International design contest launched for Founders' Memorial
Architects across the world invited to partner local firms to create memorial
An international design contest was launched yesterday calling for proposals for the upcoming Founders' Memorial, which will be constructed in Bay East Garden in Gardens by the Bay.
Architects from all over the world are invited to take part in a bid to be appointed for the project, which will set the tone for the rest of the garden.
The winning design will be picked by a seven-member jury panel chaired by Mr Lee Tzu Yang, who also chairs the Founders' Memorial Committee set up to steer the project.
Mr Lee said the winning design should "honour the founding values of this country and make excellent use of the site".
"We envision that it will be a space which everyone of all ages can enjoy and relate to, and an icon that Singaporeans can be proud of and share with our future generations," he said.
"We are not looking for statues. We are not looking for depictions of iconographic people."
Mr Tai Lee Siang, who is on the jury panel and the Founders' Memorial Committee, said the 5ha site must be "properly and carefully planned".
"It will be the focus of Bay East Garden. Its design will set the tone for the rest of the garden," said Mr Tai, executive director (BuildSG) of the Building and Construction Authority.
The Singapore Institute of Architects has been appointed by the Founders' Memorial Committee, through the National Heritage Board, to organise the competition.
The contest will have two stages, and participants are required to submit designs for the first stage by April.
WORKSHOPS
The jury panel will shortlist up to six designs, and public engagement workshops will be organised to get Singaporeans' thoughts on them.
Shortlisted participants will then further develop their designs for stage two before the winning entry is announced at the start of next year.
The memorial will cover the period in Singapore after World War II to its first few decades of independence, focusing on key milestones and stories in the country's growth.
More than 32,000 people have been asked - through dialogues, surveys and workshops - what they want to see at the memorial.
International firms will be encouraged to partner local ones in the first stage, and will have to do so in stage two.
This is a statutory requirement and will also ensure that the memorial's designers have the necessary knowledge of Singapore's history, Mr Tai said.
The memorial is expected to be completed by 2027, and to attract one million visitors a year.
For more information about the contest, visit foundersmemorialcompetition.sg
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