Memorial Hall locates the force of commemoration in feelings that develop gradually through movement. The building keeps a low profile along a Danxia-stone hillside, its grey tiled roofs and white walls continuing the neighbouring houses. Inside, the height, light and enclosure of the sky wells give the low building a sense of upward reach and depth. This relationship between a subdued presence and an elevated spatial experience establishes its commemorative atmosphere.

Two interacting systems organise the hall. Inward-facing exhibition rooms accommodate objects, sculpture and accounts of historical events; an outward-facing, porous system of courts preserves old trees, plants and changing weather. The placement of these voids divides the exhibition into rooms of different sizes and sets the rhythm of a visit. Courts with ceremonial, poetic and sublime qualities succeed one another, joining the viewing of exhibits, movement and pauses into a continuous act of remembrance.

Carefully controlled boundaries allow the two systems to permeate one another. Alternating vertical strips of wall and glass admit light and tree shadows from bright courts into darker rooms while maintaining enclosure. Red and yellow rooflights bring in views of the wooded slope and tall courtyard trees from above. Filtered through coloured light, familiar scenery becomes fragments with the character of memory. Dispersed horizontal views and light from overhead keep visitors aware of nature while drawing them into the emotional register of the memorial.

Three terraces and a looping ramp negotiate more than ten metres of level change. Existing camphor trees, osmanthus and bamboo anchor the courtyard sequence. Ordinary masonry construction, white render and local Danxia stone restrain costs and the visual prominence of materials and details, giving light, voids and bodily movement the principal expressive role.