Foster + Partners will design the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II at the heart of St James’s Park, it has been announced. The practice’s winning design concept celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s life through a time of great change, balancing the themes of tradition and modernity; public duty and private faith; the United Kingdom and a global Commonwealth. The design concept illustrates how she brought these dualities together by showcasing two gates and two gardens, joined by a bridge and unifying path. The winning team includes artist Yinka Shonibare and celebrated landscape designer, Michel Desvigne.
Norman Foster, founder and executive chairman, Foster + Partners, said: ‘It is an honour and a privilege for our team to be awarded this project…Our design will have the minimum impact on the nature and biodiversity of the park and it will be phased to ensure that the precious route across it will never be closed. At the heart of our masterplan is a translucent bridge symbolic of Her Majesty as a unifying force, bringing together nations, countries, the Commonwealth, charities and the armed forces.’
Foster + Partners’ design concept features figurative sculptures and a new Prince Philip Gate. It also features gardens – dedicated to the Commonwealth and the communities of the United Kingdom – to create spaces for reflection and coming together. Artistic installations will celebrate the nation’s diversity. A new bridge, replacing the existing Blue Bridge, will feature a cast-glass balustrade that recalls Queen Elizabeth’s wedding tiara.
The final design will be formally announced in April 2026, alongside a legacy programme, to coincide with what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s hundredth birthday year.
