Texas Christian University, Veterans Plaza
Fort Worth, Texas

In the Veterans Plaza, we created a design that embodied the sacrifice and heroism of the veterans and their families.  In an attempt to symbolize this, we conceived of the idea of a grove of trees as a symbol of the TCU community.  When one of the trees in a grove is lost, the grove is no longer the same, leaving a patch of sky where there once was none.  In this same way, the trees missing from the grove on the west side of Veterans Plaza symbolize the absence of those veterans who were lost in war.  Within the space where the trees would have stood will be a monument structure with plaques bearing the names of the fallen.  The plaques will match the existing memorial plaques on the Beasley Mall columns.  The absence of trees above the monument will allow sunlight to penetrate the canopy of trees during the day, illuminating the monument and providing a symbolic link to the heavens.