New York-based architects Janette Kim and Chloe Town had never been to the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park before winning the design competition for a new memorial. But they just knew what would make for a compelling creation for the seven-acre dell based on their personal experiences with AIDS.

"I’ve witnessed firsthand the way the disease ravishes the body," said Town, who grew up among artists in Toronto. "I knew a lot of gay men who contracted HIV. They died many years ago, but their memories are very vivid, and I miss them very much."

Titled "Living Memorial," Kim and Town’s design has been described as a "no-holds-barred reality check for a disease that now kills 8,000 people each day." Meant to symbolize the rebirth that takes place after the devastation of a forest fire, the design features a walkway made of charred wood and black carbon fiber rods interspersed among live trees. But the charred areas will be given new vegetation, signifying the renewed beginnings of life, just as is found in nature after a forest fire.

"We would imagine that this landscape is one that creates a kind of counterpoint against the green, lush, verdant environs of the grove, and in doing so, creates a space that might cause one to reflect or become more aware of one’s emotions," said Kim. "But in addition to this really stark landscape, we want to introduce the regrowth of plants and seedlings amidst the charred wood surface, and our hope is that you could see this greenery grow back over time."

Memorial contest co-chair Ken Ruebush said that he found the design frightening at first, but it became more beautiful to him and commended the architects’ boldness.

"I think it’s a design that no matter where you come from in the world, if your life has been impacted by AIDS, you will understand this gesture," said Ruebush. "It doesn’t need to be explained. You will feel it. You will understand it."

Kim and Town beat out 200 other entries from around the world and were announced the winners on March 23. However, their design still has a way to go before being built, if at all. There are legal obstacles to clear and supporters must raise at least $2 million. A committee must also determine whether the grove needs a new memorial or if it should stay as it has since its inception in 1989. As it currently exists, the grove, situated below street level in Golden Gate Park, is a peaceful meadow surrounded by trees and small monuments to AIDS victims.

Kim learned about designing memorials while working with Maya Lin, the world-renowned architect who won the design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., when she was a 21-year-old college student at Yale. Kim hopes that building a national AIDS memorial will spark a public dialogue in the way the Vietnam memorial did in the early 1980s, as Americans were still doing some soul searching over that war. Kim and Town believe AIDS has slipped as a priority for the American public.