Holocaust-Mahnmal

In memory to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, a memorial was built in the centre of Berlin, construction beginning on April 1, 2003, completed on December 15, 2004 and inaugurated May 10, 2005. Costing approximately 25 million euro, the site is a 19,000 square meters (4.7 acre) area covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field.

According to the project text by architect, Peter Eisenman, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. A 2005 copy of the Foundation for the Memorial's official English tourist pamphlet, however, states that the design represents a radical approach to the traditional concept of a memorial, partly because Eisenman did not use any symbolism. [Source]

More details about the concrete construction can be read in a case study from this website.