Co-designing inclusive war memorials for metaphoric symbolism

This article profiles the development of the Melbourne Korean War Memorial and shows how a memorial can provide a sense of inclusion by considering symbolism in all aspects of design. We argue that through metaphoric symbolism we can demonstrate a contemporary memorial as an educational tool for all visitors and future generations, while honouring the sacrifice of servicemen and women. We focus on co-design research to examine how facilitated engagement with multiple stakeholders plays a fundamental role in conceiving cultural objects within an urban context, and demonstrate meaning by reflecting on the design, engineering and construction of the Melbourne Korean War Memorial.