{"id":6337,"date":"2019-11-18T08:22:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T14:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arch.tamu.edu.staging2.juiceboxint.com\/news\/2019\/11\/18\/bonfire-memorial-honors-aggies-lost-injured-20-years-ago\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T13:39:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T18:39:48","slug":"bonfire-memorial-honors-aggies-lost-injured-20-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/news\/2019\/11\/18\/bonfire-memorial-honors-aggies-lost-injured-20-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonfire Memorial honors Aggies lost, injured 20 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 20 years since the collapse of Bonfire, the Nov. 18, 1999 tragedy that took the lives of 12 Aggies and injured 27 others.<\/p>\n

Five years later, the Bonfire Memorial<\/a>, which celebrates the tradition, history, spirit of Texas A&M and the dedication of those involved in Bonfire\u2019s tragic collapse, was dedicated.<\/p>\n

The memorial\u2019s design, comprised of three main elements \u2014 Tradition Plaza, History Walk and Spirit Ring \u2014 was created by a team of architects led by Robert Shemwell ’82<\/a>, a principal with Overland Partners, a San Antonio design firm.<\/p>\n

He said the structure\u2019s design and construction was more than just the creation of an object \u2014 it was the creation of a shared experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the very unique things about the memorial \u2014 it requires active participation. You inhabit it. It doesn’t become complete without you there,\u201d said Shemwell at a program in Rudder Auditorium the night before the memorial\u2019s Nov. 18, 2004 dedication.<\/p>\n

Shemwell, an Outstanding Alumnus<\/a> of the College of Architecture, said the project had three design objectives: commemoration of the tragedy, celebration of unity and reflection of Bonfire history. He added that the memorial could not have reached its full potential without the participation of the families of the lost Aggies. The families\u2019 input, he said, was the key to putting a lot of power and authority in the design.<\/p>\n

Selected from nearly 200 entries in a year-long international competition coordinated by faculty in the college\u2019s Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning<\/a>, Shemwell\u2019s design was the unanimous choice of a jury whose members included leading design professionals, family representatives and Texas A&M student, faculty and alumni representatives.<\/p>\n

The memorial was included alongside the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial as one of America\u2019s 37 most beloved national landmarks in \u201cMonuments\u2014America\u2019s History in Art and Memory,\u201d a 2007 book by bestselling author and architectural historian Judith Dupr\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a palpable, physical sensation of having left ordinary time and entered an eternal dimension,\u201d said Dupr\u00e9 of entering the memorial\u2019s centerpiece, the granite Spirit Ring, which was built where Bonfire once burned.<\/p>\n

She compares the Ring, which features 12 16-foot tall gateways, one to commemorate each of the 12 Aggies killed in the tragedy, to Stonehenge and other ancient ceremonial circles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether old or new,\u201d she writes, \u201csuch stones consecrate a cyclical ordering of time as it has always been marked, and affirm that the present moment, along with what once was and will be, is part of the sacred continuum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dupr\u00e9 also wrote about the technical challenges faced during the memorial\u2019s construction. One hurdle was created by the Spirit Ring\u2019s stone portals, which could not be set in the site\u2019s damp soil due to their immense weight; a suspended foundation system was devised to absorb the movement of the portals.<\/p>\n

An underground drainage system was devised to handle College Station\u2019s almost 40-inches a year rainfall total.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery tool of art, architecture, and landscape was used to mitigate various site challenges, including an adjacent parking lot for several thousand cars that was visually jarring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She was especially impressed by a berm, which she termed \u201ca cradling mound of earth\u201d that was constructed to block the view of the lot and situate the memorial.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact rnira@arch.tamu.edu<\/a> or doswald@tamu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 20 years since the 1999 tragedy that took the lives of 12 Aggies and injured 27 others. Five years later, the Bonfire Memorial was dedicated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":6338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[86,64],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTexas A&M Bonfire Memorial honors Aggies lost, injured 20 years ago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 1999 tragedy that took the lives of 12 Aggies and injured 27 others. 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