Winning Pulse nightclub memorial, museum design will tower above downtown

ORLANDO, Fla. – The National Pulse Memorial and Museum will tower above South Downtown Orlando, according to the winning design concept revealed Wednesday by the onePULSE Foundation.

The winning concept from Coldegy with RDAI and HHCP, unveiling during a ceremony at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, features a reflecting pool encircling the Pulse building with a palette of 49 colors lining the water basin and radiating out toward the public spaces.

According to renderings of the design, a pathway will connect West Kaley Street to the museum. The circular museum center will be visible for miles, signaling the entrance to the Pulse district.

The museum, garden, memorial and pathways to and from the spaces will completely change the face of the Orlando SoDo District along South Orange Avenue and West Kaley Street.

"The Pulse is the source, the place of events which echoed throughout the world, the point of departure of a project transforming hearts, minds and inspiring the Orlando SoDo district development," according to a news release from the design team.

A rooftop promenade will offer views to the memorial and over the entire district.

A garden will feature 49 trees that will provide a colorful canopy, and the former nightclub will be at the center of the garden.

"In this haven of peace and tranquility, we discover the transformed nightclub, opening to the light and air, inviting us to traverse an intimate path; opening our consciousness," according to the design team.

The winning design was among six finalists chosen during an international competition.

The full team includes Coldefy & Associes with RDAI, Orlando-based HHCP Architects, Xavier Veilham, dUCKS sceno, Agence TER and Professor Laila Farah.

The six finalists were on display in an exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center earlier this month.

[RELATED: Design finalists unveiled for Pulse Nightclub Museum | Land purchased for future site of Pulse Museum]

Visitors were able to give their feedback on the designs at the exhibit, which was open to the public for a week.

"We did our best to incorporate everything that we got from the foundation from the different surveys that they did to understand the community," Zoltan Neville from Coldefy & Associes said.

Each model was developed around the Pulse community's vision to honor all 49 victims. The memorial and museum will include the Orlando Health Survivors Walk and will be built at the site of the Pulse nightclub.

[MORE: Disney CEO Bob Iger relives aftermath of Pulse, speaking to father of toddler killed by gator]

Family and friends of Pulse shooting victims, along with survivors and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings were present for the unveiling at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

"I-4 is going to go by the Holocaust Museum and Pulse museum, and they will both be tall, iconic features so I think it will be this great features for the downtown area," Dyer said.

Pulse owner Barbara Poma said she's pleased with the design.

"I love how they really encompassed everything that we have asked them to," Poma said. "It's really reflective of how Orlando responded." 

Poma said the OnePulse Foundation has about $16 million raised so far. The projected cost for both projects is $45 million. 

The National Pulse Memorial and Museum is scheduled to open in 2022.