscape Architecture Program, who are the design team for the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial. Students from various disciplines, faculty and community members came together to discuss different ideas related to the garden and memorial.
At the charrette, the MacLean Field and the Memorial Steps were announced as the two locations that were being considered for where the healing garden and memorial will be located.
The design team moderated different tables to promote discussion on ideas for the future healing garden and memorial.
Heather Blaschka, a Communication and Psychology student, says that some of the discussions at the tables were about favorite locations on campus, what feelings the garden and memorial should evoke, what materials should be used and the pros and cons of each location.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how the space needs to reflect healing for all students. We are very impacted by the spaces that we’re in, and a lot of us don’t realize that” Blaschka said.
Kylee Monroe, a Landscape Architecture graduate student, said that the charrette is the biggest part of communicating with the community.
“We’ve spoken with the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial Committee that was put together by the university, but this is us bringing the community together to start getting feedback for the first time. We’ve had so many people show up today, so it’s really special. A lot of people are very open with their preferences for how the site should look,” Monroe said.
Scott Lawrence, Associate Professor of Architecture, and the professor of the Idaho Design Build Studio, spoke to the importance of the project and the opportunity for architecture students to collaborate and work on a meaningful project.
“There is a culture of creativity and excitement in our college and I’m hoping that that leads to a space that is hopeful as much as it is meaningful and is about the vibrancy of life,” Lawrence said. “We’re in the studio thinking about the problem seriously but approaching it with the joy we know it needs to have.”
The Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial’s project timeline will be dependent on the budget. Currently, $216,000 has been raised for the project, but much more will be needed before the project can be built. Donations can still be made at the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial website.
Architecture and Idaho Design Build Studio students Quinn Anderson and Madailein McLenna also expressed their excitement in being part of the design team for the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial.
“We’re hoping that from the outcome of this event, we get a lot of good feedback from the community and then we’re able to use that to inform our decisions moving forward,” Anderson said. “Just using what we learn today to ultimately choose a site that works best for the community’s vision and then bringing that to life.”
“We are all so determined to make this [healing garden and memorial] happen that it is hard to even think about facing potential obstacles. The worth of the project is so much more than what we might face or be challenged with during the process, so we will work through any challenges that arise,” McLenna said.
Georgia Swanson can be reached at [email protected]