PROJECTS
In 2006 we submitted a competition proposal for a memorial to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. As an icon of Britain and of the 20th century, she had been at the centre of public life for most of it. Her conspicuous presence in London during the bombing raids of the Second World War was a powerful symbol of strength, determination, and courage.
The site chosen for a national memorial to the Queen Mother is close to her home, Clarence House and close to the statue of her husband, King George VI, who died in 1952 and overlooks The Mall and St James’s Park in the heart of London.
QUEEN MOTHER MEMORIAL, THE MALL, LONDON, UK
The design sought to create a cascading garden, connecting Carlton House Terrace with St James’s Park - leaving the statue of George VI in its present location but re-designing the space in front of the memorial and locating a bronze figure of HM The Queen Mother (by Vivien Mallock) centrally at the heart of the new design.
A curved Ionic screen is proposed, acting as a belvedere, offering views out over the park from a distinctive architectural perspective and sitting within a well-defined and framed space between existing buildings in Carlton House Terrace.
The design for the screen, with its sweeping steps leading down to The Mall, refers to Nash’s romantic, picturesque layout of St James’s Park as well as to the much-admired tradition of Italian renaissance gardens that provided much inspiration for Nash.
The design also included a suggested re-landscaping of the space around the proposed statue of the Queen Mother at the base of the columned screen to provide more horticultural interest with stone benches and lighting.
THE DETAILS
