In the wake of the catastrophic 1 ½ mile diameter F-5 tornado that left a profound mark on Lubbock, Texas, MWM Architects, Inc. was tasked with a solemn mission—to design a memorial that pays homage to the 26 lives lost and narrates the city’s journey of recovery.
A 1 ½ mile diameter F-5 tornado, and, a smaller F-1 tornado, were possibly the most destructive events Lubbock, Texas has ever experienced. The F-5 destroyed numerous buildings, whole neighborhoods and ruined hundreds of airplanes at the Lubbock airport. It dissipated nearby the U.S. Weather Bureau Offices and ended its twenty-plus minutes of terror and death shortly after that.
The memorial has been awarded an American Architecture Award 2023 by The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.
The architects were asked to design a Memorial Gateway that honored the 26 people who lost their lives to the F-5 and speak to Lubbock’s recovery. Questions flooded the Design Team’s thoughts.
During the design team’s research process, Dr. Tetsuya Theodore (Ted) Frujita’s mapping of the two tornado paths popped up on Google. The Design Team then made a three-dimension construct of Dr. Frujita’s map.
They extruded up the two tornado paths and clad them in as segments of polished black granite quarried in India. On the black granite wall that reflects the F-5 path, a description of the memorial was engraved along with quotes of Lubbockites that were actually in the path of the F-5.
Their voices are the story. On the F-1 wall, the story of Lubbock’s recovery is etched in the black granite. The Team articulated the 1970 Lubbock Street patterns with brick pavers. The fountain’s purpose is to create a cascading sound that might reflect the tornado’s roar while masking the traffic noise of vehicles traveling Avenue Q.
An existing earthen knoll on the eastern half of the site where a cottonwood tree that weathered the F-5 still stands has been landscaped with flowering ornamental trees, presenting a colorful and joyful flora reflecting Lubbock’s rebirth.
A visitor can understand where they are within the city and what is happening during the twenty minutes of F-5 death and destruction.
Project: Lubbock Tornado Memorial
Architects: MWM Architects, Inc.
General Contractor: Lee Lewis Construction, Inc.
Client: City of Lubbock
Photographers: Mark Umstot Photography
