David Adjaye’s proposed UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Westminster, London is going forward after gaining approval from the Minister of State for Housing Christopher Pincher this week.
The memorial has drawn a considerable amount of backlash in the Commonwealth since being announced in 2017. After a campaign against it by non-profits like the Royal Parks charity, the plan was officially recalled by Pincher’s predecessor in November of 2019 and rejected unanimously by the Westminster City Council four months later over its supposed intrusiveness and unsettling tone.
A public inquiry into the project was then held by an independent planning inspector whose recommendations were thus handed to Pincher’s office for approval in early spring. Adjaye said before the inquiry process that he felt anti-Semitism was behind some of the criticism of his £50 million ($70 million) plan.
Adjaye Associates paired with Israeli-born Ron Arad to design the original memorial, which incorporates 23 different bronze fin structures situated atop an education center that contextualizes the memorial adjacent to both houses of parliament in Westminister’s historic Victoria Towers Garden. A revised plan of the site was submitted in April of 2019 following a consultation by the architects and Westminster city council.
The Housing Minister’s announcement pointed to “a series of very significant public benefits” as the decisive factors leading to approval, although it did concede that damages would be caused to the Grade II-listed site as part of the memorial’s construction. A number of Holocaust-related groups have thrown their support behind the measure.
Now, with the long-awaited approval behind them, groundbreaking can begin on what Pincher characterized as a “powerful message” against different forms of racism and discrimination. An additional £25 million ($35 million) has been raised in the form of private donations. Construction is expected to end sometime in 2025.
3 Comments
As if the world needs yet another holocaust memorial while Israel is busy running the world's largest concentration camp in Palestine, commiting murder by starvation, restricted access to water and medicine, and direct violence.
Boycott Divest Sanction
Wondering why this memorial + fairly simple pavilion will cost £50 million (or £75 million?) to add to an existing park... Could've gone towards London's severe housing shortage or environmental issues instead, smh.
just be glad it’s not a Libeskind...
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