Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread

With Vogt Landscape Architects, Arup Lighting and David Bonnett Associates

Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread concept render: a field of small translucent Gothic spire-forms across Victoria Tower Gardens, echoing the Buxton Memorial's canopy
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread concept render: a single large luminous Gothic spire-form rising among the smaller ones on the lawn
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread concept render: a circular underground hall lit by oculus skylights in a domed ceiling
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread concept render: a smaller memorial hall inscribed with victims' names, including Meir David Minosberg and Roza Singer, beneath an oculus skylight
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread concept render: detail of the translucent spire-form's vaulted underside and structure
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread concept render: the illuminated spire-forms at night in Victoria Tower Gardens, with a visitor walking past under a lamppost
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread presentation board 1
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread presentation board 2
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread presentation board 3
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread presentation board 4
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread presentation board 5
Caruso St John Architects, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread presentation board 6

The catastrophic events of the Holocaust took place outside the UK and the mass graves, remnants of atrocity and concentration camps that are found in mainland Europe do not exist on British soil. A memorial in London will not, therefore, commemorate a particular place, but instead it can embrace a universal theme and foreground the first-hand testimony of survivors.

Caruso St John, Marcus Taylor and Rachel Whiteread’s proposal consists of two parts – a cast, translucent sculpture above ground and a series of large chambers below ground. The sculpture brings natural light into the largest and most memorable of these spaces – the ‘Hall of Voices’ – where visitors will hear the accounts of Holocaust survivors and discover directly the network of lives, places and emotional bonds that were destroyed.

Shortlist