SINGAPORE - Singaporeans can now view and pick their favourite design for the Founders' Memorial, which honours Singapore's pioneer leaders and is slated to open in 2027.
Five designs by local and international architecture firms shortlisted by a jury will be unveiled for public viewing from next Monday (Nov 4).
The roving exhibition, titled Founders' Memorial Design Showcase, will start at IMM in Jurong East and travel to various locations till Dec 29.
It will have 3D models of the proposed designs, along with short videos explaining the concept behind each one.
Singaporeans can vote for their favourite design on www.foundersmemorial.sg from now till end December.
Two of the designs drew inspiration from the Singapore flag.
Australian firm Cox Architecture, which designed the Helix bridge, collaborated with local firm architects61 to design an abstract crescent moon shape that is marked by five pathways, representing the five stars.
Another Australian firm Johnson Pilton Walker, in collaboration with local firm RDC Architects, has a circular design inspired by the crescent moon of the national flag, as a sign of looking into the future.
Singapore and Shanghai-based architecture firm 8DGE partnered RSP Architects, a local firm behind Jewel Changi Airport and Funan mall, to come up with a circular design which rises above a landscaped podium, where visitors can gather.
Japanese firm Kengo Kuma & Associate and local firm K2LD Architects went the other direction with a linear design with a flowing green terrain that leads to an amphitheatre.
The only solo firm on the shortlist is home-grown architecture firm DP Architects, which is behind buildings such as People's Park Complex and Wisma Atria mall. It proposed a cradle-like curved form inspired by the "hands of our founding fathers".
It is a requirement for the international firms to partner with a local firm.
An international competition was launched in January to gather the best design and it received 193 submissions.
The memorial, which will be located on a 5 ha site in Bay East Garden in the Marina Bay area, covers the period in Singapore after World War II to its first few decades of independence, focusing on key milestones and stories in the country's growth.
It will be served by the upcoming Founders' Memorial MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast line (TEL) and various food and beverage outlets in the future.
After the online voting closes in end December, a seven-member jury will evaluate the designs based on factors such as its functionality, technical feasibility, how well it fulfilled the design brief and whether it takes its surroundings into consideration.
Public feedback, collected from the online votes, will play a big part in the jury's decision, said a spokesman.
The winning design will be announced in the first quarter of next year and construction is expected to start from 2021.
