Design team presents 60% Pulse Memorial plan; survivors and family allies object to visitor center and reuse of materials

Designers for the Pulse Memorial presented a 60% design to the public in Orlando, outlining a visitor pavilion and plaza, an Angel ellipse honoring the 49 victims, a survivors commons and interior interpretation intended to connect visitors to the former nightclub while supporting reflection and healing.

The design team — led by Berardi and Partners Architects with construction by Gomez Construction Company and interpretive work from Local Projects — described major elements including a 3,500‑square‑foot visitor pavilion, a central reflecting pool sited on the footprint of Pulse’s original dance floor, an obelisk with a proposed breach wall at its foundation, a 6‑foot rotating disco ball in the interior exhibit, and a Prism Tower facing Orange Avenue that references the original Pulse logo. The design team said salvaged concrete and other elements from the original building are planned for reuse across the site, and the project aims to meet LEED Silver sustainability goals.

"We wanted to have that physical connection to what was, to go into what is new," said Dan Michael Terbowitz, the architect in charge, describing plans to reuse material from the nightclub and place a breach wall at the obelisk’s base. "That moment that was that defining moment that ended the tragedy," he said, acknowledging the element is "conflicted" among survivors.

The construction lead said contract documents are being prepared and subcontractor procurement will follow. "We'll get started here this fall," said Steve Corrao of Gomez Construction Company.

Public commenters used the meeting’s public‑comment portion to press the city on interpretation and curation choices. "The visitor center is extremely problematic and deeply inappropriate," said public commenter Zachary Blair, who argued the city has omitted discussion of police failures, blocked exits and alleged code violations from the memorial’s narrative and warned that artifacts such as chandeliers, disco balls and posters could sanitize survivors’ experiences.

"Don't preserve the murderer. Don't reuse crime scene materials," said Christine Hanavan, an ally of Pulse families, who urged planners not to incorporate elements—such as floorboards or the breach wall—that she described as containing the memory of the killer and as retraumatizing for survivors and families.

Designers and staff repeatedly emphasized sensitivity and survivor needs while also explaining design intentions. Nico Guian of Local Projects said exhibit content and wording are placeholders at this stage and that the team plans a restrained timeline of entries and a carefully curated set of artifacts and imagery. He described a neutral palette punctuated by content to help visitors place the events of June 12, 2016, in context and to emphasize both local and international responses to the tragedy.

Some attendees supported the design. An in‑person speaker said the memorial presentation was "beautiful" and that not all families and survivors oppose the current approach.

Organizers closed the meeting after public comment, noting that the session was not structured for back‑and‑forth responses. Attendees were invited to review display boards and staff said next steps include issuing contract documents and progressing to construction procurement.