Spanish Architects Win Tsunami Memorial Design In Thailand

[jdinasia]

Spanish Architects Win Tsunami Memorial Design in Thailand

By Ron Corben

Bangkok

17 May 2006

Corben report - Download 247k

Listen to Corben report

An international panel in Thailand has awarded the tsunami memorial design to a team of Spanish architects in a competition that had drawn entries from more than 40 countries. The memorial will honor the thousands of people who died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

There was much fanfare Wednesday in Bangkok with the announcement of the winner of an international tsunami memorial design competition that had drawn more than 350 submissions from more than 40 countries.

There were five finalist design teams from Australia, China, Finland, Spain, and the United States.

Matt Tungpanich, president of the Council of Architects of Thailand and chairman of the tsunami memorial competition, announced the winner.

"Unanimously awarded the commission for the memorial to proposal C - "Mountains of Remembrance" by the Spanish based Ana Somoza, Juana Canet, Architecture..." he said.

Tsunami memorial design presented by Spanish team

The design by the Spanish team comprises a cluster of five towers rising from trees, which will house a teaching center, a meditation space, a museum, an amphitheater and restaurants and shops. It will be permanently built in Lamu National Park in Phangnga province in southern Thailand, which had borne the brunt of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

David Stuart Elliott, a panel member as well as a curator and art historian, said the panel had been influence by the local people in Southern Thailand.

"It wasn't decisive, but we were guided by the response of the local people of Phangnga who actually looked at the plans and this certainly did feed into our final decision,"

More than 5,000 people were killed in Thailand - one of 12 countries hit by the disaster. More than 240,000 people died in the tragedy.

source VoA

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-05-17-voa20.cfm

Edited May 18, 2006 by jdinasia

[jdinasia]

Wow! something I posted made it to the new clippings page!

I feel special now!

wish I would have left the title "Tsunami Memorian in Thailand" and known how to add the pic from the story!

[Jai Dee]

Tsunami memorial design presented by Spanish team

Source: voanews.com

Picture added.

[jdinasia]

you talented man!

[Jai Dee]

Spanish architects take honors in tsunami memorial contest

Mountain of Remembrance, the winning entry in the Tsunami Memorial Conceptual Design Competition. Other short-listed entriies were from Australia, China, Finland and the US.

A design by a group of young Spanish architects was yesterday chosen for a memorial in Phang Nga province to pay tribute to victims of the devastating December 26, 2004 tsunami.

Some 5,395 Thais and foreign nationals were killed when the tsunami struck six provinces on the Andaman Sea coast.

The design, dubbed “Mountain of Remembrance,” triumphed over entries from Finland, the US, Australia and China in the final stage of the first international architecture contest to be held in Thailand.

The jury of prominent design specialists from Thailand and other countries said that apart from giving a professional assessment, they also took note of the fact that the design was most preferred by the people of Phang Nga, especially tsunami survivors.

“ It was the most appropriate work that combines the place of reflection of the tsunami and the use of technology as well as provides an iconic building form,” said David Stuart Elliott, an English curator and art historian who was on the jury.

The idea of the memorial project was initiated by the Thai government as a permanent tribute to those who lost their lives in the disaster.

Presenting the award, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop said, “This is the symbol of the cooperation among mankind to fight against the tsunami.”

The government will organize the construction of the memorial, which is expected to be completed in two years, said Suwat.

He added that although the Thai government initially wanted to fund the project, several nations have expressed interest in participating in building the memorial.

“Now some countries proposed that they would like to join but I have to ask the Cabinet. I think it’s good…but we don’t know how to develop the concept yet.”

Source: ThaiDay - 18 May 2006

[Jai Dee]

Memorable vision

Angel Martinez Rodriguez, a member of the Spanish design team, poses with ‘Mountains of Remembrance’ – the winning design for the planned Tsunami Memorial museum. Thailand’s first international-standard museum will be built in Khao Lak Lamru National Park in Phang Nga, one of the areas hardest hit by the giant waves. It is due to open in about two years.

Source: The Nation - May 18, 2006

[sriracha john]

UPDATE... no memorial afterall

Thailand suspends tsunami memorial

BANGKOK - Thailand put plans to build a memorial to victims of the 2004 tsunami on hold Tuesday, citing the enormous cost of the design, officials said.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had ordered the 600 million baht memorial to the 5,400 people who were killed here when the deadly waves hit Thailand's Andaman coast in December 2004.

Thailand staged an international design competition won by a group of Spanish architects who had proposed a nature-conscious memorial inspired by Buddhist pagodas.

"The Culture Ministry has decided to postpone the memorial's construction indefinitely because of the huge budget," said Apinan Poshyanada, head of the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture.

Called "Mountain of Remembrance," the memorial was to be built on the coast in Phang Nga province, which suffered most of the casualties in Thailand.

- AFP

Edited May 10, 2007 by sriracha john