Designed by architect Akira Kuryu, the memorial was constructed between November 2000 and December 2002.[1] The subterranean interior of the building contains a reference area, a large conference room, an anteroom with a bank of monitors showing photographs of the victims, and a stylized remembrance hall in which 12 pillars of light symbolize hope for peace.[2] An upper level serves as an abbreviated tour, with diary excerpts and a viewing station allowing visitors to view the Remembrance Hall from above. As viewed from the outside, the top of the memorial consists mainly of a tree-lined basin of water through which the 12 pillars of light continue to rise from below. At night, 70,000 fiber optic lights are illuminated across the surface of the water, symbolizing the victims.[3]