A national memorial to the late Queen will be built in a reimagined St James’s Park, Central London, and a shortlist of five ambitious proposals have been revealed. A little green haven between Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Horse Guards, The Mall and Birdcage Walk, the park is currently home to some 40 pelicans and statues of the monarch’s parents, George VI and the Queen Mother. All five entrants have chosen the lake, remnant of the lost River Tyburn, as a focal point and the budget will be between £23 million and £46 million. The public is now invited to offer comment, which the Evaluation Panel will take into account when choosing a winner this summer.
One proposal, from Heatherwick Studio (above; with Halima Cassell, MRG Studio, Webb Yates and Arup), incorporates a Memorial Walk and bridge of 70 giant, limestone lilypads (one for each year of the Queen’s reign), with a statue in the middle beneath a canopy of eight sculptural lilies — possibly the most flamboyant option, and attractive, even if it does make St James’s Park look like Singapore and is called the Bridge of Togetherness.
Another, from Tom Stuart-Smith (with Jamie Fobert Architects, Adam Lowe (Factum Arte) and Structure Workshop) (possibly this writer’s favourite), centres on an exact cast of the 900-year-old Signing Oak in Great Windsor Park, which appears to float on a plinth in the lake, glimmering and majestic, connected to a path made of stones from all around Britain, ‘from Caithness to Cornwall’. This begins at a newly configured entrance on The Mall, where there would be a new figurative sculpture of the Queen, and passes various bronzes while a ‘soundscape of memories’ plays and touchpoints emit authentic sounds of the Commonwealth.
Wilkinson Eyre’s proposal (above; with Lisa Vandy and Fiona Clark, Andy Sturgeon Design, Atelier One and Hilson Moran), is ‘a thread of pathways and landscapes gently woven through the natural fabric of St James’s Park — its trees, lake, and terrain — creating a contemplative journey that honours her seven decades of service’. Including a pair of bridges, the threads represent ‘defining themes of Her Majesty’s life: Reign, Faith, Commonwealth, Values, Nature, Family, and Prince Philip’.
A little more widespread, Foster + Partners (above; with Yinka Shonibare and Michel Desvigne Paysagiste), suggest a ‘tranquil family of Royal gardens’ that involves new figurative sculptures of the Queen and Prince Philip, a Wind Sculpture by Yinka Shonibare and a Unity Bridge, with the Queen’s voice ‘ever present through audio installations and inscriptions, alongside an ever-evolving digital conservatory, accessible from the site, or anywhere in the world’.
In fact, digital elements are everywhere on this shortlist, an interesting sign of the times that may have befuddled John Nash, who redesigned the landscape in the 1820s, and show just how much the world changed during the Queen’s 70-year reign.
Lastly, J&L Gibbons (above; with Michael Levine RDI, William Matthews Associates, Structure Workshop and Arup) wish to create ‘a meandering flow of geology carrying people through an ephemeral choreography of blossoming and colour beneath the high tree canopy’; it’s a bridge ‘over soil, tree roots and water’ made from stone from the four nations that stretches from The Mall to Birdcage Walk, inspired by the ethos that the Queen was the nation’s bedrock. Various paths lead to places such as a Whispering Walk and Magnolia Glade.
Creating a space for reflection was at the core of the design brief, but other factors, such as value for money, visitor experience and sensitivity to the original masterplan for the Grade I-listed park, are important. A separate search for a sculptor to work alongside the winner is ongoing.
Visit https://competitions.malcolmreading.com/queenelizabethmemorial/gallery for more information and to have your say on the shortlist.
-
The Swatch ScubAqua collection is ‘a Woolworths pick-and-mix counter for your wrist’The 1990s wasn't horology’s most glittering decade, but with the decade firmly back in style, watchmakers are keen to give it all another go.
-
Five Cotswold dream homes on the market from £3m to £18m, as seen in Country LifeThis week we have a Cotswolds-themed rundown of some of the finest homes to come to the market in this beautiful part of England.
-
Josephine Baker and the remarkable women of espionage who helped win the Second World WarOn the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we salute five women who worked tirelessly in the shadows to bring about an Allied victory.
-
The young British flower farmers championing sustainable growingFlower growing is hard work, but the rewards — including minimising Britain’s huge flower importing carbon footprint — far outweigh the negatives, say three young growers.
-
Sir David Attenborough: 'The next 100 years could either witness a mass extinction of ocean life or a spectacular recovery'Sir David Attenborough has co-authored a book and narrated a new film to mark his 99th birthday.
-
‘Greece — it’s eternal and makes me feel ancient and youthful at the same time’: Isabel Ettedgui’s Consuming PassionsThe owner of Connolly reveals what she would take to a desert island and why she once waited four years to get a supper reservation.
-
'It was like Fawlty Towers at first': How diversification keeps the country house standingFrom festivals and car shows, to spas and wedding venues, country house owners are getting creative to keep their estates alive.
-
Sign of the times: In the age of the selfie, what’s happening to the humble autograph?When Ringo Starr announced that he was no longer going to sign anything, he kickstarted a celebrity movement that coincided with the advent of the camera phone and selfie. Rob Crossan asks whether, in today’s world, the selfie holds more clout than an autograph?
-
These are J. M. W Turner's 11 best paintings, as chosen by Britain's top curators, art historians and creative mindsCold moonlight, golden sunset and shimmering waters are only three reasons to love Turner. On the 250th anniversary of his birth, curators, art historians and other creative minds reveal which of his paintings they’d hang on their walls and why.
-
Boxy but foxy: How the humble Fiat Panda became motoring's least-likely design classicGianni Agnelli's Fiat Panda 4x4 Trekking is currently for sale with RM Sotheby's.
