The eponymous practice of newly nonagenarian British architect Norman Foster has won a closely watched competition seeking design proposals for a planned national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II at St. James Park in central London. Organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, the competition has been described as one of the most significant public design initiatives in modern British history.
Joining Foster + Partners on the winning team is French landscape architect Michel Desvigne and British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. As revealed in February, four other shortlisted teams were in the running alongside Foster + Partners, each of them tasked to “create a memorial masterplan that celebrates Queen Elizabeth II’s extraordinary life of service and provides a space for pause and reflection.” Those multidisciplinary teams—some comprising up to six members—were led by Heatherwick Studio, WilkisonEyre, landscape architecture practice J&L Gibbons, and Tom Stuart-Smith, an English landscape architect and garden designer. All five finalist designs were unveiled just last month.
