Minimalism in contemporary memorial design has been criticised for being meaningless and inappropriate in creating powerful monuments (Long, 2007). However, abstraction in modern art and landscape design can appeal to the human 'subconscious', which inspires design and enriches the experience of viewers and visitors (Jellicoe, 1966, 1970, 1993). This study investigated the meanings and the values that contemporary memorials hold through theoretical and empirical study, by which means of 'collective identity', individual and community engagement are enriched. This notion of engagement in contemporary memorial was examined based on the psychological theories s of 'transaction' (Altman and Rogoff, 1987; Dewey and Bentley, 1949; Pepper, 1942, 1967) and 'personal projects' (Little, 1983). Some other notions, such as 'anti-memorial', 'personalisation' and 'mirroring', drawn from memorial design, environmental psychology and philosophy of art, were discussed in relation to the main theoretical background. Accordingly, this research drew a distinction between the classical memorial, where symbolic representation is viewed in isolation from the viewers and their internal cognition, and the contemporary memorial landscape with its potential for transaction and shared memory, in which a spectator becomes a participant. As memorial design is a complex and multi-layered process, a memorial project for Palestinian displacement was conducted as a complementary part to the main scientific research. It offered a complementary approach to the conventional scientific inquiry, where the research situation is not a problem to be solved, but an enquiry whose problematic situations are characterised by 'uncertainty', 'disorder' and 'indeterminacy' (Schon, 1983). The collection methods for qualitative and quantitative data were observation and behavioural mapping in conjunction with theory of 'affordances' and the 'personal projects' questionnaire of memorial users. Data was collected from three memorial landscapes in London: the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (PDMF), the 7 July Memorial (7JM) and the John F. Kennedy Memorial (JFKM). They vary in scale, design approach and process. Applying these methods enabled the researcher to attain more insights into memorial behavioural settings and their possible affordances and transactional properties. Key results of the data analysis showed that PDMF had high levels of transaction and a cathartic nature through qualities of playfulness, bodily involvement and social value. While the success of this memorial mainly lay in its cathartic and grieving quality, the ceremonial phallic design of 7JM and the allegorical landscape of JFKM did prove to create successful and powerful memorials through both their didactic and cathartic dimensions. The text and lettering embossed on the design elements helped these to occur simultaneously. The intended outcome of this research was to contribute to the recent development of the way contemporary designers and artists should approach memorial design. This was in the form of design guidelines and statements, which allowed individuals and communities to gain access to what a memorial could symbolise. This could be achieved through memorial physical forms representing different meanings associated with the commemorated subject, and by addressing the memorial design process in relation to both users' perception and designer's intention.

The master thesis is a research about the relationship between memorials and light. It first studies the characteristics of cultural memories and tries to find what the advantages of using lighting as a means of commemoration are. The nowadays memorials are very different compared to the traditional monuments and they should include a changing narrative, treating local and universal messages. They should involve the public.A contemporary memorial is ephemeral and continuously changing- the same as light is.A series of contemporary memorials have been selected to understand the tools that makes them successful. Furthermore, it was analyzed how these parameters could be achieved through light. 12 memorials that use light as an eloquent tool have been interpreted according to certain criteria.The second part of the thesis is an applied project related to the events that happened in Timisoara, Romania, in 1989 during the anticommunist Revolution. The process of creating memorials for Timisoara is a key focus of the study. The development is equally important as the end result. It searches for the significant messages and lessons of the event. Testimonials of the participants to the revolution have been studied. Interviews and questionnaires have been developed. Following this, significant places in the city and messages were chosen. The research will conclude with a lighting installations project proposal.