- Your design proposal was selected from a selection list of five concepts by celebrated teams.
- Includes a new bridge that is inspired by the Tiara wedding of the late Queen, a prince Philip Gate and new gardens.
- The last plans for the monument in St. James' Park will be announced next year.
Foster + Partners won the competition for the design of the National Memorial for Queen Elizabeth II.
Five final teams were asked to create a master plan that would honor and celebrate the extraordinary life of the service of Queen Elizabeth and made a room available to the public to think.
Foster + Partners' winning design concept celebrates the life of Queen Elizabeth in a time great change, the balance of tradition and modernity, public duty and private faith, the United Kingdom and a Global Commonwealth. The design concept shows how it brought together these dualities: two goals, two gardens, combined with a bridge and a uniform path.
The Design Concept of Foster + Partners offers Figurative Sculptures and a new Prince Philip Gate. It also has gardens dedicated to the Commonwealth and the communities of the United Kingdom to create spaces for reflection and come together. Artistic installations celebrate the diversity of the nation. A new bridge that replaces the existing blue bridge will contain a cast glass balustrade that remembers Queen of Elizabeth's wedding.
This design concept will change if it goes through a refinement.
The selection committee of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee found Foster + Partners' design, balancing formal and informal elements, impressive and able to create a committed landmark for the coming generations. The committee also appreciated art, the use of space, the technical skills and its sensitivity to the location of the monument.
The winning team comprises the artist Yinka Shonibar and the famous landscape designer Michel Desvigne.
Chancellor of the Duchy Lancaster Pat McFadden said:
Queen Elizabeth II was admired worldwide. The fantastic design concept of Foster + Partners will be a wonderful monument to your life and her legacy of the public service. In the heart of our capital there is a room to think and celebrate our longest reigning monarchs for the coming centuries.
The panel selected the design concept of Foster + Partners from a selection list of suggestions of five leading multidisciplinary teams. During the competition, the public was encouraged to commemorate their views on the design concepts to commemorate the longest -reigning monarchs in Great Britain.
The committee also consulted experts in art, heir, architecture, structure engineering, placemaking and accessibility to find the best concept to honor Queen Elizabeth.
The chairman of the Commission, Robin Janvrin, said:
The choice of the winner was not an easy task. All five teams in the closer selection produced creative designs of the highest quality.
The ambitious and thoughtful master plan of Foster + partners will enable us and future generations to appreciate Queen Elizabeth's life, while she has brought the continuity and change with strong values, common sense and optimism during her long time.
The committee member Valerie Amos said:
The design of Foster + Partners brings the many contributions from Queen Elizabeth to the life of people in the entire United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Your ambitious design will create a beautiful room where people come together, think about their legacy and share stories for the coming generations.
Founder and Executive Chairman from Foster + Partners Norman Foster said:
It is an honor and privilege for our team to award this project too. Your majesty loved history and tradition. This is reflected in the inspiration of the original design of St. James's Park by Sir John Nash. Some of his principles survived, while others have been lost and are restored, creating a family of gardens that have teamed up with gently meandering paths.
I knew the queen on formal occasions, but also enjoyed her informality when she took part in events as a member of the order of Merit. We tried to reflect these properties of the formal and informal in our design with a call about a variety of age groups and interests. For these purposes, we discreetly stretched the limits of art and technology with a deliberately gentle intervention. Our design will have the minimum effect on nature and biodiversity of the park and is introduced to ensure that the precious route is never closed.
The heart of our master plan is a translucent bridge that is symbolic for your majesty as a uniform force and nations, countries that bring commonwealth, charity organizations and the armed forces together.
Foster + Partners will now develop his original concept in a close partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee. You will work together to select a sculptor to design the figurative element of the monument. The committee will announce the sculptor later this year.
The monument is located in St. James's Park, an area of historical and constitutional importance, which also has a personal connection to Queen Elizabeth II. An area of the park next to the shopping center on Marlborough Gate will be included, an area next to the bird cage walk and replace the existing bridge between the two with a new intersection.
In April 2026, the final design will be officially announced in addition to a legacy program to collapse with Queen Elizabeth's hundredth birthday.