Hu Huishan Memorial

The memorial hall remembers Hu Huishan, a high school student born in 1993 who was killed in the earthquake of 12 May 2008.

Its shape follows the relief tents that were everywhere in the disaster zone during the rescue. Outside, the walls are rendered in the local vernacular way, so the small building sits plainly among the trees.

Inside, the walls are painted pink, her favourite colour, and hold the things she left behind: books, clothes, a schoolbag, photographs, a racket. Light from a skylight brightens the space and makes it pure and delicate. The Chinese design team intended the memorial not only for her, but for every ordinary life lost in the earthquake.