The Founders' Memorial is a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

under development within the Bay East Garden of the

Gardens by the Bay The Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) is an urban park spanning in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden in Marina South, Bay East ...

to commemorate the founding fathers of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

as well as to cover the country's contemporary history from after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to its first few decades of independence. On 9 March 2020, a collaboration between

Kengo Kuma is a Japanese architect and emeritus professor in the Department of Architecture (Graduate School of Engineering) at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma is also noted for his prolif ...

(Japan) and K2LD Architects (Singapore) won the international architectural competition to design the memorial. Initially expected to open in 2025, the memorial is now scheduled to open in 2028.

History

Singapore's first Prime Minister,

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

, died on 23 March 2015. Lee had made it clear over the years that he did not want a monument solely to himself, and his will specified that his house at

38 Oxley Road 38 Oxley Road is an eight-bedroom two-storey bungalow located near Orchard Road, Singapore. The house was built in the late 19th century and was the residence of the first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, from the 1940s until his dea ...

was to be demolished. In a parliamentary statement on 13 April 2015, his son Prime Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

stated: Lee appointed Lee Tzu Yang to chair the Founders' Memorial Committee to seek public views through dialogue sessions, and to conceptualise the details for the memorial. The site was selected in 2018, after choosing between Gardens by the Bay and

Fort Canning Park Fort Canning Hill, or simply known as Fort Canning, is a prominent hill, about high, in the southeast portion of Singapore, within the Central Area that forms Singapore's central business district. The hill has a long history intertwined wi ...

Design competition

A design competition was launched in January 2018, attracting 193 local and international architects. The first stage of judging was an anonymous process, lasting 12 weeks until 5 April. The names of the five entrants moving to the next stage was only revealed to the seven-member jury panel after being shortlisted. The five entries selected for the second stage were: Kengo Kuma & Associates, and K2LD Architects (collaboration); 8DGE Design, and Ong Ching Ying (collaboration); Cox Architecture, and Architects 61 (collaboration); DP Architects; Johnson Pilton Walker. On 9 March 2020, the collaboration between Kengo Kuma (Japan) and K2LD Architects (Singapore) was announced as winner of the architectural competition to design the memorial. Initially planned to open in 2025, it has been rescheduled for 2028 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transportation

Once completed, the Memorial will be served via a train service by the namesake

Founders' Memorial MRT station Founders' Memorial MRT station is a non-operational underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Thomson–East Coast line in Marina East, Singapore. Construction began in 2019, and the station is scheduled to open in tandem with the ...

on the Thomson–East Coast line.

References

{{Major Tourist Attractions in Singapore Kengo Kuma buildings Historic sites in Singapore Landmarks in Singapore Monuments and memorials in Singapore

History

Design competition

Transportation

See also

References