February 24, 2023. Russia invaded Ukraine. The human catastrophe keeps mounting, thousands dead, millions displaced, and peace seems beyond our grasp. This atavistic nightmare, a scene from WWII, is Putin’s war, a war on democracy, on human decency. Putin is a monster of epic proportions, devoid of empathy, incapable of repentance. This tragedy reminds us why repentance, Teshuva, is foundational to a moral life, for freedom, for justice.

The war’s atrocities and devastation have brought us a new moral clarity, of freedom vs. tyranny and a new urgency. When peace comes, how does one rebuild after war, a pandemic, economic and environmental collapse?

“An Homage to Ukraine” is an allusion to George Orwell’s “Homage to Catalonia”, recounting his personal experiences during the Spanish Civil War. Then and now, it is a struggle of democratic aspirations against fascist oppression. This is also a personal journey.

As a child of the Cuban Revolution, growing up under communism, out of empathy for Ukraine’s struggle for self-determination after Euro-Maidan (2014), for the sake of freedom, we proposed “Constellations” (2015) a memorial to Euro-Maidan and a Master Plan for Central Kyiv. It received two awards, one for the memorial and one for the Master Plan.

As the grandchild of Holocaust victims, for the sake of justice, the next year we contributed “Yahtzeit Candles”, (2016) a Master plan and Memorial for Babyn Yar, also in Kyiv. It also received an award, and let to the opportunity to present it in Kyiv.

This project led to “Remember Sambir”, a design commission for a smaller Holocaust site in Western Ukraine, to new Ukrainian friends and partners, and to intimate encounters with the toxic legacy of authoritarian and antisemitic violence.

These projects illustrate how Landscapes tell Stories, and our use of “Urban Pentimento” for artistic inspiration.

BLOG 1. On Art and Memory.

"Lucky me to be born in Havana, and there I became a singer of songs..."

Celia Cruz, La Dicha Mia. With Johnny Pacheco).

Beautiful Havana, with its lively streets and squares, inspired my dream to become an architect, to build beautiful cities and create happy places.

I still have many fond memories, walking fast with my father and going to the Carnaval in the Paseo del Prado with my mother and sister. I still recall when my 3rd grade teacher took us on a field trip to the Plaza Vieja in Old Havana and taught us about the Law of the Indies; she made me understand that beautiful sites are found, and beautiful cities are built.

I grew up under the Revolution and immigrated to New York City with my family in January 1968, at the height of the Civil Rights and Anti-War struggles in the United States. This intimate experience of place and displacement, of life and action, has inspired my profound empathy for people and places, and it has shaped my life and art.

“Landscapes tell stories” of joy and happiness, of loss and sorrow. Each place and each story is unique. How to tell these stories?

Here, I will share my design adventures, travels, and travails.

PROJECTS will include built and proposed projects. On occasion, we will shift narrative perspective to share lessons gleaned along the way.

MIRIAM’S MUSINGS will include meditations on polis and politics, on art and fashion.

Join us on this journey.