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Tsunami Memorial to Get First Stone Tomorrow

Published on December 25, 2005

Tomorrow Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will lay the foundation stone for a proposed Bt1.5 billion-tsunami memorial installation at Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park in Phang-nga.

The stone’s placement is occurring as the Tsunami Memorial Design Competition shifts into its final phase of judging.

Five design teams from an initial field of 379 from 43 countries are now refining their proposals. A multi-function complex including a memorial, exhibit space and a learning centre is to be integrated into 70 rais of forest land adjacent to the Andaman Sea.

The finalists, from Australia, China, Finland, Spain and the United States, must submit more detailed designs, including three-dimensional models, by May 2 next year. The winning design will be announced on May 22.

“This memorial will not just be a concrete building; it will represent complexity, love and sadness. It will comprise a knowledge centre featuring information on natural disasters, especially tsunamis,” says Apinan Poshyananda, chairman of the competition panel and director-general of the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture under the Culture Ministry.

“Just as the tsunami had a severe global impact we are heartened by the positive global concern that is evident in all the entries,” says David Elliott, president of the jury that selected the finalists and director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.

The five proposals will be on display at Le Meridien Hotel in Phang-nga through December 28. They will also be featured at tomorrow’s public ceremony at Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park, which will run from 2 to 5 pm.