The Grenfell memorial will be “shaped by many hands, by many voices”, its design team has said, nearly nine years after the tragedy that claimed 72 lives.
The 23-storey tower is currently being dismantled, with construction of a permanent memorial expected to begin as early as next year.
Jonathan Hagos, director at architectural firm Freehaus, which is leading the memorial's design, said survivors, bereaved families and the community must be at the heart of the project.
He described it as an honour and a great responsibility. “I grew up in London,” he told the BBC. “When I think about the type of memorials and monuments I used to visit as a school kid, they were monumental and ceremonial, very rarely about ordinary people.”
“We have an opportunity to not only memorialise a deeply impactful tragedy, but also to honour ordinary Londoners who lived in this city, who made their homes here.”
The Grenfell memorial will be “shaped by many hands, by many voices”, its design team has said.
Up to 57 people face charges, including for manslaughter, over the 2017 blaze in west London. A further 20 organisations may also be prosecuted.
The Grenfell inquiry found that decades of regulatory failures, government inaction, and dishonest practices by manufacturers created the conditions for the disaster. The report concluded that warnings were repeatedly ignored and that some companies concealed the fire risks of combustible cladding.
The Bill for the memorial passed the House of Lords on the nod in April.
A final design is expected to be published next year, with the project being managed by the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission.
Messages and tributes seen in the area around the base of Grenfell Tower on February 07, 2025.
Hanan Wahabi lived in Grenfell Tower for 16 years with her husband and two children. They thankfully managed to escape the blaze, but she still carries the grief of that night.
Mrs Wahabi’s brother, sister-in-law and their three children all died in the fire after becoming trapped on the 21st floor.
She has been working with other elected volunteers and has visited memorials commemorating the Aberfan tragedy in Wales and the 9/11 site in New York to help inform decisions on the Grenfell memorial.
“People need to have somewhere to come to remember, to reflect, to connect and to grieve,” she said.
Speaking about honouring her own family, she told the BBC: “I'd like for them to be remembered as individuals who were happy, loving and a beautiful, strong family.”
The design team’s goal is to build a “sacred space” featuring a garden for people to sit and reflect, a monument to those who lost their lives, and an educational aspect for future generations to learn about the tragedy.
