After winning a competitive design contest, British architectural firm Foster + Partners won the bid to design the new Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial, a major U.K. project set to be located in London’s St. James’s Park.

© Foster + Partners

The firm’s winning design concept celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s life through a time of great change, balancing tradition and modernity, public duty and private faith, and the United Kingdom and a global Commonwealth. The concept illustrates how she brought these dualities together by using two gates and two gardens, joined by a bridge and a unifying path. The winning team includes artist Yinka Shonibare and celebrated landscape designer, Michel Desvigne.

“I knew the Queen on formal occasions but also enjoyed her informality when attending events as a member of the Order of Merit,” said Norman Foster, founder and executive partner, Foster + Partners. “We have sought to reflect these qualities of the formal and informal in our design, with an appeal across a wide range of ages and interests. To these ends, we have discreetly stretched the boundaries of art and technology with a deliberately gentle intervention. Our design will have the minimum impact on the nature and biodiversity of the park, and it will be phased to ensure that the precious route across it will never be closed. At the heart of the masterplan is a translucent bridge symbolic of Her Majesty as a unifying force, bringing together nations, countries, the Commonwealth, charities and the armed forces.”

© Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners’ design concept features figurative sculptures and a new Prince Philip Gate. It also features gardens dedicated to the Commonwealth and the communities of the United Kingdom, creating spaces for reflection and coming together. Artistic installations will celebrate the nation’s diversity. A new bridge, replacing the existing Blue Bridge, will feature a cast-glass balustrade that recalls Queen Elizabeth’s wedding tiara.

“Foster + Partners’ ambitious and thoughtful masterplan will allow us and future generations to appreciate Queen Elizabeth’s life of service as she balanced continuity and change with strong values, common sense and optimism throughout her long reign.” said Robin Janvrin, chair, Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee.

© Foster + Partners

St James’s Park is in an area of historical and constitutional significance, and also has a personal connection to Queen Elizabeth II. The memorial will include an area of the park adjacent to the Mall at Marlborough Gate, an area adjacent to Bird Cage Walk and replace the existing bridge between the two with a new crossing.

The national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II has a provisional construction budget of up to £46 million (about $62 million) from public funds, with the government calling on leading artists, architects and engineers to compete to design the project’s masterplan. It is expected the final design will be announced in April 2026 to coincide with what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday year, following approval from the Prime Minister and the King.

© Foster + Partners

Hailed as one of the most significant design initiatives in modern British history, the tribute in St. James’s Park, close to Buckingham Palace, will provide the public with a permanent memorial to the country’s longest-reigning monarch.