Critics have blasted plans for a Holocaust memorial next to Parliament, comparing the design to a ‘silly hill’ and a ‘split-apart ribcage’.
The £50million project will be finished by 2021 and will stand at Victoria Tower Gardens, which sit in the shadow of Westminster.
The memorial features 23 bronze blade walls that form 22 staircases- one for each country in which Jewish communities were decimated during the Holocaust – down into a large underground chamber.
Critics hate the design and say it will ruin the royal park by destroying mature trees, as well as voicing concern over its environmental impact.
But despite objections, plans for developing the expensive project are proceeding.
Critics have blasted plans for a Holocaust memorial next to Parliament, comparing the design to a ‘silly hill’ and a ‘split-apart ribcage’
The £50million project will be finished by 2021 and will stand at Victoria Tower Gardens, which sit in the shadow of the Palace of Westminster
The memorial features 23 tall, patinated bronze blade walls that form 22 paths – one for each country in which Jewish communities were decimated during the Holocaust. The centre will also have a large chamber beneath the ground
Westminster council is underway with the planning process and permission to start building is expected by the end of the year, reports the Times.
Situated next to the Houses of Parliament, the memorial will serve as a tribute to the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust.
Prominent Ghanian-British architect Sir David Adjaye won the international competition to design the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Sir David’s design includes a path which leads across a gradually rising hill, inviting visitors for views out to the River Thames and Westminster.
The centre will also have a large chamber beneath the ground.
Critics hate the design, describing it as a ‘split-apart ribcage and a silly hill’, saying it will ruin the royal park by destroying mature trees and voicing concern over its environmental impact
But despite the objections, plans for developing the expensive project are proceeding
However Sir Edward Leigh told The Times that the project was ‘just a gimmick’.
Jewish architect Barbara Weiss added: ‘To me it looks like a ripped-apart ribcage from one side, and from the other, it’s just a silly hill that splits the park in two.’
Beyond objections to the look of the memorial, questions were raised about the risk of flooding, contaminants in the soil and the likelihood of unexploded bombs.
Also, critics have questioned why the memorial wasn’t placed at the nearby Imperial War Museum, which had offered to host the project and already has Holocaust galleries built as part of a £33.5million expansion.
Sir Peter Bottomley, a Tory MP, said to the Times: ‘There’s no reason why this should be approved in this location when it would very obviously have been better sited at the Imperial War Museum. Westminster is already the target of choice for people who want to do bad things.’