Founder’s Memorial
‘Honouring our past… Inspiring our future’
Situated at Bay East Garden, this project was our entry submission for the international architectural design competition launched by the National Heritage Board, Singapore for the Founder’s Memorial, an integrated and garden experience commemorating the founding of independent Singapore.
Singapore
Architecture (Competition)
Civic & Institutional
Unbuilt
50,000 m2
13,700 m2
Location
Discipline
Typology
Completion
Site Area
Area
1. The Lifted Deck — Present
A 280m long strip of the Bay East Garden is lifted up to create an entrance from the park and a large 12m high covered public plaza fronting the promenade, preserving the expansive views to the bay which is the essence of the site. The main public functions are housed here. The Bay East Garden along the bay continues across the deck uninterrupted.
2. The Tower — Remembering the Founding Fathers
The interpretative gallery as a repository of history is combined with the multiple levels of viewing galleries to present an integrated experience of the past and the present to the visitor. The viewing tower, rotated from a square base and twisted towards the bay, offers multiple focussed views of the various significant aspects of the city. They all condense into a faceted red pigmented concrete rock encased within a 40m high transparent glass skinned showcase that modulates the interior spaces. Together, they form a strong urban marker.
3. The Void — Challenging the Next Generation
Bookending the visit to the galleries where the past has been understood, the visitor is led down to the sunken courtyard for a moment of reflection. Confronted with a void of rocky foundations waiting to be built upon, with views of The Tower, the challenge is extended to the next
generation of Singaporeans to build upon the work of our Founding Fathers and chart the next lap for Singapore.
