Architecture
The design itself was conceived by one of Singapore's most renown architects, Leong Swee Lim (1935-2002) of Swan and Maclaren Architects, whose design subsequently won first prize in an open design competition. The design of the structure has been one of Swee Lim's most famous and significant contributions towards the legacy of Singapore's architectural history. The architect's conception of the four identical pillars each 70m high, represents the shared experiences and unity of the four major races of Singapore - Chinese, Malay, Indian and other races. Henceforth the memorial is essentially one of Singapore's iconic landmarks of heritage that truly embraces the virtues of a multi-racial and cultural city, whose unity is inevitably one of the pillars for Singapore's modern day success, harmony and prosperity.
The memorial has also been affectionately described by some as resembling four giant chopsticks. Unseen to the eye, the remains of the unidentified war victims are buried beneath the monument and truly adds to the material significance of the structure whose history it represents.
Read more about this topic: Civilian War Memorial
Famous quotes containing the word architecture:
“Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.”
—Audre Lorde (1934–1992)
“Polarized light showed the secret architecture of bodies; and when the second-sight of the mind is opened, now one color or form or gesture, and now another, has a pungency, as if a more interior ray had been emitted, disclosing its deep holdings in the frame of things.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It seems a fantastic paradox, but it is nevertheless a most important truth, that no architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)