The main aim of the Founders Memorial should be that of a symbolic building able to get and represent the City founding principles.

but, How can the Founders Memorial represent the Singapore spirit, embodying the values of the past and handing them down to the future?

The five standing massive “pillars” remind of the most important ethical values represented by the five stars of the national flag: democracy, peace, justice, prosperity and equality. Ideally, they aim to become the ethical structure sustaining the future of the Nation, while reminding to the next generations the important values of the past.

The five pillars stand ideally and spatially above a unique common base welcoming all the public areas,placed at the underground level, that is accessible thanks to gently sloped public ramps and stairs. Multiple ascending paths connect the vertical elements to the public areas, leading to a unique evocative system.

The center of the public areas has been conceived as a place welcoming everyone; it is a democratic space, reminding of the ancient roman Pantheon, a temple where all gods lived together, that aims to embody the value of the sharing and coexistence. It is a space for everyone and of everyone, permeable and highly flexible, where to easily socialize and express yourself, that constitutes, at the same time, the starting point of the experience of the Founders’ Memorial.

The FIVE PILLARS are not a simple Memorial, but a new CO MMON place where the comunity of Singapore can meet and socialize in the several public SPaces, to visit the different exhibitions in the EXPO GALLERIES, to learn and grow up in the education areas, to enjoy the panoramic view from the viewing point, or simply to express themselves in the pantheon auditorium. It is a new symbol of the Nation that welcomes everyone!

The experience involves both the indoor functions and the outdoor areas. The Visitors Center is the access point to the five pillars, which welcome several functions, from the exhibition areas to the education center. The outdoor spaces are a spatial extension of the indoor activities, directly connected to the surrounding public park.

During ordinary nights, the five pillars shine as lit lanterns, recalling the ethical values of Singapore. For special events, they project the stars/values in the sky, showing them to the entire Nation.

Due to the tropical climate, the passive strategies suggested the thermal chimney(1) and double skin facade(2) of the pillars to cool the indoor temperature; the reuse of rain water(4) for irrigation; provision of trees shading areas(5); use of soil thermal inertia for cooler indoor temperatures.

TA.R.I-Architects

With: Arch. Erika Braun, Eleonora Ragonici