I was honored to design and build a portable steel stand for a memorial bell used in Path of Valor, a project envisioned by Carroll Harris to honor fallen American service members and their loved ones. The stand was designed as both a functional support and a sculptural element, carrying the weight of the bell while fitting the symbolic experience of walking a maze toward a moment of remembrance.
The project invites family members and friends of fallen soldiers to walk a two-dimensional maze laid out on the ground, slowly making their way toward the center. At the end of that walk, they are given a moment of remembrance, marked by the ringing of a memorial bell. The experience draws inspiration from ancient cultural and battlefield rituals, where sound, movement, and symbolic passage were used to honor sacrifice, grief, and memory.
My role was to create a stand that could support the bell safely while also fitting the visual and emotional language of the project. The final design uses an open arched form, allowing the bell to hang clearly and remain approachable from multiple sides. The structure was built in a triangular formation for strength, stability, and safety, especially given the weight of the bell.
The stand also needed to be practical. It had to be portable, easy to assemble and disassemble, and capable of being transported in an average vehicle. This required balancing durability with mobility, creating a structure that could serve as both a functional support and a sculptural element within the larger memorial experience.
Visually, the stand was designed to echo the geometry of the maze itself. Its steel form supports the bell while quietly reinforcing the themes of passage, remembrance, and arrival at the center.
