engineering.
A memorial to Cherry Groce has been revealed at Windrush Square, 35 years after her shooting sparked the Brixton Riot of 1985. AKT II has supported Adjaye Associates in designing a memorial that is not just a pavilion structure but a beam of hope for the community.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the event was live streamed on Sunday 25th April. The online broadcast featured 15 official guests who were able to take part in the unveiling, including Cherry Groce’s family.
Dorothy ‘Cherry’ Groce was an innocent Mother who was shot, in front of her children by the Metropolitan police after they raided her house in September 1985. She survived but became paralysed from the waist down by the shooting and passed away in 2011 as a direct result of her injuries.
AKT II has supported Adjaye Associates in designing a memorial that is not just a pavilion structure but a beam of hope for the community. The design complements the existing features of Windrush Square and the neighbouring Memorial to African and Caribbean soldiers. The memorial’s canopy is indicative of protection and shelter, with the single column and roof representative of Cherry’s strength and support for her local community.
‘The pureness and simplicity of the architectural form belie the engineering complexity of realising such an extreme cantilever of such apparent weight. The delicate balance is achieved through the optimisation of the internal geometry within the precast concrete units so as to minimise the overturning moments of the cantilever. The concrete elements are heavily reinforced with steel to accommodate the high forces, which in turn requires an intricate and complex fabrication process, as well as the development of bespoke connection details. The result is a form that seems to effortlessly defy gravity, but in fact is working very hard to do so’. Gavin Sayers, Director, AKT II
The installation of the memorial, designed by architect Sir David Adjaye, has been funded by the Lambeth London Borough Council in partnership with the Groce family and Adjaye Associates.
